Baseball the way it was meant to be

Before this blog takes a summer hiatus, here’s a bulletin that you won’t get from ESPN: kids are still playing sandlot baseball. At least my nephew Zack and his buddies in Prospect, Ky., have discovered how much fun baseball can be without adults, umpires and uniforms. (That’s them pictured at right.)

I’m as shocked as anybody. I thought pick-up games in the corner lot had gone the way of transistor radios and Nehi grape soda.

When I was kid, most of my summer days were spent playing ball in the big field next to my house. My neighborhood pals and I would park a bicycle sideways behind home plate (which was usually a piece of cardboard) hoping the spoked wheels would serve as a backstop. (We didn’t always have enough players to afford a catcher.) There was a water tower surrounded by a fence in left field, which was the Promised Land of the Home Run we all sought to reach. Our bats were Louisville Slugger brand — made of wood, of course. Most had been broken at the handle, but repaired with small nails and wrapped in electrical tape.

I played Little League, Babe Ruth, American Legion and high school baseball, but the best times were those pick-up games on lazy summer days, with Kool-Aid and jelly sandwiches fueling me through double- and triple-headers. No overheated moms or dads screaming at umpires. No overzealous coaches telling us to “take a walk” instead of swinging and (heaven forbid!) striking out. No itchy cotton uniforms making us squirm. We just played ball, imagining ourselves as Mays, Mantle and Aaron, until our moms called us home for dinner.

So it was good news to hear that my nephew and his  friends had discovered the joys of sandlot baseball. They put away their iPods and Xboxes, pick up their bats and gloves, and imagine themselves as Griffey, A-Rod and Pujols.

I guess there’s still hope for the world of sports.

C’mon, Billy G! Recruit Richie’s boys

Within the past week Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie got a commitment from Rose Hill sophomore-to-be Dakotah Euton, and Southern Cal coach Tim Floyd got a verbal from Ryan Boatright, a 14-year-old kid from Aurora, Ill., who just finished his eighth-grade year. Boatright hasn’t even decided where he’s going to high school yet, but he’s made his college choice!

The basketball world has tipped off its axis. Absurdity has routed common sense in the recruiting game.

If this is the direction college hoops is going, Billy G needs to go full throttle and make early offers to three other young prospects: Richie Farmer’s sons Trey (10 years old), Thomas ( and Tate (5). Richie’s boys already have an aptitude for basketball. Asked if Trey and his brothers can shoot the trey, Richie dead-panned: “They know where it goes.”

So why hasn’t anybody offered the Farmer kids scholarships yet? Why are college coaches dragging their wing-tips?

Richie, a state icon in his high school days at Clay County and as part of the Unforgettables at UK, hopes to help his sons develop the right perspective on sports. “I’m trying to support them, expose them to the game, teach it to them and let them go at their own pace,” he said.

But he also knows the day will come when fans start whispering, “That’s Richie Farmer’s boy,” and great expectations will follow.

So what’s Richie’s take on this new trend that has big-time college coaches offering scholarships to kids barely out of junior high? “If UK had offered me a scholarship in the sixth grade, I’d have commited,” he said with a laugh. “But the game has changed so much today, with all the coaching changes, the attitude of the kids, the way AAU has such an impact on the game. Kids have people telling them they’re great at an early age. That can’t be good.”

Richie and his wife Becky have their kids playing youth-league basketball and baseball in Frankfort, where he serves as Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner. Richie said his boys are aware that their dad is a celebrity — “They have some idea because everywhere we go people want to take pictures and get autographs.” — but they don’t know the scope of their dad’s accomplishments, especially his glory days at Clay County, which included a state title.

He hasn’t even shown his sons highlights of him pouring in 51 points against Ballard and Allan Houston in the 1988 championship. “With my job and our schedule, trying to run after the three of them, we don’t have much time to sit around and watch videos,” he said.

But the way things are going, college coaches are probably already watching videos of the Farmer boys playing in their church league games

LexCath’s Revere is Mr. Baseball

To nobody’s surprise, Lexington Catholic star Ben Revere today was named Kentucky’s Mr. Baseball for 2007.

