Game 5 vs. Waynesville Spartans

RESULTS:
Bearcats 7, Starz 19

PITCHING
We didn't quite get it done on the mound in Game 5, but Bradley Smith had a great debut striking out 1/2 of the batters he faced (2 of 4). Matt Vogt also did well. He saw 11 batters and only walked 3. If we tighten up the defense, this kind of pitching can get the job done, but our pitchers need some help from the infield.

DEFENSE
Matt Vogt fielded 2 rockets hit right back to the mound. In both cases he made hard, accurate throws to first for the put-out. Great defense, Matt!

Bradley Smith did an absolutely tremendous job behind home plate! The most memorable play was when he tagged a player out trying to steal home with the bases loaded. That was a key play that kept us in the game at that point. Great game from start to finish, Brad!

OFFENSE
DJ Kenney chalked up another 4-bagger with a solid shot down the 1st base line! Great job DJ, even if it was hit with a T-ball bat! Imagine what you could do with a real baseball bat!!!

Matt Vogt contributed again with a single and an RBI. Great consistency, Matt.

Again we had 6 strike-outs from guys watching the ball go by. You guys know what I always say, you can't hit the ball if you don't swing! If it's close, you better be swinging!

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Congratulations to Brad Smith who earned his BEARCAT HAT by being player of the game! Nice job Bradley; keep it up!!!

If I missed anything key, please click on the Comments link below and editorialize the good play or good effort. And if you didn't get any press tonight, remember, the chances will come so be ready when the spotlight is shining on you!

HAVE FUN!
PLAY HARD!
PLAY SMART!

Game 4 vs. Loveland Starz

RESULTS:
Bearcats 3, Starz 9

GREAT PITCHING
One thing we have consistently done well is pitch. Another great performance on the mound by Matt Vogt and Stephen Babcock! Matt had 4 strike outs with only 4 walks. This is very impressive considering he saw a lot of batters. He threw strikes that put the ball in play and gave us a chance to get the put-out. Unfortunately our defense did not make the routine outs they usually do. Stephen did great coming in to strike out 3 out of 4 batters! Another great job, guys!

DEFENSE
DJ Kenney did a great job catching a big hit off the bat of Collin Martin. That was a high fly ball that most would miss. Great job, DJ. You are showing great skill at every position in the game. Keep it up!

Stephen Babcock continues to impress with another great play. It might be the only unassisted triple play you will ever see in little league baseball, and Stephen did it Saturday morning! It started with an amazing catch at short. The ball was hit hard right at Steve, popped up off his glove, but he stayed with it and made the catch. Then Steve wisely ran to 3rd for the force out on the guy who left for home, then tagged the base runner trying to get back to 2nd! That was fun to watch! In fact, I wasn't sure what all happened till Doug Smith explained it all to me! Talk about playing smart, the coaches couldn't even keep up with the play!!! Great job Steve. You are really getting it done this year.

Grant Mayer made a nice play staying with a bobbled ball and getting the force out at 2nd. Way to get the lead runner, Grant!

OFFENSE
Just the facts:
* We had only 3 hits (Matt, Andrew, and Bradley)
* We struck out 10 times total
* We struck out 6 times looking

You can't hit the ball if you don't swing at it!

If I missed anything key, please click on the Comments link below and editorialize the good play or good effort. And if you didn't get any press tonight, remember, the chances will come so be ready when the spotlight is shining on you!

HAVE FUN!
PLAY HARD!
PLAY SMART!

Game 3 vs. Clinton Massie Reds

RESULTS:
Reds 12, Bearcats 13

GREAT PITCHING
DJ Kenney had another great outing with lots of strikeouts and very few walks. Liam Vogt came in to finish the 3rd, then pitched the entire 4th and 5th. Great job, guys!

DEFENSE
DJ Kenney had one of the best defensive outings of the year with 3 "routine" put-outs from shortstop to Cliff Blackwood at first. Cliff was reliable as usual!

Everyone saw that the Reds wanted to take home, but BIG Michael Ralph again did a fabulous job protecting the plate. No one was stealing home while Michael was back there!

Andrew Johnson did another great job backing up 3rd on steals from 2nd. His smart play prevented the tying run from scoring! Way to play smart, Andrew. That is the most important aspect of the game!

OFFENSE
We had a solid night at the plate! Cliff Blackwood lead the RBI category going 3 for 3 with (6), yes SIX, RBI's! Great job, Cliff.

Just as impressive was Andrew Johnson's offensive production...AGAIN! He also went 3 for 3 with 1 RBI. I haven't checked, but Andrew is likely leading the team in hitting percentage this year. Keep it up Andrew, you're doing a great job of getting yourself into a position to score!

DJ Kenney had another great night at the plate going 2 for 2 plus an interference call. DJ's two hits accounted for 2 more bearcat runs.

