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April 1, 2009 @ 6:31 a.m. by Joanna

by joanna

Here’s the new softball discussion post for the week. (I’ve included video from Tuesday’s tri between Northwest, Derby and Newton)

I have two questions for you. The first is how much will last weekend’s snow mess things up for this week’s games? Secondly, how long until this post this week disintegrates into a Mark Griggs rant/love session?

Beyond that, there’s some pretty good games this week. There’s the Derby-Newton-Northwest triangular on Tuesday, along with Carroll at Maize. On Friday night, Maize also plays host to Ark City. Any other games we should be watching for this week?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 6:31 a.m. and is filed under Softball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3&2softball

Why do Garden Plain and Andale get to join for Baseball and Softball?
Joanna

They’re actually the same school district, Renwick.
Steve

Rose Hill at Mulvane Thurs.
Hovpen

Is anyone actually playing today? I know Belle Plaine vs. Bluestem was PPD, any others and will they actually get the fields dried out for games on Tuesday????
bucocatfan

Mark Griggs doesn’t have to worry about the weather! Sorry Joanna, best I could do.
john

Joanna (or anybody else for that matter), have you seen any state ranking for softball????
3&2softball

I still don’t get it. So what that Garden Plain and Andale are the same school district. So are Heights and Northwest or Andover and Andover Central I don’t see them getting to choose what sports they want to combine. Why don’t they have a Garden Plain 3A and a
Andale 4A? They would not be as good as the combined teams but I do not see how you get to pick and choose what you combine and what you don’t.
john

Money!!!!! They want to save money and give the kids a chance to play.. When they started softball I believe GP did not have enough players to field a team so they let the girls who wanted to play softball go to Andale..
Do you see now? Save money and give the kids a chance to play the game they like to play..
They were not as good as they are now when they started combining the two schools for softball but they are very good now..
KSHSAA is doing the right thing by moving them up to 5a, it will be tougher for them to make a run at a state title this year at 5a, their regional will be tougher for sure but with the hitters they have they may just do it again..
Hovpen

Garden Plain does not field a softball team so they are allowed to Co-op with Andale. Lots of other teams do it. Dexter/Cedar Vale, Oxford/Udall in baseball, along with several others. Its been done for several years.

John, I think Rivals is the only one that does them, and they are premium. Sorry. You might however, be able to pick up a copy of one of the local sports magazines. Yipe or KGSO the Magazine and they may have them printed.

Also, so far we just do pre-season cause baseball and softball coaches really fail when it comes to reporting scores.
Hovpen

Andale /Garden Plain or Garden Plain/Andale will do very well in 5A softball. Anxious to see who is in their regional.
john

Come on Hovpen, gives us the ranking!!!!

Last year I believe Andale beat ElDorado in the regional finals, nothing against ElDorado but that was a ‘joke for a regional’. Their are no ‘joke for regionals’ at the 5a level around here and adding Andale to the mix and 5a gets real tough!!
Hovpen

You know where to find them. I’ll get disclipined if I tell you. :)
Steve

There should never be a joke Regional in 4A, considered by most to be the most competitive in years past. I would agree with that one though and hopefully that kind of thing will be avoided in the future. But hey not to take anything away from Andale they still won state and they have some stud seniors and should fare well at 5A this season. They also owned a very good Augusta team.
FML.

Andover and Andover Central join for girls swimming because each school doesn’t have enough girls going out to make two separate teams. I don’t know where you draw that line for that though.. Does someone review the situation first? What if AHS and ACHS joined for basketball? hahahahhaha
sgjs;dj

dsgs
Sports Fan

Has anyone heard is the Maize/Carrol game on for tonight or did it get postponed?
Joanna

Sportsfan — it’s still on, although JV is not.
john

Games at TRYC are on for tonight (Tuesday)….
jeff

Bishop Carrol won the first game over Maize in extra innings. JV will play on Thursday if weather allows.
Swim Mom

YESSS Go BC!!! love it!
Joanna

I just got finished with my story covering the Newton-Derby-Northwest triangular. Northwest swept, while Derby beat Newton.
Meghan Boston is as good as I heard she was. She hit a homer against Derby and the Panthers pitched around her on her next two at-bats.
That brings to mind a question I have — do you pitch against a hitter like that or not? Hmmm. Maybe I’ll make a post of it.
Those are three good teams, though.
Northwest wins over Derby in the nightcap when Cortney Harp hit to shortstop Sammie Shook, who overthrew first to keep the inning alive for Northwest. (Shook is still one of the best players in the area. No one is perfect. She had a good two games.) Kelsey Berlin then hit the game-winning hit.
Derby had some good hitting against Newton, getting a Shook homer and Cortnie Killen went 3 for 3.
So that’s where I was tonight (3-31). Where were you? See any big games?
Anyone want to give us a rundown of the Carroll-Maize games?

