A blog entry by Nick Murray of Nick's brutal loss to Tampa Bay in The 2009 Colt World Series!

Nick came in to attempt to stop the comeback in the bottom of the 7th. A deep fly ball that was nearly caught would have stopped it. He did face one of the top college prospects in the country in Thomas Dorminy (last years national Junior player of the year) who grounded out back to him on the mound. Here's the blog entry. Nick bounced back in a game against Mexico pitching 3 1/3 innings of 2 hit ball until the 7th in a must win game to go on to the medal round . One of our closers finished it for a 4-3 victory!

Scouting report on Dorminy!

Colt baseball: Town and Country rallies for victory
Posted By Nick Murray at Aug 07, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Updated Aug 08, 2009 at 12:03 AM

Town and Country rallied back twice before Jimmy Herget drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh as it remained undefeated at the PONY Colt World Series with a 4-3 victory against host Lafayette, Ind. on Friday night.

With one out in the seventh, Matt Brandy drew a walk, and advanced to second when Thomas Dorminy grounded out to Lafayette pitcher Nick Stone. Lafayette then walked Juan Fontela intentionally, bringing up Herget, who drove a ball into the left center field gap. Lafayette’s center fielder, who had been playing in to make a throw home in case of a single, got his glove to the ball, but wasn’t able to reel it in, allowing Brandy to score.

“It seems as if on this team whenever we get into a pinch there’s a different boy that steps up and comes through for us,” Town and Country manager John Atkinson said. “Jimmy … did a fantastic job on the mound, let alone what he did at the plate to end the game.”

Herget had come in with two outs in the top of the fifth, and allowed only a pair of walks over 2 1/3 innings to keep TC in the game and earn the victory. Lafayette had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and a 3-2 lead in the fifth off starter Corbin Olmstead.

Town and Country rallied with two outs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game, as Zach Jackson singled before Chris Mejia doubled down the left field line to bring Jackson home. Atkinson said that while he thought his team had been outplayed by the hosts, he still felt his team would come back to win.

Town and Country will resume play on Sunday when it faces fellow undefeated squad Gurabo, Puerto Rico before rounding out pool play against currently winless Germany on Monday. Both games can be heard online at the IHSAA radio website.

International coach/team of the year

The National Catholic Team of the Year, The Central Catholic Knights! Congrats to my son, his team, his coaches & all the parents. What an incredible season it was.

Principal Joe Brettnacher presents baseball coach Tim Bordenet with a jacket recognizing the 2009 baseball selection as Sports Faith Internationals High School Team of the Year. The award, which is based on athletic acheivement, team academic acheivement, a comminuty action project, & team spirituality, will be present...ed to Coach Bordenet & team reps on Feb. 21st at The Chicago Halas Hall in Lake Forest IL.

http://www.lcss.org/Forms/knightlynews.pdf

2009 state championship rings, baseball class1A

Pictures:

1) The boys 2009 state championship ring class A
2) Nick has his back to camera
3) Nick getting his ring without his head
4) Mayor Tony Roswarski
5) The Mayor again
6) Nick in line for his ring
7) The state champs!!!
8) Champs!!!

State champs, Indy news

INDIANAPOLIS - Lafayette Central Catholic scored at least three runs in each of the first four innings and beat Vincennes Rivet, 14-1, in Friday’s Class A state championship game.

It was the eighth state championship overall for the school and third in baseball (2004, 2007). The team won its last 10 games of the season, outscored its six tournament foes by a 60-6 margin and plated at least 13 runs in three of those contests. Tim Bordenet, who doubles as the school’s athletic director, has coached all three state championship teams.

The second-ranked Knights (28-4) scored three runs each in the first and second innings then added four in the third and four more in the fourth. Taylor Glaze, who pitched the first five innings, combined with Brett Haan to throw a one-hitter. Glaze (9-0) struck out nine of the 19 batters he faced.

CC’s Austin Munn went 3-for-4, with two RBI and scored three runs. Dru Anthrop, Reed Drysdale, Scott Windler and Cole Hruskovich each tallied two hits with Anthrop and Drysdale knocking in three runs each.