Other good offensive performances were displayed by Bradley Smith, Michael Ralph, and David Osborne, each getting at least a hit. Grant Mayer got on 1st on a fielder's choice while chalking up another RBI! Great job guys!

If I missed anything key, please click on the Comments link below and editorialize the good play or good effort. And if you didn't get any press tonight, remember, the chances will come so be ready when the spotlight is shining on you!

HAVE FUN!
PLAY HARD!
PLAY SMART!

Game 2 vs. Tigers

RESULTS:
Bearcats 25, Tigers 12

GREAT PITCHING
Another great day on the mound for the Bearcats! Matt Vogt pitched an amazing 3 innings with 6 strikeouts and only 4 walks. Super, super job Matt!

Then Stephen "The Closer" Babcock came in for one inning and wrapped it up with 2 more K's! Because we have a game tomorrow, it was critical that we not use another pitcher tonight. Great job Steve, you really got the job done...again!

DEFENSE
Great "heads up" play by DJ Kenney fielding the short-hop in the outfield and getting the ball to 2nd for the tag-out. Way to play smart, DJ!

I missed the play where the score book shows a 6-3 put-out in the first, but great job Cliff and Steve. You guys have earned the label of "Reliable", make sure you keep it!

Grant Mayer, like DJ, was playing smart and covered 1st while Cliff Blackwood made a great play scooping up a ball that was sure to hit the hole. That out was no gimmie; it took skillful, smart baseball on behalf of Cliff and Grant. Nice job guys. Your job is to make the pitcher's job easier, and that you did!

Again, Bradley Smith did a great job behind the plate. And Michael Ralph, you're a natural back there! Both did very well giving the pitchers a nice big target and chasing down the loose balls in the backstop. That is a key position this year; you guys (and Little Big Man) are doing a great job protecting the house!

And last, Nat Polley got some action at 2nd and was hustling to make a play at first. We didn't get the put-out, but the effort was there and you were where you were supposed to be, Nat. Way to hustle and way to play smart!

OFFENSE
Although we took a lot of walks, the bats worked well when the pitches were in the strike-zone.

Leading the way with a STELLAR offensive performance was Cliff Blackwood. Cliff had 4 RBI's off 2 singles tonight. He also walked twice resulting in a batting average of 1.000 today! Great job Cliff; keep it up!

Next, Mr. Reliable on offense, Andrew Johnson, knocked a solid triple bringing home Bradley Smith for our first earned run. Keep putting the bat on the ball, Andrew. You're doing great!

Grant Mayer was 2nd in the RBI category tonight with a single that brought home 2 base runners. Grant also put a bat on the ball earlier where he just barely got beat by the throw. Great job, Grant. I'm very proud of you!

Little Big Man, David Osborne, got a single in the 3rd inning. Keep swinging David, you always seem to put a bat on the ball!

Liam Vogt also got a single tonight. Mark my words, this guy is going to be a BIG contributor this year. Keep it rolling Liam! And great throw to home tonight. You showed great instinct and you nearly got him!

And last, Joey "The Human Baseball Magnet" Treweiler touched all four after getting hit by ANOTHER pitch! Again, way to hang tough, Joey!

If I missed anything key, please click on the Comments link below and editorialize the good play or good effort. And if you didn't get any press tonight, remember, the chances will come so be ready when the spotlight is shining on you!

HAVE FUN!
PLAY HARD!
PLAY SMART!

Game 1 vs. LM Panthers

RESULTS:
LM Dragons 8, Bearcats 6 (One inning left to play)

GREAT PITCHING
Great pitching by DJ Kenney and Stephen Babcock! DJ went 3 solid innings with 5 strike outs, while Steve went 1 inning with 2 Ks!

BIG BATS
Nice hard hit by Andrew Johnson who got a two bagger bringing Bradley Smith around to score. Nice job Andrew! Nat Polley had a solid hit that was fielded down the first baseline. He was the first of the game to put a bat on the ball! Keep it up, Nat!

GOOD EYE
A few guys did a nice job not swinging at any garbage and took a walk or two for the team. Grant Mayer scored twice on walks and was the first to score for the Bearcats! Great base running Grant! Way to take a walk when the pitcher's not throwing anything to hit.

HANGING TOUGH
Joey Trewieler touched them all after getting hit by a pitch. Joey, I know that wrist is going to be sore; that pitch got you pretty good. Way to hang tough!

GREAT FIELDING
Great job behind the plate by David Osborne who hustled after every loose ball, and Bradley Smith who tagged a guy out stealing home and nearly threw a guy out trying to steal 3rd. And nice fielding by Cliff Blackwood at 1st! In left field Andrew Johnson was only about 4 inches too short, but he was moving his feet and nearly got under that hard hit fly ball. Great job guys!

If I missed anything key, please click on the Comments link below and editorialize the good play or good effort. If you didn't get any press it's because it was not the most exciting game. But the chances will come, so be ready when the spotlight is shining on you!

HAVE FUN!
PLAY HARD!
PLAY SMART!