Revere was a four-year standout for the Knights as a hitter and centerfielder. His career numbers include a .489 batting average, 223 hits, 189 runs, 183 RBI, 45 doubles, 29 homers and a state-record 28 triples. He struck out only 19 times in more than 600 plate appearances. He was MVP of the 2006 state tournament after leading Lexington Catholic to the state championship.

Revere was a first-round draft choice of the Minnesota Twins and got a $750,000 signing bonus. He is in Fort Myers, Fla., ready to begin his pro career Wednesday with the Gulf Coast League Twins. Here’s a link to a story about Revere in the Fort Myers paper: twins rookie

He is the fourth Lexington player in five years to win Mr. Baseball honors, following Chaz Roe of Lafayette in 2005, Collin Cowgill of Henry Clay in 2004 and Josh Ellis of Paul Dunbar in 2003. Revere will receive his award at the sponsoring Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association convention in January.

Mr. Baseball
2007 — Ben Revere, Lex. Catholic
2006 — Nathan Adcock, North Hardin
2005 — Chaz Roe, Lafayette
2004 — Collin Cowgill, Henry Clay
2003 — Josh Ellis, Paul Dunbar
2002 — Brad Corley, Pleasure Ridge Park
2001 — Jeremy Sowers, Ballard
2000 — Spencer Graeter, Ballard
1999 — Joseph Blanton, Franklin-Simpson
1998 — Austin Kearns, Lafayette
1997 — Scott Hodges, Henry Clay
1996 — Aaron McGlone, Greenup County
1995 — Brad Wilkerson, Apollo
1994 — Scott Downs, Pleasure Ridge Park
1993 — Dion Newby, Harrison County
1992 — Shon Walker, Harrison County
1991 — Trever Miller, Trinity
1990 — Darren Burton, Pulaski County
1989 — Tab Brown, St. Xavier

State baseball finals: Dunbar 10, Shelby Co. 1

Updates from the championship game of the Fifth Third/KHSAA State Tournament at Applebee’s Park.

• It’s over. Dunbar has another state championship to go with the one it won in 2003. Shown at right is Josh Burke (2) getting a celebratory hug from David Giuliani (photo by Mark Cornelison). Thomas Royse was the winning pitcher. He threw one pitch in the bottom of the seventh before leaving the mound and taking a bow. The University of Louisville signee gave up three hits and struck out seven to improve his record to 14-1. Dunbar finished the season 38-6. Shelby County, which started the playoffs with an 11-14-1 record a few weeks ago, wound up 20-15-1.
• Dunbar is the fourth Lexington team to win the title in the last five years.
• 6th inning: It’s still 9-1 with six outs to go. Shelby County is on its fifth pitcher of the night.
• 5th inning: Shelby County got on the board to make it 9-1. The Rockets finally got something off Dunbar ace Thomas Royse. A pair of singles and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs. Royse struck out the next two batters, but Jordan Burk delivered an RBI single.
• This championship game has drawn a state tournament record 4,467 fans, eclipsing the old mark of 3,912 in Applebee’s Park for the 2005 finals between Lexington Christian and Christian County.
• 4th inning: Dunbar still leads 9-0. Bulldogs pitcher Thomas Royse (right) has a no-hitter going. Shelby County has had one base runner, who reached on an error. There’s a 10-run mercy rule (after five innings) even in a state finals. For Shelby County, with the game looking out of reach, one goal is to keep Dunbar from closing the Rockets out with a mercy rule victory. Even in state tournament games, if a team has a 10-run lead anytime after five innings, it’s over.
• This email from Jim Miller, athletic director at the University of New Orleans: “I’ve been following your coverage of the Rockets online. I also was a member of that 1966 team that lost 2-1 to Ashland Blazer. (Shelby County’s current coach) Donnie Williams was the freshman second baseman and the rest of us were seniors. I’ve spent a career in professional and college sports, but the worst moment of my athletic life was in the final inning against Ashland, one out, a man on second, and I whiffed at three straight pitches. I’d broken my bat earlier in the game and I borrowed Casey’s bat, which was about 35 ounces and I was behind every pitch. Keep up the good work, and Go Rockets!
• 3rd inning: Dunbar has taken a 9-0 lead (yep, nine runs) against suddenly shaky Shelby County pitching. Dunbar sent 14 batters to the plate, and had six hits against three Rockets’ pitchers who also hit two batters and walked two. Dunbar got doubles from Chris Wood, Chris Kubajak and David Giuliani. Chris Wood had two hits and two RBI in the big inning. Josh Burke also had a two-run single.
• 2nd inning: Still no score. Dunbar looks baffled by Rockets’ pitcher Tyler Layton’s slow (66 mph) curve. The Bulldogs have already struck out 5 times. Shelby County, meanwhile, is at least getting the bat on the ball against Thomas Royse’s 86 mph fastball.
• 1st inning: Dunbar went 3-up, 3-down with two strikeouts. Shelby County had a baserunner due to a Dunbar error, but nothing else. Big crowd on hand, an especially big turnout of hometown Dunbar fans.
• Dunbar (37-6) is the favorite to beat Shelby County (20-15-1) tonight, but don’t count out the Rockets, who have been Cinderella in cleats throughout the playoffs.
• Dunbar will send ace Thomas Royse to the mound. He’s 13-1 this season after picking up a win in the semifinals with one inning of relief against Apollo. Royse, a 6-foot-6 senior righthander who has signed with Louisville, has 109 strikeouts in 75 innings.
• Shelby County will probably start junior righty Tyler Layton, who’s 2-2. He was out four weeks with a broken hand and just returned to action last week. Layton pitched the last inning of the Rockets’ semifinal upset of Pleasure Ridge Park.
• Dunbar won the 2003 state title. Shelby County won it all in 1979.
• Shelby County Coach Donnie Williams was the starting second baseman as a freshman on the Rockets’ 1966 state runners-up (future UK basketball star Mike Casey was the shortstop on that team). Shelby County got back to the state in 1967 but lost in the first round. Forty years later, Williams has the Rockets in the finals. He said that he’ll probably retire from coaching after this. Couldn’t be a better way to go out that with title-game memories.
• Dunbar Coach Mickey Marshall was a reserve on Tates Creek’s 1986 state championship team.