Derek Potter tallied Rivet’s (16-11) lone hit of the game in the third inning when he singled to leftfield. Tyler Vieke added the Patriots’ lone run in the top of the fourth scoring from third on a throwing error. He reached first on a throwing error, moved to second on a walk and took third on a hit by pitch.

Rivet’s Emily Montgomery, believed to be the first female to play in an IHSAA state championship game as part of a boys team, saw two pitches in her only at-bat. She swung and missed on the first and flew out to right on the second.

Vincennes Rivet, coached by Bill Beard, was making its first state finals appearance after winning its first regional and semi-state the last two Saturdays.erdsi

After the Mexico game

My son & I after his strong pitching performance against Mexico in The 2009 Colt World Series!

Team autographs & welcoming party

Mexico game

Can't be touched, Can't be stopped, Can't be moved, Can't be rocked, Can't be shook."

Pitching vs. Mexico, Colt World Series 2009

My son pitching in the Colt World Series

A strong performance at The Colt World Series against Mexico!!

A very, very ugly loss

http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/sports/high_school/sports_wlfi_lafayette_Lafayette_All_Stars_fall_in_semi_finals_200908112130

Next year people!!!!

http://www.jconline.com/article/20090812/SPORTS07/908120340/1038/SPORTS01&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL

Colt world series! Nick's incredible pitching performance vs Mexico

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My son Nick helps put our team in The Final Four in The Colt World Series!!!


http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/sports_wlfi_lafayette_Lafayette_advances_to_medal_round_200908092230

For winning pitcher Nick Stone, closer Tanner Hieatt and first baseman Spencer Long, Sunday night's Colt World Series game against Mexico was an opportunity to destroy some demons.
Stone gave up the game-winning hit in Friday's loss to Tampa. Hieatt suffered a one-run loss to Puerto Rico on opening night. Long's defensive miscues in a 2008 CWS loss to Mexico cost Lafayette a medal round berth.
But when they were needed most Sunday in front of 2,454 fans, all three helped deliver Lafayette a thrilling 4-3 victory and a berth in Tuesday night's medal round.
Lafayette, Mexico and Puerto Rico each finished 2-2 in the Red Division, but Lafayette advances by virtue of the fewest runs allowed (13) among those three. Puerto Rico allowed 15, and Mexico allowed 26.
Stone earned the victory with 32/3 innings of relief, striking out three and walking none. Hieatt earned the save by retiring Gilberto Ortega on a long fly to left with the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the seventh.
Long's sixth-inning double was the centerpiece in a three-run inning that extended Lafayette's lead to 4-0. While Stone was upset when coach Dave Alexander replaced him with Hieatt in the seventh, the Central Catholic sophomore was thrilled with the end result.
"I probably pitched the best I've pitched all season for this Lafayette team," Stone said. "I'm glad to finally get out here and do some good work for my team. I threw first-pitch fastballs to the first few batters, but they were contacting that, so I started throwing first-pitch curveballs, and they didn't seem to like that too well.
"Easily, this was one of the best games I've been involved in. I tried to forget what's in the past and just go out there like it's the first game of the tourney. This was the game that mattered."
After an 0-2 start, Lafayette has made an improbable comeback that gives them a shot at Santa Clara, Calif. on Tuesday night. Hieatt wondered if the season was over when Ortega hit a shot to left with two outs.
"I was a nervous wreck in that last at-bat," Hieatt said. "After those base hits they had, I was nervous, but it ended up being a good outcome. I threw (Ortega) a first-pitch fastball, and at first, I thought it was over our left fielder's head.

