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Technically, Beckley Bash Post 32 could lose every game it plays this summer and still, as the host team, play in the state tournament at the end of July.
Of course, no team takes that approach. And it’s obvious from the results through the first three weeks of the season that coach Jordan Meadows has assembled a roster that intends to win and win often.
The Bash is 14-2 as it heads into a busy, hot and fun week at Linda K. Epling Stadium in Beckley. Fueled by its best offense under Meadows and a pitching staff that could be arguably the best in the state, Post 32 is proving to be a challenge no matter the team.
To this point, the pitching cannot be ignored.
The staff earned run average currently sits at 1.93. Not only does Post 32 have depth, but that depth equates to quality arms.
Meadows said that was a focal point in building off last summer’s state runner-up squad.
“I tell everybody, the first year through, I guess, two summers ago, three years ago, we were just getting the the ball rolling, getting guys, filling the roster, so we didn’t really know what to expect,” Meadows said. “We had a good year and fell short at the state tournament last year. I was just really trying to hunt the best guys possible, and I think last year we lacked pitching when we got to the state tournament. We didn’t have enough depth to win the state championship and we kind of ran out of gas. When you’re playing five days in a row, you need as much pitching as possible. So that was my main priority this year, was to go get some mainly P.O.s (pitchers only), and I think that’s worked out for some of our guys.”
The top three pitchers in innings all have ERAs under 1.00, with Greenbrier East graduate Eli Green is leading the staff. Green, who worked his first season at Concord this spring, has five starts and is 4-1 with a 0.81 ERA.
He has 29 strikeouts and six walks and 12 hits allowed over 17 1/3 innings.
“He’s our only college arm,” Meadows said of Green. “He was big for us last year and he’s put in a lot innings so far already.”
Brady Williams (3-0, 13 1/3 innings) has an ERA of 0.53. Eli Hilling (2-0) has not allowed a run in 11 1/3 innings.
Layne Lambert has not been involved in a decision but hast posted a 1.97 ERA in 10 2/3 innings pitched, and Coleton Hellems is unscored upon in seven innings over three relief appearances.
James Monroe’s Kadyn Hines has one appearance but drew a tough assignment, falling 8-4 to Cincinnati-based Yeager-Benson Post 199 on Saturday in the Mountaineer Country Invitational. Hines gave up three earned runs and five hits while striking out six and walking three over his six innings.
“He gave us a chance to win the game,” Meadows said. “They (Post 199) can hit 1 through 9.”
And Sam Barnett, a first-team all-stater at Shady Spring, has worked just 4 2/3 innings. He has not allowed a run in an abbreviated workload that will increase over the next three and a half weeks.
“When it gets down to it, we’re going to need more arms,” Meadows said. “But those are the six we kind of roll with.”
Offensively, the Bash is batting .310 and is averaging 7.9 runs per game.
“We have more home runs this year (10) than we’ve had the last two years combined,” Meadows said. “Other than the two losses, we’ve really been scoring a lot of runs and having a lot of fun.”
Leading the way has been Independence graduate Levi Barnett, who redshirted at WVU Tech this spring. He has 18 hits in 41 at-bats (.439) and an 1.179 OPS, in addition to team-highs in doubles (6), runs scored (17) and runs batted in (18). He also has not been caught in nine stolen base attempts.
The team has stolen 57 bases and been caught just twice (96.6 percent success rate).
Gage Price and Brady Williams are the team leaders in home runs with two apiece. Miken Smyth is batting .395 and Price .345.
The Bash will play its first Area 3 games Tuesday when it hosts Charleston Post 65. The doubleheader will begin at 6 p.m.
The Bash will host the American Legion State Tournament starting July 23, and as such will be an automatic entrant. But winning the Area 3 championship is of high priority.
“Area games still matter more than anything,” Meadows said. “We’re starting a little late this year because of high school and we’ve had some cancellations with Logan for weather and stuff. But playing the first (Area 3) game tomorrow at home against Charleston is big and we’re excited to get going, because three weeks from Thursday is going to be the state tournament.”
