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(Chris Allen/Democrat-News)
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The Crusaders banged out 16 hits during the game, taking command during the third and fourth innings with a combined seven runs.
The Owls tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second, and threatened to do more damage while hitting four straight singles. However, junior Nathan Cato was gunned down while trying to score on sophomore Tanner Dillon's base hit for the second out before sophomore Jacob Phillips plated sophomore Carter Austin.
Junior Brad Wilson broke the deadlock with a two-out solo homer in the third, followed by three singles -- including senior Nathan Smith's two-run hit -- for a 4-1 Helias lead.
Junior Taylor Bax stroked a two-run single to cap a four-run rally in the fourth for the Crusaders (9-5).
Sophomore Aaron Skinner tossed two scoreless innings of relief for Marshall before yielding a run in the seventh on senior Thomas McDonald's single.
The Owls (1-12) will try to snap an eight-game losing streak today during an NCMC contest at Mexico.
Braymer 10, Slater 4
BRAYMER -- Slater hurt itself with eight errors for six unearned runs Tuesday during a 10-4 non-conference home loss to Braymer.
Senior Brett Clevenger drove in two runs with a triple in the top of the first inning as the Bobcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Sophomore Levi Thomas singled and scored on senior Tyler Bishop's single during the Wildcats' half of the frame, but junior John Haley blanked them the next three innings and slapped an RBI single in the sixth for a 10-1 lead.
A bases-loaded double by sophomore Jacob Brumit cleared the sacks for Slater in the bottom of the sixth, but that was the last highlight for the home team.
Senior Kyle Anderson had three hits and swiped five bases for Braymer (3-1), which racked up 16 steals.
Bishop was three for three to lead the 'Cats (2-5), who will host Fayette today in the preliminary game of the Lewis and Clark Conference Tournament.
Windsor 6, Sweet Springs 2
WINDSOR -- Before Sweet Springs headed to the I-70 Conference Tournament, it got in a make-up game Tuesday at Windsor, losing 6-2.
The host Greyhounds got a fine pitching performance from sophomore Daniel Sanders, who allowed only four hits and struck out 14 batters.
Windsor (2-3) took control with a four-run second inning, junior Matt Madole knocking in the last two runs with a two-out single.
Sweet Springs (3-5) ruined the shutout with senior Quin Jones' RBI double in the fifth. Sophomore David Hall singled in their other run in the sixth.
Comments
Phil,
I agree with you. I'd rather see a kid who is in a number of things than a kid who goes through 4 years of high school and only does one thing. Yes it sometimes means having to make choices. But these kids will be the more rounded, better for ther experience, kids. Here's the one thing I don't get. Why do we play so many games? When are the boys supposed to work on skills, practice the aspects of the game where we are lacking. If all you do is play game after game after game there is no time for the teaching component to tkae place.
First off I was a senior last year on the baseball team and I started and played since i was a freshman and the fact that we had 4 coaches in 4 years dosn't help but lets face it coach verts is not a good coach what has he done for the program.....i had coach godfrey the best coach for baseball to ever come through marshall and he got us places and how he did that was work to our strengths and grind out drills....coach vertz on the other hand has a problem with this because he still thinks he is in high school how is a player to get better when he yells all the time he didn't care about us seniors last year he was too busy trying to build a progam if im not wrong i believe we had 8 of our class playing as sophmores and and should of been deep in the playoffs our senior year but he was more worried about being clean shaved then winning games you play to win the game...and he as in coach vertz is not getting it done.
I just read ;my ost again and want to make sure nobody thinks I'm knocking those who weren't there last night. Baseball isn't the most important thing in life, or even school. It's good to see the kids getting a well rounded education. I hope the coaches agree, not that I've heard one way or the other.
Again, I'm proud of the boys for how they played last night under the circumstances.
fedup,
I think you read too much into my post. I said the 3 seniors had started every game so far, and were there last night, meaning that the 3 missing players were underclassmen being replaced by other underclassmen. I will dispute one point with you though, ONLY the players who were there last night have ANYTHING to do with how well they played last night. I can't tell you for sure, but I rather doubt that last night was the first time we didn't face the best pitcher for a team.
Actually, in that close of a game, I wonder if the 3 players with other commitments might have made enough difference to get the win last night. I seriously think they might have since those 3 are in there more for their bats than their gloves, and a couple of timely hits could have made the difference. Not to say they may have better gloves than their replacements and might have made enough of a difference there too.
Also, I don't know where you have been sitting in the stands to only hear complaining, but I've been hearing cheering from our fans, at least when there was something to cheer about. I'm sure parents talk to each other about what they agree and disagree with, but I also know they cheer their lungs out when something good happens, even if it was a player they didn't think should be playing there. One thing I've been proud of our school for is the fan support. I have been to some games where our traveling fans outnumber the home fans, even in cases where only the most optimistic person thought we might win. Maybe that partially explains the passion here in the blog.
Mom of 8, if you really have eight kids, you must know that not all children have equal ability. Sometimes, it's hard for kids to follow an older sibling who excelled in a sport. Also, just because Mom and Dad want things to be less complicated for their kids, doesn't mean it is going to happen. Every educator has run into a parent who thinks their child is more entitled than other children. We are lucky to have a baseball coach who was a college athlete in two sports at two different colleges, I believe, and is willing to spend so much time with our kids. A retired coach once told me that the pay equaled less than $.50 per hour, when you figured the number of kids you supervise. I don't know of any babysitter who would work for those wages. Frankly, I wouldn't do it for any amount of money because of parents and the bus rides!!! It is more and more difficult to find coaches who are willing to give up the time ...and to put up with the grief they must get for choices about playing time. I've heard Coach Verts is doing summer baseball and trying to build the program. It doesn't happen overnight. I think many thought provoking comments have been made in response to your comment. After your raise your children, you will likely look back on this and realize that your children build more character from the things that don't go their way than they do from the things that do!
