Not off the Press: A perfect game, a perfect league season and the start of the postseason
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Let's start with the obvious this week … if you read any of the softball coverage in either the print or online editions of The Highland County Press this past week, you could say it was a perfect week.
If you didn't read it or lined a birdcage with the print edition (nothing sadder, but funny in a way, than knowing a bird will do its business on my column photo every week), there was a lot of perfection being had in Highland County softball with the McClain Lady Tigers clinching a perfect South Central Ohio League season at 12-0 when they defeated Miami Trace on a Monday to start the week, and there was a perfect game thrown by Fairfield's Lauren Larrick on a Wednesday that clinched the Southern Hills League Division II title for the Lady Lions.
Weeks like this don't happen often, so I was lucky enough to be able to cover both of the games in person.
I went into detail about the season of the Lady Tigers in my print column this past weekend. Here is the link, but seeing a perfect game is rare as well, and I'd like to talk about it a little more.
Here is a little background info … the Lady Lions were coming off a 9-0 loss to the Eastern Brown Lady Warriors the previous day, and though it stopped their perfect Southern Hills League record, the Lady Lions still had a chance to clinch the Division II, and they did (a 6-0 win over Manchester) … with the defense and playing perfectly, along with the offense scoring their six runs on seven hits.
That's the great thing about baseball and softball … most of the time there is a game the next day, and teams have to forget fast … and it seemed that's what the Lady Lions did on that day.
Here are some facts from the Fairfield-Manchester softball game that stood out to me that I may or may not have added in the game article:
- There were a total of eight 1-2 counts that ended with a strikeout or fly out on the following pitch.
- Manchester worked the count to 3-2 on two occasions … once in the second inning and once in the seventh. The first one ended with a ground out to first, and the one to the first batter in the top of the seventh ended with a swinging strikeout.
- With the count at 2-2, the next pitch ended with a strikeout three times.
- Eight of the 21 outs came in the field of play with zero of the outs recorded by the outfield.
- Eleven outs were swinging strikeouts … two were called third strikes.
- The FHS defense committed zero errors … with perfect game-saving outs recorded off nice catches or throws by shortstop Kaitlin Evans and catcher Whitney Hanenkrat.
- It was the second no-hitter of the season for Larrick, the fourth of her high school career.
- In four at-bats, Larrick threw all strikes with three 0-2 counts and one 0-1 count …three ended on the next pitch with a strikeout.
• Postseason begins this week
Monday is the first game of the baseball postseason for a Highland County team with No. 8 seeded McClain vs. No. 9 seeded Circleville at 5 p.m. Let's hope the rain holds off tomorrow.
Just talking about the postseason is exciting because the win-or-go-home format is always fun to cover (and nine months into the high school season, fun is what I need) and because the game means so much, and the only way to keep a season going is to win games.
Just an FYI … there are four games on Wednesday that all are postseason games, so it will be impossible for me to cover all of the games live. Wednesday's postseason games include: Hillsboro softball, Whiteoak softball, Fairfield baseball and Whiteoak baseball, all starting at 5 p.m.
Again, if the weather holds up for playable field conditions, this should be a fun week of postseason play.
Also, don't forget about the SCOL track & field meet at London this Tuesday … hopefully the Tigers and Indians can bring home some league wins.
• Looking back at the past week
One of the better games of the season occurred this past Thursday with the Hillsboro Indians defeating the Fairfield Lions in baseball, 3-2 in eight innings.
Extra-inning games are usually fun, but low-scoring games that go into extra innings and games that are tied on more than two occasions are worth reminiscing about in this space, not to mention both are Highland County teams.
What I like was seeing players that may have not played much this season step up and win the game because I know how it feels to watch more baseball than play it. Not saying it was a bad thing because sitting the bench my high school days taught me how to keep a score book, a pitching chart and to see different situations in the game from a different perspective … all traits I have to use with this job on a daily basis.
The game on Thursday was enjoyable for it was tied at 1-1 and at 2-2 through seven innings with excellent pitching from Hillsboro's Levi Fleming, Corey Walker and Tyler Griego, along with the same type of pitching from Fairfield's Joey Wilson and Wyatt Crothers.
Though the pitching was on-point most of the game, it was the clutch hitting from HHS senior Dave Williams that proved to be the biggest difference as he batted in Griego in the eighth for what turned out to be the winning run. Again, fun to see players make the most of any opportunity.