The bulk of the Bash’s remaining schedule is made up of Area 3 games, and that includes the annual Fourth of July Fireworks Night on Saturday. The Bash will host a doubleheader with Logan Post 19 starting at 4 p.m.
The second game will start no earlier than 7:15 p.m. to increase the likelihood of finishing as close to dark as possible for what is billed as the largest fireworks show in West Virginia.
Admission for the games and fireworks show is free. Only those attending the game will be allowed to park in the parking lot.
On Sunday, the Bash will host Lexington (Ky.) Post 8 in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
l l l
It has also been a successful summer for the Top Prospects Post 32, the reigning Junior Legion state champion.
Post 32 carries a 10-1 record into a pair of home doubleheaders this week, including Wednesday against Charleston Post 65. The first game will start at 6 p.m.
As with the Bash, pitching has been formidable for the Top Prospects, who carry a staff ERA of 2.42. Parker Hodges (1.20) and Jacob Claypool (1.40) are both 2-0. Claypool has 13 strikeouts to just two walks over 10 innings of work.
Hodges and Eli Hilling both have 12 strikeouts, and five of the six runs charged to Hilling are unearned.
The Top Prospects have an eye-popping .403 team batting average and are averaging 11.3 runs per game. Hilling has 18 hits in 36 at-bats, including a team-high six doubles, as well as 16 runs scored.
Eli Naylor is the team leader in RBIs with 12. Claypool is 12 of 13 in stolen base attempts.
Chase Shea has the team’s only home run.
The Top Prospects will also be at home on Friday against Richwood Post 97. The doubleheader will start at 5 p.m., an hour earlier than usual to try to have the games over before the City of Beckley fireworks show begins.
Also on Friday, Top Prospects Training Center will host a youth baseball camp for players going into the second through seventh grades. The camp will run 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. at Epling Stadium.
Joining Meadows as instructors will be Kendrick Epling with Top Prospects and Erik Davis with One True King.
Lunch, water and popsicles will be provided and each camper will receive a camp T-shirt. Players need to bring a bat and glove, and catchers should bring their own catchers gear.
Cost of the camp is $70 per player.
Continue reading...
Of course, no team takes that approach. And it’s obvious from the results through the first three weeks of the season that coach Jordan Meadows has assembled a roster that intends to win and win often.
The Bash is 14-2 as it heads into a busy, hot and fun week at Linda K. Epling Stadium in Beckley. Fueled by its best offense under Meadows and a pitching staff that could be arguably the best in the state, Post 32 is proving to be a challenge no matter the team.
To this point, the pitching cannot be ignored.
The staff earned run average currently sits at 1.93. Not only does Post 32 have depth, but that depth equates to quality arms.
Meadows said that was a focal point in building off last summer’s state runner-up squad.
“I tell everybody, the first year through, I guess, two summers ago, three years ago, we were just getting the the ball rolling, getting guys, filling the roster, so we didn’t really know what to expect,” Meadows said. “We had a good year and fell short at the state tournament last year. I was just really trying to hunt the best guys possible, and I think last year we lacked pitching when we got to the state tournament. We didn’t have enough depth to win the state championship and we kind of ran out of gas. When you’re playing five days in a row, you need as much pitching as possible. So that was my main priority this year, was to go get some mainly P.O.s (pitchers only), and I think that’s worked out for some of our guys.”
The top three pitchers in innings all have ERAs under 1.00, with Greenbrier East graduate Eli Green is leading the staff. Green, who worked his first season at Concord this spring, has five starts and is 4-1 with a 0.81 ERA.
He has 29 strikeouts and six walks and 12 hits allowed over 17 1/3 innings.
“He’s our only college arm,” Meadows said of Green. “He was big for us last year and he’s put in a lot innings so far already.”
Brady Williams (3-0, 13 1/3 innings) has an ERA of 0.53. Eli Hilling (2-0) has not allowed a run in 11 1/3 innings.
Layne Lambert has not been involved in a decision but hast posted a 1.97 ERA in 10 2/3 innings pitched, and Coleton Hellems is unscored upon in seven innings over three relief appearances.
