High school baseball

Discuss upcoming semi state baseball game.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Yeah, back for an episode uh poor clueless dudes. Uh blind solo today. Other guys are working, uh being that it's the middle of the week. Uh you know, one of the guys did get some bad news, uh the company he works for will be dissolving here really soon. So he'll be looking for another job, which that kind of sucks for him because he'd been with that company for 21 years. So and one of the other clueless dudes, uh he's uh contemplating retiring too. Uh that being that he's the retirement aide, so uh he's got a decision to make here in the next three, four months. So uh I made that decision last October, best best decision I made. Uh you know, job was stressful. Uh wasn't wasn't dealing with the patients, it was more dealing with the people that work there. Uh some of them were just bucktards and uh they were there just drawing a paycheck and didn't really give a shit about other stuff. But that's not all I'm talking about today, talking about IHSA uh baseball, Indiana High School Athletic Association. Uh uh you know, I am the JB head coach for the school that I'm at. Uh I'm an assistant on the varsity, which uh we will be playing in the semi-state this Saturday. Uh so it's an experience. Uh this has been a uh hell of a ride this year. Uh first time since 2014 at the school. Well, Gibson Southern has been in a uh semi-state. Uh we did win the conference sectional and regional championship here in the last several weeks. Uh last time they went to uh the semi-state, they did win, and they went to the state and finished uh state runner-up. Of course, that was a class system, and before that it was uh 1994 when it was just a uh it was no classes, it was just uh you know, the best four teams made it, and that's how it went. So uh interesting to see how it goes. Uh had some injuries this year, you know. One of the uh uh players broke his leg. He was a quarterback football team, significant break. Uh you know, I just didn't heal real quick and decided to not play baseball and concentrate on healing because he is playing the next level football, really good football player, and then third baseman, underclassman, you know, uh broke a bone in his foot around spring break. So he's just now been the last couple weeks out of a boot and a tennis shoe and uh healing very nicely. Uh but he is out of all activities all year, even travel baseball, so uh, which kind of sucks for him because uh he's probably one of the top four third basemen for his age group in the state of Indiana, so we could really use him. But like I said, the sophomores and juniors and a couple freshmen have really stepped up. So it's been uh really cool. So it'll be an interesting weekend to see uh how it goes. Uh kind of giving these kids a little tidbits to about uh Troy, Alabama baseball. Uh uh how they've been playing, you know. Uh they've refused to lose. Uh, you know, they got into the College World Series by winning their conference. Uh now they're the first 30-win, 30-loss uh team to make the men's college world series, which that's never happened before. And uh they did win their super regional against Arkansas Little Rock. You know, they took two first two games and uh in the region in the regional they had to go to down in, I think it was in Florida somewhere. They lost the first game, I think, to Miami. Then they had to beat Miami twice and beat Florida twice, and they did it, which you know that's some history there. That's Miami and and uh University of Florida both you know, rich history in the Minch College World Series. So be interested to see how Troy does tomorrow in the Minch College World Series. Uh you know, we've kind of talked about a little bit about that in the past, about mid-majors, you know, making any kind of a national championship. I think baseball would probably maybe soccer, I don't know, but baseball would probably be, you know, the sport that a mid-major uh college team could probably make a long run into the tournament just for the fact of the transfer rules, and you know, you get a lot of players from you know big-time schools that transfer, you know, their last year, last two years to a small school like Troy, which has happened, and you know, they've been uh you know playing very well. You know, they got hot at the right time. Again, win their conference tournament and make that run through the regional and win their super regional, and now they're going to the men's college world series. So it's kind of cool. Try to have our guys to follow that about these guys, you know. What started it off is the Troy's coach said, you know, we can give these guys a game plan and we can give them the tools and practice, but the hardest part is getting them to understand and to uh uh put that out on the field. And but, you know, again, I look like that's clicked over the tournament and they've been playing very well, which uh, you know, uh we finished uh our the pack, which is our conference pocket athletic undefeated, and then uh got a pretty easy draw in the sectionals first game against a local school, which you know we we run ruled them. They're they're down this year. They usually have some pretty good teams, but they have been down this year. Uh and then we had to play two really good teams, and uh you know, I think they were really close. One was a nine-inning game, one was uh one at the last at-bat. So I think that's really helped uh you know, as far as you know, keeping their mind engaged in a game, because you know those games were really close. So uh they of course we went to the regionals and uh you know kicked the shit out of that team, so which was slightly surprising. I thought they would be better than that, so but they weren't our and our guys played well. They come out of the the first inning on fire, lead up guy hit a triple, and you know, it was on like Donkey Kong after that. So there's another coach on the team uh that uh played. I played against in high school. You know, he went he went here at South Gibson up until his eighth grade year, then his parents moved to Princeton, and he went to you know, last half of middle school, eighth grade year, and