[[In-content Ad]]• Random sports thoughts
- I know Derrick Rose is injured, but c'mon Chicago Bulls … You can't lose the series to the 76ers, but it looks like you are. Disappointing, because I wanted a Heat-Bulls Eastern Conference Finals series … maybe next year.
- The Atlanta Hawks sure didn't look like a playoff team on Sunday.
- I'm predicting by the end of May, the Cincinnati Reds will lead the NL Central … or I could be wrong.
- In my 2012 predictions column, I said Sabercat would win the Kentucky Derby … the horse was 15th, but give me some credit for picking one of the 20 horses that were in the race.
- RIP, Junior Seau … one of the greatest linebackers of my lifetime.
- Sunday's Talladega NASCAR Sprint Cup race was fun to watch as a fan, but I understand the frustration of the drivers having to worry about their oil temperatures … Fix this problem, NASCAR.
- Seventeen innings between the Red Sox and Orioles … the one game I would have wanted to see with these two teams play in wasn't on national TV … position players finished the game as pitchers … and the Red Sox lost.
- NASCAR Paint Scheme of the Year: Kurt Busch's car on Sunday … same paint scheme as Ricky Bobby when he didn't have a sponsor in the movie "Talladega Nights." Simply put … awesome, especially since the race was at Talladega.
- When Kurt Busch took the lead, announcer Mike Joy proclaimed: "Ricky Bobby takes the lead!"
- Bryce Harper became one of my favorite players to watch in MLB on Sunday … Was hit "on purpose" with the first pitch of his first at-bat, moved first-to-third on a base hit, then stole home. He didn't even crack a smile and did this as a 19-year old.
- Working on a fantasy football team in May makes me think I have a problem, but it's always football season with a dynasty league football team … or two.
- Is their a better NBA play-by-play man than Marv Albert? I don't think so.
- Eli Manning was actually funny on "Saturday Night Live." Surprising.
• A few thoughts away from sports
- RIP, Goober. I love "The Andy Griffith Show," even though I was born 24 years after it first aired.
- In college, I once wrote a final paper on "The Andy Griffith Show." To be honest, I can't for the life of me remember the class it was for, but I got to watch the show and write a paper on it … that's what I call studying.
- I've been waiting for a few years for a new Will Smith movie, and it's the third "Men in Black?" One was enough. At least it could have been "Bad Boys 3."
- Netflix + every season of "Scrubs" = many hours of lost sleep.
- Netflix + the "Saved by the Bell" episode where Jessie gets hooked on caffeine pills = "I'm so excited … I'm so scared."
- Dumbest article headline on Yahoo: "Compliments that men love to hear." Wow … what a waste of time. As for me, I just want to hear … "your sports team is awesome."
• Quote of the Week
"This was a good game to play before the tournament. Playing (Thursday) helps keep the kids sharp, and it was a good night to play all of our seniors. All of them that were able to play started, and it gives them good game experience. Dave (Williams) really stepped up with his hit in the eighth. He did well for not playing much this year, but he did the most with this opportunity and got the hit and RBI when it counted." — Tim Hunt, Hillsboro baseball head coach following the Indians' 3-2 win against Fairfield.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"This is a great way to clinch the league title. Lauren pitched well, our defense was fantastic, and our shortstop (Kaitlin Evans) made some great catches." — Matthew Zimmerman, Fairfield softball head coach following the Lady Lions' wins against Manchester.
• (A third) Quote of the Week
"This has been a dream season for sure. We lost one game last season in the SCOL, but the six seniors this year made it their goal to improve on that and led us to this perfect mark. They are so focused and went perfect in the league with class, as that's all you can ask for." — Jarrod Haines, McClain softball head coach following their win against Miami Trace, clinching the perfect SCOL perfect season.
• Stat of the Week
With their second consecutive SHL Division II title, the Fairfield Lady Lion softball team now has 16 league championships.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
The weekly Gage Carraher strikeouts per stat count continue as he struck out 13 batters against Cedarville this past week. The Whiteoak junior has struck out 10-plus batters in all six starts this season.