State baseball: Dunbar 3, Apollo 2

Updates from the semifinals of the Fifth Third/KHSAA State Tournament at Applebee’s Park:

• Dunbar rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. Chris Wood’s two-out hit scored David Giuliani with the winning run.(Wood is shown at right celebrating.) Giuliani’s sharp single to right scored pinch runner Andrew Heim with the tying run with one out. The Bulldogs’ Casey Lucchese also tried to score on Giuliani’s hit but was thrown out at the plate on a strong throw from Apollo rightfielder Skyler Shown to catcher T.J. Daugherty. Dunbar ace Thomas Royse got the pitching win with one inning of relief.
• Dunbar is still kicking. The Bulldogs got a pair of doubles from David Giuliani and Chris Wood in the bottom of the sixth to cut Apollo’s lead to 2-1. Dunbar looked like it might keep its rally going when it had two on with two outs, rabut Matt Bracken was called out on a bang-bang play at first for the last out.
• Apollo got a two-out RBI single from Nick Hawkinson to pad its lead to 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. The Eagles are six outs away from reaching the state baseball finals for the first time. Dunbar has left nine runners on base so far tonight.
• We’ve played five innings and the upset is still brewing as Apollo leads 1-0. Dunbar has changed pitchers. Chad Richie has given way to Matt Bracken.
• Apollo has broken through with a run in the top of the third — ending a 16-inning scoreless string by Dunbar pitchers. The Eagles’ Skyler Shown drove in Cameron Hetcher, who was hit by a pitch, went to second on a passed ball and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt.
• It’s scoreless going into the third inning. Dunbar just wasted a great scoring opportunity. It loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second but got nothing out of it. Casey Lucchese was thrown out trying to steal home. Did the batter miss the signal for a squeeze? We don’t know. Apollo pitcher Tyler Edge got the next two batters to fly out. We’ll see if Dunbar will end up paying for coming up empty.
• In tonight’s second game, it’s Dunbar (36-6) vs. Apollo (31-11).
• Dunbar beat Apollo 3-1 in the state semifinals in 2003 on its way to the title. The Eagles have never won the championship.
• Dunbar’s last four wins have been shutouts. On the season the Bulldogs have held opponents to one run or less 24 times in 42 games.