James Monroe’s Kadyn Hines has one appearance but drew a tough assignment, falling 8-4 to Cincinnati-based Yeager-Benson Post 199 on Saturday in the Mountaineer Country Invitational. Hines gave up three earned runs and five hits while striking out six and walking three over his six innings.
“He gave us a chance to win the game,” Meadows said. “They (Post 199) can hit 1 through 9.”
And Sam Barnett, a first-team all-stater at Shady Spring, has worked just 4 2/3 innings. He has not allowed a run in an abbreviated workload that will increase over the next three and a half weeks.
“When it gets down to it, we’re going to need more arms,” Meadows said. “But those are the six we kind of roll with.”
Offensively, the Bash is batting .310 and is averaging 7.9 runs per game.
“We have more home runs this year (10) than we’ve had the last two years combined,” Meadows said. “Other than the two losses, we’ve really been scoring a lot of runs and having a lot of fun.”
Leading the way has been Independence graduate Levi Barnett, who redshirted at WVU Tech this spring. He has 18 hits in 41 at-bats (.439) and an 1.179 OPS, in addition to team-highs in doubles (6), runs scored (17) and runs batted in (18). He also has not been caught in nine stolen base attempts.
The team has stolen 57 bases and been caught just twice (96.6 percent success rate).
Gage Price and Brady Williams are the team leaders in home runs with two apiece. Miken Smyth is batting .395 and Price .345.
The Bash will play its first Area 3 games Tuesday when it hosts Charleston Post 65. The doubleheader will begin at 6 p.m.
The Bash will host the American Legion State Tournament starting July 23, and as such will be an automatic entrant. But winning the Area 3 championship is of high priority.
“Area games still matter more than anything,” Meadows said. “We’re starting a little late this year because of high school and we’ve had some cancellations with Logan for weather and stuff. But playing the first (Area 3) game tomorrow at home against Charleston is big and we’re excited to get going, because three weeks from Thursday is going to be the state tournament.”
The bulk of the Bash’s remaining schedule is made up of Area 3 games, and that includes the annual Fourth of July Fireworks Night on Saturday. The Bash will host a doubleheader with Logan Post 19 starting at 4 p.m.
The second game will start no earlier than 7:15 p.m. to increase the likelihood of finishing as close to dark as possible for what is billed as the largest fireworks show in West Virginia.
Admission for the games and fireworks show is free. Only those attending the game will be allowed to park in the parking lot.
On Sunday, the Bash will host Lexington (Ky.) Post 8 in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
l l l
It has also been a successful summer for the Top Prospects Post 32, the reigning Junior Legion state champion.
Post 32 carries a 10-1 record into a pair of home doubleheaders this week, including Wednesday against Charleston Post 65. The first game will start at 6 p.m.
As with the Bash, pitching has been formidable for the Top Prospects, who carry a staff ERA of 2.42. Parker Hodges (1.20) and Jacob Claypool (1.40) are both 2-0. Claypool has 13 strikeouts to just two walks over 10 innings of work.
Hodges and Eli Hilling both have 12 strikeouts, and five of the six runs charged to Hilling are unearned.
The Top Prospects have an eye-popping .403 team batting average and are averaging 11.3 runs per game. Hilling has 18 hits in 36 at-bats, including a team-high six doubles, as well as 16 runs scored.
Eli Naylor is the team leader in RBIs with 12. Claypool is 12 of 13 in stolen base attempts.
Chase Shea has the team’s only home run.
The Top Prospects will also be at home on Friday against Richwood Post 97. The doubleheader will start at 5 p.m., an hour earlier than usual to try to have the games over before the City of Beckley fireworks show begins.
Also on Friday, Top Prospects Training Center will host a youth baseball camp for players going into the second through seventh grades. The camp will run 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. at Epling Stadium.
Joining Meadows as instructors will be Kendrick Epling with Top Prospects and Erik Davis with One True King.
Lunch, water and popsicles will be provided and each camper will receive a camp T-shirt. Players need to bring a bat and glove, and catchers should bring their own catchers gear.
Cost of the camp is $70 per player.
Continue reading...