I also enjoyed sitting in the press box (not as nice as that WSU press box! but it will do) with Northwest AD J. Means and Newton AD Brian Engelken. Good guys. Means and I hit on just about every topic available, and he shared his Chile Lime sunflower seeds. Yummy! (and I had a trash can to put the seeds in. So there!)
derbyfan18

I thought it was extra special having Joanna, Hovey and Griggs all sitting within a few feet of each other!
3&2softball

Meghan Boston will get pitched around all season if you don’t have a batter to bat in the hole behind her who will make them pay for the walk. True for alot of high school teams who have a good or couple of good summer ball players playing with girls who only play high school.
Hovpen

Hey Derbyfan, Chuck was there too. :) And Joanna missed a great opportunity.

3&2: Meghans sister hits behind her. Another one to be careful with.
http://VarsityKansas avctlfan

Hovey, you’re right. I saw Chuck too. Also saw a coach from WSU. Dave Milspaugh was also there- coach of the Storm. His own daughters play for NW but he also had players on Derby and Newton. It was a fun night!
3&2softball

Hovpen: I would walk Meghan everytime to get to Erin.
Hovpen

Smart

I visited some with the WSU coach as he was there to see SS play. It’s nice to learn that they are actually looking at a few girls from aroung the area from the younger classes also. Also (hint) Boston still hasn’t pulled the trigger at Syracuse and its not too late.

There were several other coaches there also. Kip stopped in after his Heights double header sweep of North and Campus which was expected, and Rita was there from Andover Central looking at Newton just to name a couple. Everyone is wondering about which way Andale and Andover Central will go for regionals.
3&2softball

Does anyone know who pitched for Maize in their losses to Carrol?
john

Lindsey Vitale pitched the first game, don’t know who pitched the 2nd for Maize…
Jeff

Lindsey Vitale pitched the first game for Maize. Kaitlyn Kern pitched the second.
Hovpen

LOL, I just went back and read sme of the earlier posts. Pete, whats come over you. Could you do me another good turn and convince Jefferson that I don’t own Rivals.com and getting on my butt for having to pay to log onto one of their sites is kind of like chewing out the janitor at the bank because you didn’t get a new car loan approved. Jefferson, I just work here and its not my fault rivals.com charges to get on their sites.
http://kansas.com tooold

Andale had over 50 girls out for softball. Do they really need to combine with another school?
There are many talented softball players in this area but the Eagle and Hovpen only write about the same players. Do some research and write some interesting stories about other players / coaches. Reading about TIS, Mustangs and several top players isn’t that interesting. What game will you attend next?
Joanna

tooold — I don’t think it’s that Andale needs to combine with Garden Plain, I think it’s giving the opportunity to Garden Plain kids to have a place to play softball. Will it continue? That’s a good question. Certainly Schmelzer is a player that Andale wants around, but is that same talent coming up in Garden Plain? I don’t know.

As for the talented softball players in the area, the season is like a week old. Maybe it’s because there’s been all these complaints today, but I am just blown away by the complaint that we only write about the same players.
Let’s see, the preview ran last Tuesday. We wrote about Carroll, one of the top area 5A teams. We wrote a feature on Derby’s Sammie Shook, one of the top players in the area. On Tuesday I covered Northwest, Newton and Derby, three of the top area teams.
What wouldn’t you have there?
No, let me correct that, what am I missing in my week’s worth of coverage?
OK, I’ll back off. I know I’m being a little snippy there. I know that not everyone reads all the blog posts.
Seriously, if I am missing an athlete that needs to be written about, send the info my way, I’ll look into it. I want to write about the kids who are good stories. I do. It’s my goal.
So who would you like to know about?
And please don’t come back with how I have a job that I get paid for and that I should do my own looking around. I heard that once and don’t need to hear it again. If you have story ideas and want to see them, let’s not play “I have a secret.”
There are plenty of outstanding athletes in all sports in the area, let’s talk about them.
That’s another reason why I have the blog posts going — to talk about the athletes and coaches and teams that interest you.
Conversation is great. I love it. I’m pretty good about taking the criticism. But I’d love to hear the thoughts on what’s out there rather than how much of a not-so-good job I’m doing.
Hovpen

tooold: Rivals exhists to cover those athletes who are headed to the Division I level. On occasion, we will include mid level players who have a shot at Division II or will play in junior college. If that coverage doesn’t hit your kid, thats not my fault. We’re not a local newspaper. I will however, attempt to include photos in our coverage of everyone who gets into a game that we can get a photograph of. That’s as far as it goes however. If it hits hard softball wise with the Mustangs and Renegades which play ASA Gold and not ASA Class C ball, that should tell you something.
Joanna

Here are the Maize-Carroll scores — Carroll wins the first game 3-2 in nine innings, while Carroll rolls in the second 9-0.
fastpitch

tooold: It sounds like if you don’t play for the Mustangs or the Renegades, you aren’t worth being talked about. LOL
john

How about this ‘fastpitch’….If you DO play for the Mustangs or Renegades you are worth talking about!!!
fastpitch

Yep, but there are other girls that play for other teams that are worthing talking about johnny!!!!!!!
john

How is this for a Renegades 2009 class;

