LaGrange vs Forney

[olddawggreen]

LaGrange vs Forney, 9am Saturday June 12, Dell Diamond!

[Cat22]

Congrats to both. Should be a great game.

[Old Tiger]

looks like i picked it right so far, good luck to both teams

[Pudlugger]

This will be a defensive struggle. Both teams will scratch it out for runs. It will come down to which team is the most efficient and which team makes fewer errors, just as it did in the Lorena and Jasper series. Homer is going to pitch his game which is to say he will strike out a bunch of guys. The rest of the Leps will need to support this effort and as they have demosnstrated time and again, they will. Schramm and Anderle provide the power hitting at bat and senior leadership while the play of the other Leps has been just outstanding.[ Does anyone want to comment on Franke's spectacular catch of the line drive today at third base?] The Leps are for real on offense and defense. I know Forney wants this bad, but the Leps will deny them again. Go Leps-beat Forney!!!:D

[Sans Couth]

Forney has some big bats. And they have pitching as well. If Forney can get on the board, they have a great chance too. I don't think it goes down to errors. I don't look for either team to commit any. I think it boils down to which pitcher/catcher duo comes up with the right pitches to each batter. Throw the wrong pitch to some of the batters on either team, and the game could be over with one swing of the bat. My prediction. 2-1 somebody.

[La Grange]

5-3 was the score last time we played I think, so I am going 5-3 somebody.

Oh and by somebody I really mean La Grange :D .

[j_dog]

I don't like to pick scores, it always seems to offend somebody. But, here goes. Homer is the real deal! LG 7, Forney 1. That is giving Forney the benefit of the doubt that they get one HR like Jasper did.

[La Grange]

:eek:



:D 7-1, I don't know about that one, but you never know :D .

[aamove]

I'll pick Forney by a run.

[Sans Couth]

Originally posted by j_dog
I don't like to pick scores, it always seems to offend somebody. But, here goes. Homer is the real deal! LG 7, Forney 1. That is giving Forney the benefit of the doubt that they get one HR like Jasper did.

Wow,

Not much respect for Forney's pitching that has rocked all year as well.

Bet your wrong. But we shall see.

[Pudlugger]

Who will pitch for Forney? Will they go with their ace again or the #2 guy?

[Rabbit'93]

Since Corgan(ace) threw yesterday. We will probably pitch Langford. He's a good pitcher. Doesn't have commanding speed but has a breaking ball that can freeze a hitter cold.

I know Homer is good and Forney will have to make contact with the ball and have some things go their way if we want to win. I believe this year is the year for Forney. It would be a great way to go out of 3A.

[kaorder1999]

corgan can still throw some tomorrow if they needed him to. I know his elbow and shoulder are sore today though.

[La Grange]

How many innings can Forney's ace pitch? The LG bats are doing really well, so I don't think hitting is going to be a problem. Chase Anderle, Lance Schramm, and Homer are all over .500 I think. I think Chase is 13 for 13 in his last 13 at bats.

[Old Tiger]

With Homer Bailey on the mound La Grange will win.

[Sans Couth]

Originally posted by Old Tiger
With Homer Bailey on the mound La Grange will win.

It is positive statements like these, that cause the crow to be served. Maybe you should re-word your prediction. Otherwise, be prepared to see yourself quoted fifty times if your team loses.

[La Grange]

Hey he is from Rockdale not La Grange, so he can talk all he wants :D . Crow will be served were crow will be needed to be served :D .

[Pudlugger]

All those runs, and Homer yet to come
Kozelsky makes sure state's top pitcher gets start in trophy game


By Matthew Obernauer

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Friday, June 11, 2004

Minutes after the final out, La Grange Coach Ralph Ferguson stood just off the first-base line at Disch-Falk Field, breathed a sigh of relief and cracked a wide smile.

"It worked," he said.

Despite having the state's best pitcher, Homer Bailey, on call, Ferguson had gambled that he could hold his ace for the championship game and that his No. 2 starter, Jacob Kozelsky, could lead the No. 1 Leopards (32-1) to a victory over Llano in the state baseball semifinals. On Thursday, Kozelsky (10-1) responded by pitching a five-inning gem, allowing just one ball out of the infield in La Grange's 11-0 dismissal of the Yellowjackets.

The Leopards put the game away with eight runs in the fourth inning. La Grange sent 12 men to the plate, and only one batter in the lineup failed to score in the inning.

Chase Anderle opened the scoring in the fourth with a RBI triple that bounced off the top of the wall, 400 feet away in center field, giving the Leopards a 3-0 lead. Lance Schramm singled Anderle home, and Colter Zoch followed with a two-run, ground-rule double.

Llano (27-10) sent three pitchers to the mound, and La Grange increased its lead to 10-0 before its side was retired.

That was more than enough for Kozelsky. The right-hander worked ahead in the count to Llano batters, who struggled to catch up to his fastballs -- "They were either late on it, or just didn't hit it," Kozelsky said.

Kozelsky surrendered just two hits, a high infield chopper and a bloop single over the shortstop Zoch, along with one walk and two hit batsmen.