then in high school there, so he became a rivalry, and we've had some good games against each other in high school, and then of course he uh formed a softball team that we played on, and uh, you know, we got really successful, we won some state championships and traveled a lot and played and uh got really good, but you know, like anything else, you get burnt out on it. And he started uh travel baseball teams back 20, 25 years ago called the Indiana Yankees, and you know that kind of kicked it off around here for travel baseball, and now there's got 10, 15 plus different travel teams around here, which my personal opinion, I think that's that's hurt local baseball because you know, Little League no longer exists around here where I live, which when I play, we had four teams. And you know, we had two at that time when I played, they were called Pony League, and now it went to senior league, and now it's just Babe Ruth or something like that. So I think those travel teams just kind of hurt because they they take all the good players and you know they leave the players that are still learning the game a little bit, uh, you know, on those teams, so I think it just hurts a little bit. Uh and now, you know, high school baseball, they got in NIL. Well, I actually high school sports at all, they have NIL now, so uh it'd be interesting. Uh we do have a player that uh has signed, we have two that signed NIL deals, but they're both in college, they haven't been to high school yet, so it'd be interesting to see next year uh some of these seniors coming up that are gonna be really good if they what they do, if they get any uh offers for you know name, image, and likeness. And then is that gonna go to coaches too, you know? Uh so kind of weird to see how that's gonna work out. So, not just baseball, but football and you know, basketball. Our our high school now is uh driven by football because you know it's been really successful since uh Coach Hart's been here. So that'll be uh interesting to see here in the future how that turns out. So uh yeah. Can play the semi-state two, it's a two-game, so win the first one you gotta play again later on that night, two-gamer, then the state will be a single game 3A class A state championship, which uh I I would, you know, I'm hoping these kids it's a bit of good experience for them uh to do that. Um there are some local teams here, North High School up the road. You know, they're playing in a semi-state, modern day is playing in a semi-state. Uh there's a girls, local girls' softball, I think the Cumpsy, which they have the number one rated pitcher in the United States. Uh she's really good. Uh but you know, you've got four teams, you know, baseball, softball, all in this area that are uh the girls actually that girl Cumpsy girls they actually won the semi-state. They're going to state finals, but you got three local boys teams that, you know, uh conceivably could win the semi-state, and you could have three southern Indiana teams up in Indy playing for a state championship. So that would be kind of cool. But again, got to win the first one. One pitch. I tell the guys one pitch, one play at a time, you know. Uh put the ball in play, good things happen, 50-50 chance that they're gonna get it and throw you out, or it's gonna go through, but you know, can't have pop-ups and strikeouts. Uh coach is always harping on that with them. Yeah, you know, I think it it's kind of clicked over the sectionals and the regionals, so we'll see how it goes. Uh you know, in the semi-state, we're gonna be basing better pitching. By far better pitching than we paced in the regional because that was a big problem with Memorial. Their pitching just wasn't any good uh this year. They hit the ball fairly decent, but uh but we made some great plays, but their pitching was not good. Uh so and that kind of goes with uh some of the schools that we beat you know through the conference and the sectionals. Uh they just, you know, were teams were down, and it was really pitching that they were down. Each team had maybe a number one, you know, which was a good starter. Under that they didn't have nothing. But you know, we've got we've probably got three number one starters on our team, and uh probably a close, you know, second to four, you know, number one starters, which you know, all of our pitchers have either signed or have been made offers this year, so it's gonna be pretty good. And then we got a JV guy coming up that doesn't throw hard, maybe 80, but he's got one of the filthiest uh 12-6 curveballs I've seen in a long time. And uh I've been trying to game to you know throw a knuckleball over the summer, you know, work on a knuckleball, you know. You all you have to do is throw it, you know, three or four times a game and just to kind of you know change the batter's eye, change the speed, you know, get him thinking. So we did work a little bit uh when he would uh have to throw in between his game, his starts, and you know, it looks like he's pretty good. He's a natural, you know, he he threw pretty good. So but anyway, we'll see uh how it goes this weekend. Uh it's gonna be uh interesting. We play Indianapolis Cathedral. I don't know when the last time they played them in baseball, if they ever have. Uh I think they're a 4A school that's playing down because something. I know they're a four or five eight in football and some other sports, but you know, 3A in baseball, which, you know, they may be a 3A school and just playing up in those other sports because of the success factor. So uh they have won nine state championships in baseball. Looked like where some of them were in just a single class, and some of them were actually in class. So, you know, the the I think we got four four classes, four or five classes in high school baseball. So it'll be interesting. But anyway, I'm gonna end this episode here on that note, and uh might be back. I might try to do an episode up there. Uh we're playing at Jasper, so I might try to do one up there. Uh maybe in between the first and our game, and then you know, uh definitely after the game, ours win or lose. I might try to sit out there in the bleachers and do one before I head home. So, anyway, have a good rest of your day.