This week's Douglas-Manogue baseball series will have a huge effect on the Sierra League playoff picture, whatever way it goes.
Both teams come in with 6-3 records, tied for third place in the league, while Galena sits a half-game above both schools in second and Damonte sits just below in fifth. Carson is well within reach, sitting a game up in the top spot with a 7-2 record.
It's the log jam everyone saw coming heading into the year, but this weekend should provide a little bit of distance going either way. Keep in mind, both schools will only have two more series to play after this week, so this is about as crucial as they come.
Damonte is on its bye week, but Carson and Galena will meet up for probably the most interesting storyline of the week with Ron McNutt returning to the field named after himself.
Regardless, Douglas turned a couple of heads last week at the Bishop Gorman Easter Classic.
The Tigers picked up an impressive win over the Vauxhall Baseball Academy of Canada in the third place game and lost 8-0 to the hosting Gaels, who are ranked as high as No. 1 in the country in one poll.
I've heard that Douglas is one of the few teams this year that has forced Gorman to play seven innings. What does it mean? Well, should the Tigers qualify for state, that at least know that they can stay on the same field with the best the Southern 4A has to offer.
The Tigers also showed they have the pitching depth to navigate a prolonged tournament " like the upcoming Northern 4A regionals.
Aces Tyler May and Tyler Hoelzen each threw well (May picked up two wins on the mound while Hoelzen held his own against the vaunted Gorman lineup) and Kameron Van Winkle, Beau Battista, Michael Whalin and Tim Rudnick each took effective turns on the mound.
The Tigers have four proven starters in May, Hoelzen, Whalin and Van Winkle and Battista has strung together two solid outings in a row. Rudnick has some of the best breaking movement on the team and while he has been the team's primary closer this year, he made a number of important starts, including one in the playoffs, last year.
That's six guys the Tigers can throw out there as they please when the playoffs roll around. If you're counting, that's a minimum of 66 innings they'll have available for regionals for a maximum 35-inning tournament. And I'm not even counting relievers Conner Dillon, Troy Torres and Jeff Crozier, who have combined for six appearances, four strikeouts and eight walks this year.
The pitching is certainly there. Now we just have to wait to see how it plays out.
The Douglas softball team was hoping to get healthy over the two last weeks with a 12-day layoff leading into today's game at Manogue.
Things more or less went the opposite direction.
"We've been trying to get people healthy again," Douglas coach Andy Mitchell said. "We have a lot of kids hurt or sick and it seemed like it just got worse as the week went on. It seemed like every day we had more kids getting hurt."
Among the notables that have been on the mend are pitcher Stephanie Harper (hand), catcher Katrina Morgan (shoulder), infielder Rebecca Trute (back), first baseman Morgan Blomstrom (thumb) and outfielder Mia Townsell (illness).
"We're hoping to have everyone back this week," Mitchell said. "It was good the week off came when it did."
- Six of the seven Sierra League baseball teams were at the Bishop Gorman Easter Classic in Las Vegas last week (Carson was in Atwater, where the Senators won the tournament). Things went pretty well for the Sierra as the six squads went a combined 15-11-1 against the competitive field.
- One of the downfalls was three games during the tournament pitted Sierra League teams against each other. Talk about driving a long way to see a familiar foe.
Jordan Cruz and Katie Dry are drawing ever closer to the Douglas school records in the 100.
Cruz clocked an 11.34-second run on Saturday at Carson to win the event. The boys' school record is 10.8 set by Josh Jacobs in 1996.
Dry turned in a 12.96 on Saturday. The school record is 12.3, set by Sarah Hartley in 2006.
Jessica Waggoner continues to be a threat to break her own records in the discus and the shot put every time she competes, but her mark of 144-7 on Saturday would've been good enough for the regional meet record had it been the Regional Championships.
If I had a vote for overall player of the year in the Northern 4A Regional baseball and softball honors ballots (and I don't), this is what it would look like, based mostly on their respective performances over the last week:
Baseball
1. Tyler Hoelzen, Douglas; 2. Tyler May, Douglas; 3. Tom Jameson, Reno; 4. Cody Stevens, Damonte Ranch; 5. Casey Yocum, Reed.
Softball
1. Ashley Collier, Spanish Springs; 2. Chelsea Cohen, Reed; 3. Stephanie Harper, Douglas; 4. Megan Dortch, Manogue; 5. Samantha Puzey, Reno.
The top athletes, regardless of sport, at Douglas High determined by production during competition, overall value to their team, ability to perform with consistency in routine situations, performance compared to others at the same position throughout the state/region, ability to come up big in clutch situations, versatility, attitude, sportsmanship, overall athletic ability, heart, potential at the next level, and a host of other intangibles (emotional leadership, role-playing value, work ethic, etc.) This is all, of course, just my opinion.
Spring Sports
1. Thomas Wicker, golf
2. Tyler May, baseball
3. Stephanie Harper, softball
4. Tyler Hoelzen, baseball
5. Jessica Waggoner, track & field
6. Tim Rudnick, baseball
7. Katrina Morgan, softball
8. Katie Dry, track & field
9. Emily Weaver, softball
10. Kyra Barth, track & field
Watch list: Kameron VanWinkle, baseball, Jessica Gorton, track & field; Eddie Kollar (diving); Morgan Blomstrom (softball); Mia Townsell (softball), Troy Torres (baseball), Tanner Thomas (baseball)
2008-09 School Year
1. Jessica Waggoner, volleyball/basketball/track & field
2. Tim Rudnick, football/basketball/baseball
3. Eddie Kollar, cross country/wrestling/diving
4. Nico Barker, football/wrestling
5. Parker Robertson, football/basketball
6. Katie Dry, soccer/basketball/track & field
7. Dany Heidt, soccer/basketball
8. Ally Freitas, soccer/basketball
9. James McLaughlin, basketball/football
10. Tyler Hoelzen, basketball/baseball
Since I've been here (2003)
1. Luke Rippee, football/basketball/baseball (2003)
2. Jessica Waggoner, volleyball/basketball/track (2005-present)
3. Brittany Puzey, basketball/softball (2003-04)
4. Tim Rudnick, football/basketball/baseball (2006-present)
5. Bridget Maestretti, volleyball/basketball/softball/track (2004-08)
6. Tyson Estes, football/basketball/baseball (2003-05)
7. Ryan Pruitt, football/wrestling/baseball (2005-07)
8. Mike Gransbery, soccer/basketball (2004-07)
9. James McLaughlin, football/basketball (2006-present)
10. Andy McIntosh, football/basketball/track/golf (2003)
- I got a bizarre press release from Accuweather.com on Monday stating that the reason so many home runs are being hit at the new Yankee Stadium (14 of the 20 so far have been hit over the right field wall) is that fly balls to right are basically being blown out.
This, the release claims, is because the new stadium is shaped differently around the shell and the angle of the new seats is having an effect on the wind speed across the field. The "downslope" of the seating is apparently causing the air to lift up in right field.
An interesting theory. It could also be that the Yankees spent $243.5 million on pitching and the best reliever they can come up with is Nick Swisher.
- There are a select few DVDs from of my daughter's quickly-growing movie collection that I just go ahead and let her bash against the wall.
- If you get a chance, google the name "Patrick Schuster" this week. The 6-2, 170-pound Mitchell (Fla.) High School senior left-hander has thrown four consecutive no-hitters. It is the Florida state record, but the national record is six. At his last game, he struck out 17 batters while 24 to 25 Major League scouts watched along with a crowd of about 1,000.