• One last item of business
All but one of the Highland County baseball teams have double-digit wins this season, and I still can't believe where the time has gone this spring. With tournaments starting this week, I just want to say I've really enjoyed this regular season, and I want to thank all of the folks who have emailed, phoned or texted game results … it makes my job a little easier, and again, I thank you.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
If you didn't read it or lined a birdcage with the print edition (nothing sadder, but funny in a way, than knowing a bird will do its business on my column photo every week), there was a lot of perfection being had in Highland County softball with the McClain Lady Tigers clinching a perfect South Central Ohio League season at 12-0 when they defeated Miami Trace on a Monday to start the week, and there was a perfect game thrown by Fairfield's Lauren Larrick on a Wednesday that clinched the Southern Hills League Division II title for the Lady Lions.
Weeks like this don't happen often, so I was lucky enough to be able to cover both of the games in person.
I went into detail about the season of the Lady Tigers in my print column this past weekend. Here is the link, but seeing a perfect game is rare as well, and I'd like to talk about it a little more.
Here is a little background info … the Lady Lions were coming off a 9-0 loss to the Eastern Brown Lady Warriors the previous day, and though it stopped their perfect Southern Hills League record, the Lady Lions still had a chance to clinch the Division II, and they did (a 6-0 win over Manchester) … with the defense and playing perfectly, along with the offense scoring their six runs on seven hits.
That's the great thing about baseball and softball … most of the time there is a game the next day, and teams have to forget fast … and it seemed that's what the Lady Lions did on that day.
Here are some facts from the Fairfield-Manchester softball game that stood out to me that I may or may not have added in the game article:
- There were a total of eight 1-2 counts that ended with a strikeout or fly out on the following pitch.
- Manchester worked the count to 3-2 on two occasions … once in the second inning and once in the seventh. The first one ended with a ground out to first, and the one to the first batter in the top of the seventh ended with a swinging strikeout.
- With the count at 2-2, the next pitch ended with a strikeout three times.
- Eight of the 21 outs came in the field of play with zero of the outs recorded by the outfield.
- Eleven outs were swinging strikeouts … two were called third strikes.
- The FHS defense committed zero errors … with perfect game-saving outs recorded off nice catches or throws by shortstop Kaitlin Evans and catcher Whitney Hanenkrat.
- It was the second no-hitter of the season for Larrick, the fourth of her high school career.
- In four at-bats, Larrick threw all strikes with three 0-2 counts and one 0-1 count …three ended on the next pitch with a strikeout.
• Postseason begins this week
Monday is the first game of the baseball postseason for a Highland County team with No. 8 seeded McClain vs. No. 9 seeded Circleville at 5 p.m. Let's hope the rain holds off tomorrow.
Just talking about the postseason is exciting because the win-or-go-home format is always fun to cover (and nine months into the high school season, fun is what I need) and because the game means so much, and the only way to keep a season going is to win games.
Just an FYI … there are four games on Wednesday that all are postseason games, so it will be impossible for me to cover all of the games live. Wednesday's postseason games include: Hillsboro softball, Whiteoak softball, Fairfield baseball and Whiteoak baseball, all starting at 5 p.m.
Again, if the weather holds up for playable field conditions, this should be a fun week of postseason play.
Also, don't forget about the SCOL track & field meet at London this Tuesday … hopefully the Tigers and Indians can bring home some league wins.
• Looking back at the past week
One of the better games of the season occurred this past Thursday with the Hillsboro Indians defeating the Fairfield Lions in baseball, 3-2 in eight innings.
Extra-inning games are usually fun, but low-scoring games that go into extra innings and games that are tied on more than two occasions are worth reminiscing about in this space, not to mention both are Highland County teams.
What I like was seeing players that may have not played much this season step up and win the game because I know how it feels to watch more baseball than play it. Not saying it was a bad thing because sitting the bench my high school days taught me how to keep a score book, a pitching chart and to see different situations in the game from a different perspective … all traits I have to use with this job on a daily basis.
The game on Thursday was enjoyable for it was tied at 1-1 and at 2-2 through seven innings with excellent pitching from Hillsboro's Levi Fleming, Corey Walker and Tyler Griego, along with the same type of pitching from Fairfield's Joey Wilson and Wyatt Crothers.
Though the pitching was on-point most of the game, it was the clutch hitting from HHS senior Dave Williams that proved to be the biggest difference as he batted in Griego in the eighth for what turned out to be the winning run. Again, fun to see players make the most of any opportunity.