"Then, I saw that he could get to it. I was so happy when he caught it."
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Long, who was 2-for-3 against Mexico, also helped turn two slick double plays.
"The double did two things for us," Long said. "It boosted my confidence at the plate, because I had a rough start. It also created a momentum shift in this game. It helped put us on top 4-0. The two double plays we turned also were big momentum shifts.
"We made the plays, and now we are in the medal round. This is what I've always wanted to do since I was a kid. Nick Stone came in and did a phenomenal job. He was a little ticked off when coach took him out, but I like to see a little fire when a guy comes out. Nick wanted it. Then Tanner came in and threw strikes."
Alexander said he went to Hieatt in part because Stone had pitched too well to risk being the losing pitcher.
"My philosophy is that when a pitcher is on the mound, I don't want him to get the loss," Alexander said. "I'm going to see that he doesn't have to face the winning run. I wanted to get Nick out before he could get a possible loss.
"When a guy throws several really good innings, you want to get him out of there if you feel you have a closer who can do the job. Nick absolutely did what we had to have him do. My problem was that he threw to first on a pickoff in the last inning when we're up four runs. That run meant nothing. Then he threw some pitches way out of the strike zone."
Alexander is happy for Long and his team.
"Spencer Long had an excellent game for us," Alexander said. "He turned a 3-6-3 double play, which at this level, you don't see very often. Then he absolutely got the hit we had to have in the sixth inning.
"I'm proud of these guys, but I don't think the 0-2 start affects them. I'm absolutely proud of the way these guys responded."

Colt World Series tune-up!

My son's Lafayette Colt World Series Team has a tourney in Tippecanoe County this next weekend. We then play opposing county team Hoosier North the next weekend & 3 days after that the biggest games of my son's career since The State Championship will be here.....Go Lafayette Colt All-Stars!!!

CC baseball makes more news

The 2008-09 school year produced a state champion, as well as several near misses.

Central Catholic's baseball team capped the school year with a blowout victory in the Class A state championship to highlight area athletics. It was the program's third title in the last six years.

Harrison's softball team and McCutcheon's cross country team fell just short of state titles, as did West Lafayette's Raymond Mahon and McCutcheon's Megan Gallagher in the 500 freestyle events at the swimming state finals.

McCutcheon's baseball team and Delphi's softball team each lost by one run to the eventual state champion in the regional finals of the state tournament, while Benton Central and Crawfordsville each fell a few points short of competing in the Class 3A girls basketball state finals.

Delphi junior Braden Atwood also bowed out to eventual state champion Michael Duckworth in the quarterfinals of the individual state wrestling tournament.

Central Catholic's volleyball team made a second straight trip to the Class A state semifinals, while Harrison lost the 4A regional championship to eventual state runner-up Muncie Central.

For the third straight season, Central Catholic's boys basketball team lost the north Class A semistate game at Crawley Center. The Knights fell to Triton for the second year in a row.

Feels like the first time

Harrison's trip to the softball state finals marked the first time the Raiders were among the final two teams.

Coach Abby Willis' team put on an improbable run that included an upset of top-ranked and previously unbeaten Homestead in the regional. The Raiders lost to Center Grove 2-0 in the state championship game.

McCutcheon's girls swimming team outscored Twin Lakes by 31 points to win the program's first sectional title this season.

The Mavericks won five events in the process, including two individual titles by Megan Gallagher, who also was a part of two victorious relays.

That team was one of three Mavericks programs to win a first sectional title.

McCutcheon's boys soccer team won its first, while the girls soccer program claimed its first sectional and regional titles before falling one game short of the state finals.

Likewise, Crawfordsville's girls basketball team won its first sectional championship this season, then followed with the program's first regional title. The Athenians lost 49-44 to Owen Valley in the Class 3A Southport Semistate.

Southmont also won the program's first softball sectional.

Long time coming

Lafayette Jeff broke a drought of 14 years without a girls basketball sectional title when the Bronchos defeated McCutcheon for the title this year.

That pales in comparison to Rensselaer's boys track team. The Bombers claimed their first sectional crown since 1990, while Fountain Central's wrestling team hoisted its first sectional trophy since the 1991-92 school year.

West Lafayette's boys basketball team overcame a regular-season loss to Frankfort to win the program's first sectional since 2000 and North Montgomery's football team won its first sectional title since winning back-to-back state championships in 1995 and '96.