Courtney Harp (Northwest) Butler
Kayla Bontrager (Northwest) Fort Hayes
Kendra Crippen (BC) Hutch
Karley Schmeltzer (Andale) Emporia State
Mandy Armstrong (Andale) Hutch
Courtney Kilan (Derby) Hutch
Ashton Martin (Derby) Cowley
Haley Heincker (Derby) Cowley
Sammie Shook (Derby) WSU
Logan Peterson (Derby) Iowa Western
Alicia Hammeke (TMP) Fort Hayes
Maddy Holub (TMP) Fort Hayes

That is just the ladies I remember…

Whats your club team doing for you????
http://kansas.com tooold

Hey fastpitch I am old man so I don’t play for any team. I am a sports fan that likes to read about many teams and many players. Hey John according to Hovpen he only talks about D1 players and if he has time he might talk about those other girls listed that are going to D2 and the JC schools. Good luck to all those girls mentioned. Didn’t mean to upset anyone just would like to hear more about the players and their H/S teams.
http://blogs.varsitykansas.com/blog/2009/04/01/softball-3-30/ ITSABOUTTHEKIDS

How about some kudos to Mr. Millspaugh for alot of those talented Renegade players. Thats where they learned the fundamentals.
Sports Fan

Fastpitch – I am certain that their are a number of other individual players and even High School teams worth talking about. I think that everyone is interested in who! You seem to have an opinion, so express it. Which team and or player do you feel should be or deserves to receive more attention. Again remember the season has just started.
http://online softballfan

To Fastpitch and others! Be careful what you wish for. I don’t like newspapers singling out players for extra recognition for high school players. Most can’t handle it and it takes away from the Team concept. Save it until the end of the season. I know the newspaper has to get a story but a good coach or parent will keep it in check and about the “team” vs. my darling. Good players don’t need someone pumping them up. The other teams coaches know who the “studs” are. To win state, you need full line-up of very good players and if you find a team that allows a couple players to dominate the press i’ll show you a team that won’t win it all. So Joanna leave Andale alone if you can. You do a good job so don’t take this personnaly. Good luck to all the young athletes that give us so much enjoyment.
StormWarning

Dave Millspaugh coached many of the kids that played in the NW-Newton-Derby games.

His three Erica, Mac & Alex and Odell, Bontrager, Harp, Berlin, Johnson from Northwest; Shook, Peterson from Derby and both the Boston girls from Newton. Also, Newton’s 3b also has played some for Millspaugh in a pickup role.

Millspaugh always stresses fundamentals and his players past and present seem to perform well. You’ll notice many of the highlighted players from Tuesday’s games were current or former Storm players, so the Mustangs/Renegades aren’t the only solid teams in the area.
john

StormWarning, you are correct in that other people have teams that have very good players….
All the adults that spend their time and energy for these kids deserve credit.
Griggs (and all his coaches)
Schrader (and all his coaches)
Millspaugh
The people running the Wichita Wave got a good thing going…
The people running the AC Aces are doing a great job…
And you know what, the people running all the ‘B & C’ level teams as well..
IT IS ABOUT THE KIDS….
Softballfan makes some great points in his or her last post….
http://VarsityKansas avctlfan

Also, Derby’s third baseman, sophomore Austen Hilt, is a current Storm player.
Hovpen

Storm vs Mustangs four years ago in the Class A championship 16-U game was one of my favorite ones to watch. Great game.
john

Hovpen;
You’ll have to travel this summer to see any ‘A’ ball at any age. Wichita will NOT host the state tournaments this summer.
I have not heard why, have you??
Hovpen

No, haven’t. We do have the Northern National B tournament here though. For some reason, they are taking the A State to Salina this year. There is an A and B combined in Mulvane in Mid-July.

I believe however, that the main reason would be the lack of Class A teams in Kansas as nobody wants to play any competition. Everyone wants to just play B and C ball.

Kansas goes have I believe 6 Gold teams this year though. With the Mustangs and Renegades here and the Wahoo’s, Zephers, Peppers and Rockets in the KC area. In the past, we have just had three or four Gold teams although a lot of the KC area teams have a good number of Missery players.

Thats ASA, what is around here for AFA and USAAA
Steve

Rose Hill at Mulvane postponed till Friday.
Hovpen

Steve, I just talked to RHAD and it is being moved to next week. Friday didn’t work out. They are still playing baseball as of 3pm however.
Steve

Thanks Bob I got the call and was getting ready to correct.
Hovpen

Today is a good day to be a fair weather fan. Especially when it comes time to take the camera out in this stuff.
Dick Vitale

I thought I saw Tim Walton at the Derby game too. He was in the restroom combing his hair and visiting with Chris Kuhlmeyer. At least I think it was him, I was on the toilet and trying to see through the crack in the door. However, when I leaned too far forward, I fell off and hit my head on the cement. When I woke up they were gone. So I can’t be sure.
http://homegarden.coolseller.com Garden

good steps to go through, This is an article to return to, bookmarked. Added to my RSS.

Softball (3-30)