State baseball: Shelby County 5, PRP 4

Updates from the semifinals of the Fifth Third/KHSAA State Tournament at Applebee’s Park:

• 
• Underdog Shelby County, which started the playoffs with an 11-14-1 record, is in the state finals after shocking Pleasure Ridge Park in tonight’s semifinals. The Rockets scored five runs in the first and made it stand up. PRP, down 5-2 in the top of the seventh, pulled to within 5-4 but its rally died there. The Panthers had the tying run at third with two outs, but Shelby County reliever Tyler Layton got the final out on a flyout to center.
• Shelby County is coming to bat in the bottom of the fifth holding a 5-2 lead. PRP got a run in the top of the inning on Zach Osborne’s RBI single, but the Panthers left the bases loaded when Eric Banier lined out to third. Shelby County’s Jordan Burk has pitched all five innings.
• Shelby County’s Lincoln Wagner is shown at right celebrating after scoring the Rockets’ fifth run in the first inning.
• PRP pushed across a run in the top of the second on Zack Cox’s double and Jeremy French’s single to make it 5-1.
• It’s early but it’s still a surprise: Shelby County erupted for five runs in the bottom of the first to lead 5-0. The Rockets loaded the bases on a walk and a pair of infield hits, then got a two-run single from Ryan Shea and an RBI single from Lincoln Wagner. A PRP error allowed the fourth run to come home. Jarred Clarkson then ripped an RBI double to cap the big inning off PRP pitcher Chris Dowdle.
• PRP won state titles in 1994, ‘95 and ‘96, but hasn’t been in the state finals since it lost to Lexington Catholic in 1999.
• Shelby County wore the crown in 1979. Its last appearance in the championship game was 1991 when it lost to Franklin-Simpson.
• PRP is averaging more than 10 runs in its last nine games.
• Shelby County ended the regular season with a nine-game losing streak. It is 8-1 in the playoffs.

State baseball: Apollo 2, Heath 1

Updates from the Fifth Third/KHSAA State Tournament at Applebee’s Park:

• Apollo survived a gutsy pitching performance by Heath ace Daniel Webb (shown at right), who went seven innings and struck out 10 despite hurting his left foot in the first inning. Webb worked the last six innings basically on one leg. Apollo pitcher Nathan Humphrey was strong, too. He threw a complete-game four-hitter and had five strikeouts. The Eagles’ defense was key, throwing out two Heath runners at the plate.
• Heath has pulled to within 2-1 after six innings. Chad Wright scored on Daniel Webb’s sacrifice fly.
• Apollo added a run in the top of hte sixth to lead 2-0.The Eagles didnt’ get a ball out of the infield, but parlayed two infield hits, a hit batter and a fielder’s choice into a score. Neil Fogle’s two-out grounder drove in Mason Head with the run. Apollo starter Nathan Humphrey has thrown a two-hit shutout through five innings.
• Apollo has broken through and taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth. A pair of infield hits sandwiched around a single up the middle scored Nick Hawkinson with the first run of the night. Heath pitcher Daniel Webb escaped further damage by getting a bases-loaded strikeout for the third out.
• It’s still scoreless after three innings. Daniel Webb is back on the mound for Heath, pitching despite his injury.
• Only an inning into the game, there’s no score but some hub-bub. Heath ace Daniel Webb struck out the first three batters he faced, but during a delivery on the last batter he pulled a muscle or sprained his ankle. Webb was supposed to be Heath’s third batter in the bottom of the first, but the Pirates got an extended timeout as trainers tried to figure out if Webb could continue to play. He eventually came to the plate and limped to first on a ground-out. Webb returned to the mound for the top of the second and was trying to work through the pain.

State baseball: Dunbar 10, Johnson Central 0

Updates from the Fifth Third/KHSAA State Tournament at Applebee’s Park:

• Dunbar got no-hit pitching from Casey Lucchese (shown at right) and Chad Richie . Lucchese had seven strikeouts in five innings, and Richie had two in one inning of relief in the mercy-rule game. The Bulldogs didn’t hit the ball great, but they didn’t have to because when they put the ball in play Johnson Central made seven errors.
• Dunbar’s offense was led by Tyler Back (two hits, two runs, two RBI), Matt Bracken (one hit, two runs, two RBI) and Lucchese (two hits, one RBI).
• More misplays by Johnson Central have allowed Dunbar to stretch its lead to 7-0 going to the sixth inning. The Bulldogs have scored all their runs with two outs. They put two runs on the board in the fifth thanks to a pair of errors by Johnson Central. Dunbar’s Casey Lucchese was throwing a no-hitter but was lifted after five so that he would be available to come back Saturday if needed.
• Dunbar leads 5-0 after two innings. The Bulldogs got a two-out, two-run single from Matt Bracken and an RBI single from Tyler Back in the second to put Johnson Central in an early hole. The Eagles have hurt themselves with three errors already.
• Dunbar jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning even though it didn’t get a hit off Johnson Central’s Matt Fyffe. The Golden Eagles’ ace got himself in trouble when, with two outs, he hit two batters and walked another to load the bases. Casey Lucchese followed with a grounder to third that should have been a routine out. But Johnson Central’s Justin Blanton’s throw sailed over the first baseman’s head and into the stands, allowing two runs to score.

State baseball: PRP 14, Greenup County 5

Updates from the Fifth Third/KHSAA State Tournament at Applebee’s Park:

• Three-time state champ Pleasure Ridge Park had its offense in high gear as it pounded Greenup County 14-5 in a first-round game that didn’t end until almost midnight. The Panthers, who have scored at least 10 runs in their last four games, collected 18 hits, including a homer, two triples and three doubles. Zack Cox’s towering two-run homer in the sixth highlighted the night. Cox (shown at right sliding safely into home under Greenup County catcher Billy Logan) also had an RBI triple and RBI double. Wes Walden went six innings to earn the pitching win for PRP, which notched its 15th victory in a row.
• PRP may have put this one away with a four-run sixth inning, highlighted by a tape-measure two-run homer by Zack Cox. The Panthers lead 9-2.
• Down 5-0, Greenup County showed some life by scratching out two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Eric Craft singled (the Musketeers’ first hit of the night) and eventually scored on a groundout. David Bentley reached on a walk and eventually came home on a fielder’s choice.
• Zack Cox banged a triple high off the centerfield fence to drive in a run, and Eric Banier had an RBI single as PRP pushed its lead to 5-0 in the top of the third.
• Pleasure Ridge has jumped ahead 3-0 in the top of the second. Shawn Thomson’s triple to deep right-center scored Eric Bainer and Josh Vincent. Thomson came home on Billy Wilcox’s single up the middle.

State baseball: Shelby County 5, Ryle 0

Updates from the Fifth Third/KHSAA State Tournament at Applebee’s Park in Lexington:

• Shelby County, which ended the regular season on a nine-game losing streak, is in the final four of the state tournament. The unrated Rockets got great pitching from Lincoln Wagner (shown at right) and scratched out enough offense to beat Ryle 5-0 in the opening game of the state tournament tonight. Wagner threw a complete-game two-hitter. He had 10 strikeouts and retired the last 15 batters he faced.
• Ryle has its back to the wall, trailing 5-0 as it comes to bat in the bottom of the seventh. Shelby County pushed across four runs in the top of the inning to break it open.
• Shelby County has bumped its lead to 2-0 in the top of the seventh. Jordan Burk led off with an infield single. Terrance Chandler followed with a bunt that Ryle’s third baseman fielded, but then threw wild to first, allowing Burk to score.
• Shelby County pitcher Lincoln Wagner is cruising … he’s retired 12 batters in a row and needs three more outs to clinch a victory over Ryle in the state tournament opener. Wagner has eight strikeouts and has given up only two hits.
• Shelby County has taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth. Dwight Young doubled and came home on Jarred Clarkson’s one-out single off Ryle starter J.C. Collins.
• Going into the bottom of the fifth of the opening game, there’s no score. Shelby County has stranded eight runners in the first three innings, including the bases jammed in the third. Ryle has had only three base runners. The Raiders looked like they were going to push a run across in the second. Dustin O’Hara was on second with two outs when Dylan Campbell singled up the middle. But Shelby County second baseman Greg Tingle smothered the ball behind the bag, got up and threw O’Hara out at the plate.
• Ryle starter J.C. Collins has allowed four hits and has one strikeout. Shelby County starter Lincoln Wagner has given up two hits and has give strikeouts.