CC determined to repeat

INDIANAPOLIS -- Minutes after winning their second state championship in three years, Central Catholic's senior leaders shared a unanimous vision for the program's future.
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"Nothing less," senior shortstop Dru Anthrop said. "If they have the will, they have the way. They can do it, and all they have to do is set their mind to it and they'll be fine."

The Knights must replace senior starters Anthrop, Tyler Child and Matt Combs and reserves Michael Lippai and Ben Wiley. But Central Catholic returns enough talent to make another run to Victory Field next season.

Every significant arm on the Knights pitching staff returns, as does the bulk of a lineup that scored 60 runs in six tournament games.

"Those guys are going to be tough to replace," CC coach Tim Bordenet said of his outgoing seniors. "At the same time, we do have a lot of guys back with experience, and this tournament run will definitely help them as well."

Junior pitcher Taylor Glaze finished off a 9-0 season with five one-hit innings in a 14-1 state championship victory over Vincennes Rivet. He compiled a 1.19 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings as the Knights' ace.

Central Catholic also returns juniors Brett Haan (6-1, 2.42 ERA) and Chas Bobillo (4-1, 2.74 ERA) and promising freshmen Austin Munn and Nick Stone. The top five pitchers return from a staff that finished with a 2.26 ERA.

"It's going to be great next year; I'm going to come and watch," said Child, a three-year starter at catcher. "I'd like to see another championship next year."

Cleanup hitter and second baseman Reed Drysdale (.439, 51 RBIs) will be a four-year starter next season. Junior center fielder Scott Windler (.454, 3 home runs, 50 runs) enjoyed a breakout season, and juniors Bobillo, Cole Hruskovich and Jason Aldridge took on bigger roles.

After losing six starters from the 2008 team to graduation, the Knights relied on the emergence of several first-time starters. As those players improved, Central Catholic won 15 of its last 16 regular season games.

"Every game, everyone got better, and it carried on into this game" Glaze said.

Strong freshman seasons from Munn and Stone set the foundation for the program's next three seasons.

Munn capped his rookie season with a 3-for-4 performance as the designated hitter in the title game. He also went 3-0 and struck out 28 batters in 21 innings.

Stone also went 3-0 while posting a 1.77 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings.

Expectations will be high again next season, but that's nothing new to the Knights.

"Same thing -- nothing less," Glaze said. "We can do this again, we really can. We've just got to work at it.

"I'm not saying we will, but we can. We definitely can."

Colt World Series

The Colt World Series!!!

My son Nick has just made The Colt World Series Team for Lafayette, IN. Now that his high school team won The State Championship focus has turned to this Colt tournament that features some of the best 15-16 year olds around the world, an unbelievable opportunity & experience.

He will be playing in tournaments leading up to The Colt World Series which is played at this ball park across the street from our house.

Loeb Stadium-Home of the Colt World Series!

My sons baseball team are state champs

STATE CHAMPS ARE THE CENTRAL CATHOLIC KNIGHTS IN LAFAYETTE, IN!!!!!! A 14-1 thumping of Rivet. BUT!!! Before I go on, kudos to this team (Rivet) to have made it this far. Most have read the article on JCOnline. They had trouble getting enough players to field the team. They begged a female to play & she did & she did it right. She started in left field & had a designated hitter for her. She made some routine plays in left field, did have an error on a routine fly ball as she dropped it. I think as the storm was blowing in the wind played some tricks on a couple fly balls. She did have a nice sliding catch. And came to bat once before the game ended. The girl drilled one into right field & right to our right fielder. Nice contact, the girl has game.

Kudos to our fans and our parents. She got a standing ovation from our fans when she drilled that line drive into right field.

JCOnline news:
INDIANAPOLIS — Behind an offensive onslaught and Taylor Glaze’s masterful pitching, Central Catholic defeated Vincennes Rivet 14-1 Friday night in the Class A state championship game at Victory Field.
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The Knights (28-4) won their third state title in six years. Central Catholic set a record for most runs scored in a Class A championship game.

