Courtesy: The Hutchinson News
By Brad Hallier, The Hutchinson News, bhallier@hutchnews.com
Three batters into Friday's game at Hobart-Detter Field, and Hutchinson Monarchs pitcher Mason Melotakis didn't look sharp.
He struck out Tanner Gurtner to start the game, but his next eight pitchers were balls, and Salina had two on with one out.
Melotakis was far from concerned. After the two walks, he proceeded to have one of the best outings in the Monarchs' brief history in their 5-0 win in front of a sizeable crowd on Cancer Awareness Night.
Melotakis, who pitches at Northwestern State in Louisiana, allowed two hits in seven innings and had a team-record 14 strikeouts.
"I didn't think I was loose and fully prepared," Melotakis said about the two first-inning walks. "I had to get my mindset right and calm down."
That didn't take long to accomplish. Instead of complicating things in the first inning, Melotakis struck out the last two hitters. He had at least two strikeouts in six innings and struck out at least one Bluejay in every inning.
"Mason has a real good arm," Monarchs coach Andrew Ehling said. "He's good and he has talent. He's worked hard every outing and gotten better each time."
Melotakis provided the third straight outstanding performance by a Monarchs starter. In Thursday's doubleheader sweep of the Wichita Wheatkings, Patrick Clysdale allowed one run on four hits in a five-inning complete game. Then Alex Schell took a no-hitter into the last inning before allowing a one-out double, the only hit Schell gave up.
Friday, it was Melotakis' turn.
"When you have a good pitching staff, it helps the whole team," Melotakis said. "You go out wanting to do the same as they do, if not better. You want to be right there with those guys."
Stephen Gandy, an infielder who was the designated hitter Friday, is a collegiate teammate of Melotakis, so he wasn't surprised with the strong performance.
"Fourteen strikeouts is amazing," Gandy said. "He was just a freshman last year, but he was our Sunday guy toward the end of the season."
Scott Keffer came in relief of Melotakis and threw two perfect innings, striking out four. That's 18 strikeouts out of a possible 27 outs.
With the pitching the Monarchs have gotten lately, runs don't need to be plentiful. Friday, the Monarchs still scored more than enough, getting 10 hits along the way against Salina pitchers Hayden Shirley and Matt Eshleman.
"Those were two pretty good arms Salina threw," Ehling said. "My hat's off to them. They competed in the zone with two pitches. It's tough to stay focused in the box when you know they have two pitches with two speeds."
The Monarchs jumped on Shirley, the losing pitcher, in the second inning. Thomas Holiday continued his hot hitting with a leadoff double. With two outs, Gandy hit the first of his two doubles, scoring Holiday. Tyler Sterling singled and Gandy moved to third. Ryne Head walked, loading the bases, and Ian Atkinson also walked, scoring Gandy.
In the fourth inning, Gandy led off and doubled, moved to third on Sterling's single and scored when Head grounded into a double play.
The Monarchs added two more runs in the sixth inning. Sterling and Head singled, and with two outs, Jordan Pearson reached on Conner Martin's throwing error. Sterling and Head scored on the play.
Six of the Monarchs' hits came from Gandy, Sterling and Head, who hit at the bottom of the batting order.
"The top guys get on, because that's what they do," Gandy said. "When the guys at the bottom of the order come up and hit, that's where the big innings come. I think we can do that the rest of the year."
Especially with the pitching the Monarchs have had.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
2 Demons on to Super Regionals
While we are cheering for Trecey Rew in the NCAA Track and Field Championships, we have two former Demon head coaches to root for in the 16-team NCAA Super Regionals in baseball.
Dave Van Horn (NSU head coach 1995-97) and his Arkansas Razorbacks will try to make it back to the College World Series for a second straight year, but it's a tough road. They beat Washington State in Fayetteville to win their regional, and now must visit No. 1-ranked Arizona State in a best-of-three series beginning Saturday.
Arkansas (43-19) takes on the Sun Devils (50-8)at 8 Saturday night on ESPNU, at 9 Sunday night on ESPN2 and perhaps at 6 Monday evening on ESPN2.
Mitch Gaspard was the Demons head coach from 2002-07, and is in his first year in that capacity with Alabama. He's gotten the Crimson Tide to rise at the right time. They rode an eight-game win streak into the SEC Tournament finals, before falling to LSU, but surprised high-seeded Georgia Tech to win the Atlanta Regional Sunday.
Bama (41-23) visits Clemson (41-22) beginning Saturday. The first game is at 5 on ESPNU, then Sunday's game is at 6 on ESPN2 and if there's a third game, it will be either at noon or 6 Monday on ESPN2, pending other Super Regional results.