Ferguson struggled for most of the week with the decision of whom to start in the semifinal, before deciding on Kozelsky on Wednesday. Early in the game, one question resonated through the ballpark: if Llano jumped to an early lead, how long would Ferguson wait before turning to Bailey, who was chosen on Monday by the Cincinnati Reds with the No. 7 overall draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds?

But after leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, La Grange put that issue to rest in the top of the second, scoring two runs on two Yellowjackets errors.

"That was important. It gave him a little cushion and gave me a little leeway," Ferguson said. "Then when I saw him throw in (the bottom of) the second, I thought, 'OK, he's in a groove.' "

Llano, which had not been to the state tournament since 1989, committed seven errors.

"Nerves were definitely a factor," Llano Coach Larry Williams said. "Errors are contagious, and to stop it, you have to have something change. Most of the time, the thing that changes is you score some runs. When we weren't able to score, you get into a pressing situation, which leads to more errors."

La Grange's rout of a state semifinalist was a powerful statement to those who would portray the Leopards as a team riding the coattails of a star pitcher. Bailey, playing first base, factored little in the game, scoring one run and finishing 1 for 3.

That shouldn't be the case Saturday morning at Dell Diamond when the overpowering Bailey will start against Forney for the Class 3A championship -- rested and ready.

"It was a big decision. A lot of people wouldn't have done it," Bailey said. "But we have a lot of confidence in Jay."

mobernauer@statesman.com; 445-3959

[jason]

Originally posted by La Grange
How many innings can Forney's ace pitch? The LG bats are doing really well, so I don't think hitting is going to be a problem. Chase Anderle, Lance Schramm, and Homer are all over .500 I think. I think Chase is 13 for 13 in his last 13 at bats. homer isnt close to .500...he was in the .350 range as of thursdays game...

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by La Grange
How many innings can Forney's ace pitch? The LG bats are doing really well, so I don't think hitting is going to be a problem. Chase Anderle, Lance Schramm, and Homer are all over .500 I think. I think Chase is 13 for 13 in his last 13 at bats.

i thought there was a limit on innings that a person can pitch in back to back days but a couple years ago i brought that question up after segovia pitched 10 innings in the semifinals. I was told by a UIL official that there is not a limit on innings. Only games. They said that segovia could have pitched another 10 innings on that next day if he wanted to.

i think since there is a day between this years semi and final it will make it easier for Corgan to pitch some innings....not sure if they will elect to though

[Bellville22]

I'll be waking early and making the trip to Round Rock. I predicted this matchup at the beginning of the year and I think it's gonna be a great one.

Homer is a special pitcher, and with health on his side, he will do great things in the future. He finished his freshman year by notching a win in the Championship Game, I see him, along with the help of a superb team, doing the same to close out his career.

La Grange 3, Forney 1

[j_dog]

Originally posted by Sans Couth
Wow,

Not much respect for Forney's pitching that has rocked all year as well.

Bet your wrong. But we shall see.
I know nothing about Forney. I just have seen the LG bats. They did a pretty good number on a Jasper pitcher who is no slouch himself. He doesn't quite throw at Homer's speed, but he is darned close to it. Last year I saw him hold eventual state champion Lorena scoreless for six innings, so I would think LG hitting him is something special. So, just call my prediction a respect for the LG bats. No offense meant to Forney's pitching or team at all. Good luck to both teams.

[kaorder1999]

i hope forney can win it....they need to since this is their last chance in 4A

[SintonFan]

I am not picking sides in this! I wish the trophy could be given to both teams, but alas that is impossible. I truly hope both teams play their best so everyone can walk out a winner.
That said, Homer is the real deal. He wouldn't be if he wasn't selected at number seven in the MLB draft. Everyone from La Grange(and many others) has been talking about him. He's a junior? Dang.
He's probably is the X-factor in this series and the reason why I pick the Leps by one run.
Good luck to both teams!
:clap: :cool: :clap:

[kaorder1999]

a junior?

[SintonFan]

I thought I read that in the Express-News.

[Pudlugger]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
a junior?

No Homer is a senior. He graduated with his class on May 25th.

[kaorder1999]

i figured he was a senior....i dont know if juniors can get drafted...

[Hupernikomen]

Originally posted by jason
homer isnt close to .500...he was in the .350 range as of thursdays game...

and anderle isn't 13 for 13 either

Anderle, Chase cf........ 3 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0

A respectable box score line from the U.I.L. website in the semifinal game shows he was 1/3.

I was at the first of the two Jasper games and he is a heck of a batter for sure, but I am pretty sure he didn't get a hit every at bat in that series either.

Lets not put La Grange on too high of a pedestal; Forney is a heck of a baseball team and will come swinging the bat. If memory serves me correctly I heard Jasper's announcer say that the 5th or the 6th inning of the second game in the La Grange series was the first time Jasper was put out without getting a man on base. I would suspect Forney will have baserunners as well.

Good luck to both teams.

[Pudlugger]

Well said Huper. I believe Anderle is batting around .400 or so now while Schramm is around .450. Forney will be the biggest test of this team and they want it badly. If LG doesn't play their best game they will not win. La Grange(the poster that is) gets a little carried away but that's okay he is just caught up in the excitement and he is a good kid. This is a big deal for everyone in Forney and La Grange. What a terrific thing to accomplish in your high school years. Good luck to both teams and here's to a great game.:)