Dru Anthrop and Reed Drysdale drove in three runs apiece for the Knights, and Scott Windler and Austin Munn each scored three. CC scored at least three runs in each of the first four innings.

Glaze (9-0) allowed one unearned run on one hit while striking out nine over five innings. Brett Haan relieved and closed out the victory.

After the game, Anthrop was presented with the IHSAA’s mental attitude award.

CC excited about going to state!

Semi-State highlights!

Regional highlights!

Regional champs

What an incredible run by our Central Catholic Knights!!! It's on to The Semi-State Championships!!! We are 1 win away from The State Finals.

We are the 2nd highlight.

Highlights of our Regional Win!

COWAN -- Cowan junior pitching sensation Justin O'Conner was all that and more Saturday night, but in the end, Central Catholic was better.

In a Class A Cowan Regional championship game for the ages, the second-ranked Knights overcame O'Conner's 17 strikeouts in nine innings, then scored six times in the top of the 11th for an 8-2 victory against the third-ranked Blackhawks.

The victory, which sends CC to the Class A semistate on June 13, was the 300th in coach Tim Bordenet's career, including 275 with the Knights and 25 in two seasons at Muncie Central.

Senior shortstop Dru Anthrop, whose 10th-inning error helped Cowan tie the game at 2-2, slapped a two-run, bases-loaded single to center in the top of the 11th.

Anthrop stole home with two outs in the top of the 10th to give CC a brief 2-1 advantage. Winning pitcher Taylor Glaze followed Anthrop's hit with a run-scoring fielder's choice. Chas Bobillo laced a two-run single and Matt Combs added an RBI triple.

While Glaze (7-0) got into jams in the fifth, eighth and 10th innings, the left-hander allowed only one unearned run. In 10 innings, Glaze allowed only five hits and struck out 12.

In all, the Knights struck out 21 times, Cowan 13.

"(O'Conner) was throwing pretty hard and had us on our heels for most of the game," Anthrop said. "Once they brought some new guys in, it was a whole different approach at the plate. We had to stay back rather than jumping at pitches.

"Then, stealing home was great. That's the first time I've done that in high school. I could tell the pitcher (Skyler Toomey) had no idea where I was. I said, 'Hey, coach, I think I can sneak by if I get a good jump.' "

Anthrop said one of this team's many goals was to be part of Bordenet's 300th victory.

"I don't think we really told him about it, but knowing he was this close, and then to win in this fashion and on this big stage is great," Anthrop said. "This was one of the most exciting and most intense games in which I've been involved."

Bordenet has coached 434 high school games and can't remember a more dramatic one.

"I think I never will forget this one," Bordenet said. "I've never been in a game like this with so many momentum swings. We were one pitch away here or there -- both ways -- and the game was in the balance so many times."

Sectional champs

Central Catholic wins sectional!!!

In a dramatic high school baseball game, my son's high school varsity team wins The Sectional Championship. In a pitcher's duel the final score was CC 1 Tri-Central 0!!! Highlights in this video from channel 18 news.

Highlights of CC's sectional win!!!

Sectional media coverage

COWAN -- Excellent pitching. Airtight defense. Small-ball offense.

JConline
Second-ranked Central Catholic's baseball team finds itself two victories from its third Class A state championship in six seasons because of the aforementioned strengths.

# Pitchers Taylor Glaze, Brett Haan, Chas Bobillo and Austin Munn have a collective 0.70 ERA in sectional and regional action, including Saturday night's 8-2 victory in 11 innings over No. 3 Cowan.

Tournament opponents Rossville, Tri-Central, Monroe Central and Cowan combined for 17 hits in 103 official at-bats, a .165 batting average.

# Once Cowan ace Justin O'Conner left Saturday night after striking out 17 in nine innings, the Knights began to bunt against the Blackhawks' suspect defense.

Three throwing errors by Cowan relievers Skyler Toomey and Kirby Campbell on well-placed bunts from Scott Windler, Cole Hruskovich and Ben Wiley set up CC's six-run 11th.