Dave Van Horn (NSU head coach 1995-97) and his Arkansas Razorbacks will try to make it back to the College World Series for a second straight year, but it's a tough road. They beat Washington State in Fayetteville to win their regional, and now must visit No. 1-ranked Arizona State in a best-of-three series beginning Saturday.
Arkansas (43-19) takes on the Sun Devils (50-8)at 8 Saturday night on ESPNU, at 9 Sunday night on ESPN2 and perhaps at 6 Monday evening on ESPN2.
Mitch Gaspard was the Demons head coach from 2002-07, and is in his first year in that capacity with Alabama. He's gotten the Crimson Tide to rise at the right time. They rode an eight-game win streak into the SEC Tournament finals, before falling to LSU, but surprised high-seeded Georgia Tech to win the Atlanta Regional Sunday.
Bama (41-23) visits Clemson (41-22) beginning Saturday. The first game is at 5 on ESPNU, then Sunday's game is at 6 on ESPN2 and if there's a third game, it will be either at noon or 6 Monday on ESPN2, pending other Super Regional results.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Late nights for rooting for Trecey Rew
Here's the schedule for NSU standout Trecey Rew's competition next week in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., at storied Hayward Field:
Discus final – Wednesday 7:15 our time.
Shot put final – Friday 6:45 our time.
For the full rundown on the NCAA Championships, visit:
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/c-otrack/champpage/c-otrack-div1-index.html
Her 179-0 discus mark ranks 9th nationally.
Her 54-11 ¼ shot put mark is 6th nationally.
The op 8 finishers, and the top 8 American-born finishers, make the USA Track and Field Coaches Association's All-America team.
Trecey and Lady Demon head coach Mike Heimerman travel Sunday, arriving in Portland about 9:30 and driving down to Eugene. That was the only connection available - and with her competing Wednesday, it was not a good plan to travel Monday.
This way, says Heimerman, she will be able to practice both events on site before the competition begins. The venue should be a tremendous improvement over the East regional site.
There, the shot put ring was directly underneath the scoreboard with public address speakers blaring, and the landing area of the discus was about a foot to 18 inches higher than the ring, which means throws hit the ground earlier than they should have and perhaps a few inches would have been added.
Just sayin' ...
Discus final – Wednesday 7:15 our time.
Shot put final – Friday 6:45 our time.
For the full rundown on the NCAA Championships, visit:
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/c-otrack/champpage/c-otrack-div1-index.html
Her 179-0 discus mark ranks 9th nationally.
Her 54-11 ¼ shot put mark is 6th nationally.
The op 8 finishers, and the top 8 American-born finishers, make the USA Track and Field Coaches Association's All-America team.
Trecey and Lady Demon head coach Mike Heimerman travel Sunday, arriving in Portland about 9:30 and driving down to Eugene. That was the only connection available - and with her competing Wednesday, it was not a good plan to travel Monday.
This way, says Heimerman, she will be able to practice both events on site before the competition begins. The venue should be a tremendous improvement over the East regional site.
There, the shot put ring was directly underneath the scoreboard with public address speakers blaring, and the landing area of the discus was about a foot to 18 inches higher than the ring, which means throws hit the ground earlier than they should have and perhaps a few inches would have been added.
Just sayin' ...
Monday, May 31, 2010
Former Demons in baseball postseason
If you're looking for rooting interests in college baseball's postseason, as an NSU fan, you have plenty.
Fomrer Demon head coach Dave Van Horn (1995-97) has his Arkansas Razorbacks hosting Grambling in the Fayetteville Regional. Van Horn requested copies of the Demons' media guides for his seasons in Natchitoches over the winter to reflect on those three years.
Some of the players, especially pitchers, he left behind could be pregame topics of conversation this weekend at the regional because also in Fayetteville is Kansas State, with pitching coach Sean McCann, who was John Cohen's pitching coach at NSU from 1998-2000. Joining him on the K-State staff is Andy Sawyers, the second-year hitting coach for the Wildcats who was Cohen's assistant in 1999-2000 when NSU was second in the Southland. The K-State sports information director is Kenny Lannou, who was assistant SID at NSU in 2002-03. The fourth team in that regional is Washington State, the first round foe for the Wildcats.
Mitch Gaspard, Demon head coach from 2002-2007, guided his first Alabama team to a strong finish and the Southeastern Conference Tournament finals, where the Tide fell in 11 innings to LSU. The Crimson Tide is the No. 2 seed in Atlanta playing Elon, with top-seeded Georgia Tech hosting Mercer in the other matchup there. Bobby Barbier, an Academic All-America first baseman for the Demons in 2004, is on Gaspard's staff as a volunteer coach, with his duties including third base coach. Barbier finished four seasons at NSU ranked in the top 10 of eight offensive categories and helped Gaspard's Demons reach the 2005 NCAA Tournament after winning the Southland Conference regular-season title.