Marshallres99 and oldschool17-
You both make excellent points. Here's something else to think about...If Marshall wants a winning team, everone has to support the coach and his decisions..community, players, and parents alike. The players hear this negativity and it's not fair to them. We have to many parents who have built their child to believe they are the ONLY player or the BEST player on the team....a baseball team consists of 9 players, not 1. If parents would put their energy into encouraging their chld to listen to the coach and follow the coaches' directions and to be a team player, the child would play better. The same goes for the community...come support the team and look for the positive instead of bashing teenagers and the coaches for not being a winning team. If you come to a game you notice the opposing teams' stands are filled with spectators cheering on their TEAM, our stands are filled with with parents and spectators complaining that their kids not playing or how bad the play was, or not liking what the coach is doing, instead of cheering the boys on.
Every postion is important. Baseball is a team sport. To be a team you must come together as a team. The designated hitter and the pinch runner are just important as the starting pitcher. Someone who is on the bench is important to boost moral and be ready to step in when needed. When those players come off from playing defense, the players on the bench come off to cheer the boys on...guess what, the underclassman are always the first ones off that bench and in the front.
And to Philemon-
They did play well last night but that has nothing at all to do with who was and wasn't there or didn't play. Every game is different every situation is different. Do you think Mexico started their best pitcher last night...no they didn't, they will save him for a more challenging team. That's just one of many things that need to be taken into consideration. Every situation is diffent.
Quit focusing on who is and isn't playing and what grade their in and focus on coming together as a community to support high school sports, the players and the coaches.
Playing baseball is a choice the boys make it is not a requirement. With that being said let's suport them and lift them up, not talk about how bad they are and knock them down. They are kids.
Same can be said about coaching...they coach because they have a love for the sport and an understanding for the sport. This has already been said but it was good enough to be said again...this is only Verts 2nd year, following 3 other coaches in just as many years. Give him time to build a program before you start judging his ability.
Guess what people, this is like an umpire who has a bad strike zone. You can cry about it, and pout and whine all you want. But it won't change the zone. So you can either be a man and know that life doesn't always go your way (good life lesson here) and start swinging at that pitch. Or you can keep crying, keep whining and looking at that pitch and continue to strike out. Coach Verts, Callanan & Makings (mispelled that i know) are all good men and put a lot of effort into this baseball team. Drive by the high school field Saturday and I'd be willing to bet Coach verts is there working on something. And they are good coaches, so guess what they are not going anywhere. You don't like how they treat your poor little fragile kids, THAN MOVE!! I'm tired of whining brat parents babying their whining brat kids because life's not fair and they deserve better. Notice Momof8 didn't say her son should be playing because he is batting .400 with 5 HR's and no errors, it was just because he was a senior. Well guess what, nothing gets handed to you in life unless your a welfare family!!
No, its the parents job to teach character, and the coaches job to teach them to take pitches, field ground balls, etc. If the kids haven't been taught character by now, they are fighting a losing battle. This is something I want the parents on here to think about... Did I teach my kid the right character and morals?
Is he a big contract coach? NO, is he trying to win games? well i guess he's trying. Coaching on a High school level such as the one here at Marshall, should be to develop character, and make them better people. And i really don't see that.
It really is past time to get over complaining about seniors not playing. Like I think I said in a previous post, there were only 4 seniors when the season started. Now there are only 3. I think the remaining 3 have started every game unless they weren't present for some reason or other.
Also, every starter has been benched at least once after that one horrible game where the last inning was played by the JV - a good idea that night in my opinion.
By the way, I hear the kids did fairly well tonight against Mexico, losing only 13-10 with the tieing run on deck. They were also missing 3 players who have been starting lately, not seniors. lol
I don't understand the preoccupation with the mindset that just because you're an upperclassman, you should have some kind of right to play? Playing time is given to the most talented players, regardless of age, as it should be. This team has a lot to learn and a lot of talent to develop, and I'm sure that will come with time, especially with the implementation of the summer program. Also, isn't this just this coach's second year? Give the guy a break! Before him, there were like 3 different coaches in 3 years - that would be a rough program to take over! Coaching is a very difficult job - think about it - every success and failure is played out on a field for everyone to scrutinize - and then criticize in a public forum such as this blog! Imagine if each of us underwent similar scrutiny in our own jobs - I doubt many of us would receive 100% approval from everyone in town. But that scrutiny comes with the territory of being a coach and I'm sure this guy can take it or he wouldn't be here. But the team will be more likely to improve when surrounded by optimism than by negativity and coach-bashing. If anyone has a valid concern, maybe you should voice your opinion to the athletic director or better yet - get out from behind your usernames and speak to the coach himself!
maybe because some of the underclassmen have more talent? and who cares if its a senior being sit down? get over it
Maybe the underclassmen are doing more to deserve playing time than the upperclassmen..Who knows?
Its not about how old they are but who gives the team the best chance to win.
Until the Marshall community gets behind a real program starting from the ground up the high school program will never be consistently competitive I don't care who the coaches are.
How many players is the Marshall Varsity Baseball team down to now?
I know there have been a few upperclass men quit. I am sure that I would not have very much faith in a coach that sits me on the bench as a senior while the underclass men play. It would be totally understandable if the player was the one with the attitude and lack of skills, but in this case I don't think the players are what we need to look at.
Anyone out there care to convience me otherwise?