# Through four tournament games, CC has made three errors, and only one led to a run.

Glaze, 2-0 in the tourney and 7-0 overall, was the key against Cowan, limiting the Blackhawks to five hits and two runs, one earned, in 10 innings.

He and fellow junior O'Conner battled to a 1-1 tie through nine innings. O'Conner allowed four hits.

"Have I ever played in a more exciting game?" Glaze said. "No, no, no, no, no and no. This was by far the most exciting game. I pitched 10 innings and pushed myself to the limit."

Glaze said it was a thrill to pitch against O'Conner, who consistently was throwing 91-to-95 miles an hour.

"O'Conner is a very, very good pitcher," Glaze said. "He throws heat. He is dominating.

"It was a tough battle, but we put our hearts into it and pulled it out."

Glaze said he felt like his heart was in his throat during his final three innings on the mound.

"It was there every time once we got past the seventh inning," Glaze said. "I was praying that I wouldn't mess it up. Luckily, I didn't. We got the job done.

"My curveball was working, and so was my fastball. I threw it high and away and got them chasing it."
(2 of 2)

The bottom four batters in the Cowan order were a collective 0-for-18 with six strikeouts, hitting into a pair of double plays.
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Bordenet, who won his 300th game Saturday night, anticipated Cowan would be vulnerable against CC's bunts.

"We knew that in order for us to be successful, we had to make them make some plays," Bordenet said. "We had to put the ball in play ... had to shorten our swings.

"O'Conner is a heck of a pitcher. We battled him and had several scoring opportunities. We waited him out. And we played great defense. I can't say enough about Taylor. He matched O'Conner pitch for pitch for 10 innings. That was a whale of a ballgame."

In retrospect, senior Dru Anthrop made the play of the game, stealing home with two outs in the top of the 10th for a 2-1 Knights' lead. The steal was magnified when Cowan scored in the bottom of the 10th.

"Dru got to third, and he said, 'Coach, I can get it,' " Bordenet said. "(The pitcher) has his back to me. We kind of rolled the dice, and Dru had a heck of a jump at third with a left-hander on the mound. That kind of turned the tide.

"Then, he came back in the 11th and got that two-run single. Our kids showed so much perseverance. Cowan got the hit to tie it with two outs in the 10th, and we came right back with the big inning in the 11th. I'm proud of our guys."

CC, which will play Fort Wayne Canterbury in Saturday's Kokomo Semistate, probably will be without second baseman and cleanup hitter Reed Drysdale, who was ejected for failing to slide at the plate in the top of the 10th.

According to IHSAA rules, the ejection carries a one-game suspension.

"He started to slide 12-to-15 feet in front of the plate," Bordenet said. "It was a hard slide. It is what it is, and we will move on.

"We've got a long way to go. We've got to get healthy. We've got a lot of kids banged up. The week off will do us good, but I know our kids will play hard and battle."

Hruskovich, Haan and Drysdale each is suffering from a finger injury.

Anthrop, who drove in four runs in the two-game regional, wondered what might have happened has CC not won in the 11th. Cowan does not have lights, and the game ended at 8:31 p.m.

"It was such a suspenseful game," Anthrop said. "Baseball is such a slow-paced game. There's no clock, so anything can happen.

"But actually, there was a clock today. Had the sun gone down, I don't know what would have happened. But it was fun."

Benton Central tourney

My freshman son picks up another win for his CC varsity team. Nick pitched 5 innings in The Championship game against Western 11-4. He is now 3-0 as a freshman pitcher for The Knights!

Nicks win in The Championship game of The Benton Central Tourney!

Benton Central Tourney Highlights!

Benton Central tourney

A win for my son's CC Knights at The Benton Central Tourney this past Saturday. Also, a dramatic comeback by the team against class 3A #5 ranked Northwestern. Attached to this story also is a story about a team Nick started & pitched 4 innings of no hit ball, giving up 2 walks that had #1 class 1A Frontier on the ropes. We also had #1 Frontier on the ropes.