Former Gaspard assistant Travis Janssen (2002-04) is an assistant at Jacksonville State, which swept through the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament unbeaten. The Gamecocks' reward is one of the toughest regional draws. Jacksonville State is in the Auburn regional, playing the home team, and Southern Mississippi plays Clemson on the other side of the bracket.
Former Van Horn pitching coach Rob Childress (at NSU 1995-97), in his third year as head coach at Texas A&M, guided the Aggies through the Big XII Conference Tournament unbeaten, highlighted by a 9-3 whipping of rival Texas. In the Coral Gables Regional as the No. 2 seed, A&M meets local favorite Florida International, who has Garrett Wittels, whose 54-game hitting streak is four back of the NCAA record 58 by Oklahoma State's Robin Ventura in 1987. Childress will call the pitches trying to stop him. No. 1 seed Miami and Dartmouth are the other two teams there. Another former Van Horn assistant at NSU, Matt Deggs, is the Aggies' associate head coach, and runs A&M's offense.
Former Jim Wells assistant (1991-92) Mike Bianco and his Ole Miss team are headed to the home of Thomas Jefferson. Ole Miss is a No. 2 seed at Virginia, the national No. 5 seed. The Rebels are playing St. John's and Virginia Commonwealth is the four seed in the Charlottesville Regional. Wonder if Bianco will take the boys by Monticello?
It goes beyond the NCAA Division I level.
Former Demon assistant Kyle Crookes and former Demon outfielder Stephen "Skunk" Adams are coaching Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College in the NJCAA (junior college) World Series. Crooks is head coach and Adams is his No. 1 assistant for a team that took a 37-22 record into postseason. Some former Hutchinson players on the Demon roster were 2010 senior Eric DeBlanc, slugging junior infielder Adam Roy and former SLC Player of the Year Jordan Robison. Crookes is in his sixth season as head coach at Hutch after being an assistant for four, and those 10 seasons have been the most successful in Hutchinson history. Crookes is 217-122 in six years as head coach. Adams, an All-Southland pick as a junior and senior for the Demons, is in his fifth season on the staff.
Fomrer Demon head coach Dave Van Horn (1995-97) has his Arkansas Razorbacks hosting Grambling in the Fayetteville Regional. Van Horn requested copies of the Demons' media guides for his seasons in Natchitoches over the winter to reflect on those three years.
Some of the players, especially pitchers, he left behind could be pregame topics of conversation this weekend at the regional because also in Fayetteville is Kansas State, with pitching coach Sean McCann, who was John Cohen's pitching coach at NSU from 1998-2000. Joining him on the K-State staff is Andy Sawyers, the second-year hitting coach for the Wildcats who was Cohen's assistant in 1999-2000 when NSU was second in the Southland. The K-State sports information director is Kenny Lannou, who was assistant SID at NSU in 2002-03. The fourth team in that regional is Washington State, the first round foe for the Wildcats.
Mitch Gaspard, Demon head coach from 2002-2007, guided his first Alabama team to a strong finish and the Southeastern Conference Tournament finals, where the Tide fell in 11 innings to LSU. The Crimson Tide is the No. 2 seed in Atlanta playing Elon, with top-seeded Georgia Tech hosting Mercer in the other matchup there. Bobby Barbier, an Academic All-America first baseman for the Demons in 2004, is on Gaspard's staff as a volunteer coach, with his duties including third base coach. Barbier finished four seasons at NSU ranked in the top 10 of eight offensive categories and helped Gaspard's Demons reach the 2005 NCAA Tournament after winning the Southland Conference regular-season title.
Former Gaspard assistant Travis Janssen (2002-04) is an assistant at Jacksonville State, which swept through the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament unbeaten. The Gamecocks' reward is one of the toughest regional draws. Jacksonville State is in the Auburn regional, playing the home team, and Southern Mississippi plays Clemson on the other side of the bracket.
Former Van Horn pitching coach Rob Childress (at NSU 1995-97), in his third year as head coach at Texas A&M, guided the Aggies through the Big XII Conference Tournament unbeaten, highlighted by a 9-3 whipping of rival Texas. In the Coral Gables Regional as the No. 2 seed, A&M meets local favorite Florida International, who has Garrett Wittels, whose 54-game hitting streak is four back of the NCAA record 58 by Oklahoma State's Robin Ventura in 1987. Childress will call the pitches trying to stop him. No. 1 seed Miami and Dartmouth are the other two teams there. Another former Van Horn assistant at NSU, Matt Deggs, is the Aggies' associate head coach, and runs A&M's offense.