[[In-content Ad]]• Random sports thoughts
- I know Derrick Rose is injured, but c'mon Chicago Bulls … You can't lose the series to the 76ers, but it looks like you are. Disappointing, because I wanted a Heat-Bulls Eastern Conference Finals series … maybe next year.
- The Atlanta Hawks sure didn't look like a playoff team on Sunday.
- I'm predicting by the end of May, the Cincinnati Reds will lead the NL Central … or I could be wrong.
- In my 2012 predictions column, I said Sabercat would win the Kentucky Derby … the horse was 15th, but give me some credit for picking one of the 20 horses that were in the race.
- RIP, Junior Seau … one of the greatest linebackers of my lifetime.
- Sunday's Talladega NASCAR Sprint Cup race was fun to watch as a fan, but I understand the frustration of the drivers having to worry about their oil temperatures … Fix this problem, NASCAR.
- Seventeen innings between the Red Sox and Orioles … the one game I would have wanted to see with these two teams play in wasn't on national TV … position players finished the game as pitchers … and the Red Sox lost.
- NASCAR Paint Scheme of the Year: Kurt Busch's car on Sunday … same paint scheme as Ricky Bobby when he didn't have a sponsor in the movie "Talladega Nights." Simply put … awesome, especially since the race was at Talladega.
- When Kurt Busch took the lead, announcer Mike Joy proclaimed: "Ricky Bobby takes the lead!"
- Bryce Harper became one of my favorite players to watch in MLB on Sunday … Was hit "on purpose" with the first pitch of his first at-bat, moved first-to-third on a base hit, then stole home. He didn't even crack a smile and did this as a 19-year old.
- Working on a fantasy football team in May makes me think I have a problem, but it's always football season with a dynasty league football team … or two.
- Is their a better NBA play-by-play man than Marv Albert? I don't think so.
- Eli Manning was actually funny on "Saturday Night Live." Surprising.
• A few thoughts away from sports
- RIP, Goober. I love "The Andy Griffith Show," even though I was born 24 years after it first aired.
- In college, I once wrote a final paper on "The Andy Griffith Show." To be honest, I can't for the life of me remember the class it was for, but I got to watch the show and write a paper on it … that's what I call studying.
- I've been waiting for a few years for a new Will Smith movie, and it's the third "Men in Black?" One was enough. At least it could have been "Bad Boys 3."
- Netflix + every season of "Scrubs" = many hours of lost sleep.
- Netflix + the "Saved by the Bell" episode where Jessie gets hooked on caffeine pills = "I'm so excited … I'm so scared."
- Dumbest article headline on Yahoo: "Compliments that men love to hear." Wow … what a waste of time. As for me, I just want to hear … "your sports team is awesome."
• Quote of the Week
"This was a good game to play before the tournament. Playing (Thursday) helps keep the kids sharp, and it was a good night to play all of our seniors. All of them that were able to play started, and it gives them good game experience. Dave (Williams) really stepped up with his hit in the eighth. He did well for not playing much this year, but he did the most with this opportunity and got the hit and RBI when it counted." — Tim Hunt, Hillsboro baseball head coach following the Indians' 3-2 win against Fairfield.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"This is a great way to clinch the league title. Lauren pitched well, our defense was fantastic, and our shortstop (Kaitlin Evans) made some great catches." — Matthew Zimmerman, Fairfield softball head coach following the Lady Lions' wins against Manchester.
• (A third) Quote of the Week
"This has been a dream season for sure. We lost one game last season in the SCOL, but the six seniors this year made it their goal to improve on that and led us to this perfect mark. They are so focused and went perfect in the league with class, as that's all you can ask for." — Jarrod Haines, McClain softball head coach following their win against Miami Trace, clinching the perfect SCOL perfect season.
• Stat of the Week
With their second consecutive SHL Division II title, the Fairfield Lady Lion softball team now has 16 league championships.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
The weekly Gage Carraher strikeouts per stat count continue as he struck out 13 batters against Cedarville this past week. The Whiteoak junior has struck out 10-plus batters in all six starts this season.
• One last item of business
All but one of the Highland County baseball teams have double-digit wins this season, and I still can't believe where the time has gone this spring. With tournaments starting this week, I just want to say I've really enjoyed this regular season, and I want to thank all of the folks who have emailed, phoned or texted game results … it makes my job a little easier, and again, I thank you.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.