Northwestern comeback & #1 Frontier on the ropes!

Nick's 1st complete game

Nick plays on both varsity & JV!!
Nick pitched a 4 hit, 1 run game to clinch the conference title for CC, it's 15th straight title. They have won 54 straight conference games and as a father am so grateful that my freshman son Nick is a part of this incredible ride.

Media coverage of Nicks conference title clinching win!! His 1st complete game!!!

Also, stats of his previous 2 games!!!

His 1st start, 4 innings of no hit ball, gave up 2 W's, then was pulled!

His incredible 1 1/3 innings of relief against class 1A #1 ranked Frontier!

Nick's latest baseball outing

By Larry
Wow!!! An incredible finish to the greatest high school baseball game I've attended. BUT! It was a JV game at CC vs Heritage Christain, a class 2A school. This one went I "think" 11 innings. Nicholas plays varsity and plays "only" if he is to pitch which hasn't been much. And that's only in critical situations it appears. He has not pitched since The Frontier game almost 10 days or so ago. He plays JV at 3rd base and left field but hasn't pitched since the 1st game of the year.

Today's game was a 1st round of some sort of tourney involving some decent religious schools thru out Indiana. 8 teams are involved and the 1st rd is played at 4 different locations. 4 teams will come together for the finals at a later date, school size does not count. Austin Munn, the other standout freshman pitcher I mentioned that is playing varsity dressed for this one. He is having a great freshman year pitching for varsity, his record is 2-0. He threw a 1 hit shuout against Carroll, went the distance. Pitched another shutout game against ???? Nick starts on 3rd base today. Billy Musiek starts on the mound. He goes 4 innings. Austin goes 2 shaky innings.

The game: HC (Heritage Christain) The game is tied 2-2 at the end of one & Nicholas had a triple in the inning. Both pitchers settle down & at the end of 3 it's HC 3 CC 2. (Actually unsure of the scoring at end of what innings but know who got the leads.)

We get a run in the 4th to tie it 3-3. 6th inning HC gets a run and at the end of 6 it's HC 4 CC 3. In the top of the last (7th) HC does not score. Bottom of the 7th in some incredible timing of hits and base running skills we squeeze in a run to tie it 4-4 at the end of 7, EXTRA INNINGS!!!

Nicholas had warmed up in the bullpen in this inning. We're they actually going to pitch him? He has not pitched JV since the very 1st game in which he closed out the last 2 innings....a 6 up 6 down affair. Austin, the other freshman had pitched the last 2 innings & was struggling giving up the 1 go ahead run. 8th inning, Nicholas heads to the mound. 2 GO's back to him and a K. (3 batters faced) We don't score, inning 9 now. Nick K's 2 and gets an out on an infield play. (6 batters faced) Inning 10, we don't score. Nick gets 2 more K's and another out somehow in the infield. (9 batters faced) He's in this zone where he's pumping his fist & hard, he's usually very laid back. We don't score, inning 11, he gets I "think" 2 more K's and another infield out. (12 batters faced, 12 retired) We squeeze a run in the bottom of the 11th off a couple of hits & a squeeze bunt that scored a runner from 3rd. He's 2-0 with 2 saves.

Now, Nicholas with what success he's had still had not taken this last step in this new pitching process he learned last year...stepping farther towards the plate & following thru with more aggression, like gruntin or making faces as some pitchers do. I always wondered at what time coaches would bring this in. Over the past few times I've seen him pitch he's getting more aggressive. I don't know why but I've only seen the gun placed on him at a game (pitchers). This was the varsity start he got. He hit 80mph on several pitches. Recently with the increase in intensity on his delivery it's clear he's throwing harder. Today, I would give him an easy 80 + mph.

Varsity head coach Bordenet was there pitching some batting practice in the cage right behind the stands. He came out a few times to watch Nicholas and we caught eyes, he shook his head.

I've lost track of most of his stats & can only guess at some stats, K's/W's/hits..etc. I do know 2 stats, counting the high school league last fall he has pitched 27 2/3 innings & has given up that 1 cheap earned run against class 4A #3 Cathedral in the 7th inning when we had 2 team errors. These errors placed the runner on 3rd with 1 out. A fly ball to center brought him in, then Nicholas K'd the last batter. In JV he's faced 18 batters and retired them all.

Varsity pitching coach's wife told me he was to have started against McCutcheon last Friday, that got rained out & rescheduled for Monday. It's clear he won't start now.

Nick's media coverage vs #1 ranked Frontier

By Larry
More media coverage for my son Nick. Nick was brought in to close a rally by #1 class 1A Frontier. They had just scored 3 runs on a triple with 2 outs, making the score 9-7 Frontier. With a runner on 3rd Nick strikes out the batter for the last out. He walks 1 in the 7th & leaves him stranded at 1st. We get 1 run in the 7th & fall short 9-8. Nick's CC team was ranked 5th in class 1A.

#1 class 1A Frontier vs CC, Nick media coverage!

A new baseball season has started

Another baseball season is underway for my son Nicholas. Frustrated that he never made The Varsity Team he did get off to a good start on The JV Team. First game of the year was with The Delphi Oracles. Nicholas' 1st at bat resulted in a skyball into deep right field for a flyout. The next time up he drills a line drive into the right/center gap that landed at about the 320' mark between the 340' & 355' signs for a stand up triple & an rbi. His last at bat was a walk and another scored run.

He did get to close this game out, pitching the last 2 innings in what ended up being done after 5 innings because of the mercy rule. His 1st inning (the games 4th) he got the 1st batter to line out to the shortstop. A measily ground out & then he struck the last batter out, 3 up, 3 down in his debut as a Central Catholic Knight high school baseball player. He finished it off with 3 K's in his 2nd inning (the games 5th) striking out the side. Nicholas got a save for his efforts in an 11-0 win.

Including his high school league season in the fall last year and his 1st 2 innings this year he has these stats.

Innings pitched: 13

Earned runs: 0

Hits given up: 2

K's: 20

Walks: 4

K to W ratio: 5-1

Varsity news

Great, great news!!!!!!!!!! As a freshman, Nicholas has now been invited to start dressing for varsity baseball games at his school, The Central Catholic Knights. He is 1 of 2 freshmen players to make the varsity team.

He may start on the mound against The Seeger Patriots JV team this Monday. He then will dress for a varsity game on Tuesday. Go get em Big Guy!!!!

Nick & high school baseball

My son Nicholas just started a new baseball season. He is now a freshman at CC which means it's big time baseball now. He has been playing on both the JV & the varsity. He has been playing regularly on the JV team. He pitched 2 close out innings in a win having 6 up & 6 down with 4K's.

He has played some on varsity but did get to pitch 2 games with astonishing results. The 1st had a ton of drama in it. Our team is a class 1A school which means it's small. We were playing class 4A Cathedral who is ranked #3 in the state. No way no how did I think he would play against this team since he's only a freshman. I thought he might pitch the last inning at best. I get to the game a bit late and do not see him on the field. I accidentally see him warming up in the bullpen. I thought the game must have started earlier, again thinking he might pitch the last inning. I look at the scoreboard and it's in the 2nd inning and we're down 5-0 already. CC is getting hammered.

2 more warm up pitches and he's off to the mound. It gets worse, bases are loaded!!! A firestorm!!! It's his 1st varsity game, he's only a freshman, bases are loaded and it's against the #3 team in the state!!! There is 2 outs tho. HE K's THE BATTER!!! Out of a big time jam.

Nicholas proceeds to pitch the rest of the game, 5 1/3 innings. He gave up 1 run (which was in the last, the 7th) 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter. There were 2 team errors in this last inning that brought a runner to 3rd. A deep fly out brought the runner in.

This must have earned him a start because he starts a couple of games later. Nicholas pitched 4 full innings gave up 0 hits, 2 walks, struck out 7, getting his 1st varsity win.

Nick's 1st varsity start, 4 innings of no hit ball!