Former Jim Wells assistant (1991-92) Mike Bianco and his Ole Miss team are headed to the home of Thomas Jefferson. Ole Miss is a No. 2 seed at Virginia, the national No. 5 seed. The Rebels are playing St. John's and Virginia Commonwealth is the four seed in the Charlottesville Regional. Wonder if Bianco will take the boys by Monticello?
It goes beyond the NCAA Division I level.
Former Demon assistant Kyle Crookes and former Demon outfielder Stephen "Skunk" Adams are coaching Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College in the NJCAA (junior college) World Series. Crooks is head coach and Adams is his No. 1 assistant for a team that took a 37-22 record into postseason. Some former Hutchinson players on the Demon roster were 2010 senior Eric DeBlanc, slugging junior infielder Adam Roy and former SLC Player of the Year Jordan Robison. Crookes is in his sixth season as head coach at Hutch after being an assistant for four, and those 10 seasons have been the most successful in Hutchinson history. Crookes is 217-122 in six years as head coach. Adams, an All-Southland pick as a junior and senior for the Demons, is in his fifth season on the staff.
Monday, May 03, 2010
NSU Baseball Weekly Report - May 3, 2010
Northwestern State Baseball Report – May 3, 2010
Overall Record: 28-16 (15-8 in Southland Conference)
Last Week: 2-2
April 27 lost 2-1 (10) at Centenary
April 30 won 4-3 at Central Arkansas
May 1 lost 5-4 (13) at Central Arkansas
May 2 won 11-4 at Central Arkansas
Nominee for Pitcher of the Week
Dustin Northcott, Jr.-RS, 6-1, 210, Alberta, Canada, West Central HS, Indian Hill CC
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Northcott was the third pitcher entered in the game for the Demons on Sunday and pitched NSU out of a third-inning jam. He then went on to get the win after throwing 7.0 relief innings while holding Central Arkansas to just two hits and no runs and striking out four. He retired the last 10 batters to end the game.
Nominee for Hitter of the Week
LF Eric DeBlanc, Sr.-1L, 6-0, 200, Scott, La., St. Thomas More HS
.450, 4 G, 4 GS, 9-20, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, .750 SLG, .500 OB, 2 BB, 3 SO
DeBlanc improved his career-long hitting streak to 17 games after he hit safely in all four games for the week… his 2-run, 2-out home run in the top of the ninth inning on Friday lifted the Demons to a 4-3 win over UCA…he has had multiple hits in seven straight games and is hitting .449 and slugging .679 during his current hitting streak… for the week, he also had three doubles, knocked in five runs, and scored four times.
Weekly Notes
NSU went 2-2 on the week and won its fifth SLC series of the season after taking two out of three from UCA… that series wrapped up a 9-game road swing away from home… NSU went 3-6 during that span… catcher Aaron Munoz picked off his 11th runner over the weekend which ranks him No. 1 in Division I baseball… Eric DeBlanc extended his hitting streak to 17 games, a career high. That’s one game shy of the season high of 18 set by Chase Lyles earlier this season. That 17 game streak ranks as the third longest in school history… with two strikeouts on Saturday, Luke Irvine now has 85 for the season which ranks tied as the 5th most in school history in a single season. The record is 110… relief pitcher Heath Hennigan needs five Ks to set the mark as the school’s all-time career strikeout king. He has 237 with the record being 241 set by Jimmy Heard last season… after hitting 19 home runs in their first 28 games, the Demons have matched that with 19 in the last 16 games.
The Week Ahead
Saturday, May 8 vs. Lamar, 2 p.m. DH
Sunday, May 9 vs. Lamar, 1 p.m.
Overall Record: 28-16 (15-8 in Southland Conference)
Last Week: 2-2
April 27 lost 2-1 (10) at Centenary
April 30 won 4-3 at Central Arkansas
May 1 lost 5-4 (13) at Central Arkansas
May 2 won 11-4 at Central Arkansas
Nominee for Pitcher of the Week
Dustin Northcott, Jr.-RS, 6-1, 210, Alberta, Canada, West Central HS, Indian Hill CC
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Northcott was the third pitcher entered in the game for the Demons on Sunday and pitched NSU out of a third-inning jam. He then went on to get the win after throwing 7.0 relief innings while holding Central Arkansas to just two hits and no runs and striking out four. He retired the last 10 batters to end the game.
Nominee for Hitter of the Week
LF Eric DeBlanc, Sr.-1L, 6-0, 200, Scott, La., St. Thomas More HS
.450, 4 G, 4 GS, 9-20, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, .750 SLG, .500 OB, 2 BB, 3 SO
DeBlanc improved his career-long hitting streak to 17 games after he hit safely in all four games for the week… his 2-run, 2-out home run in the top of the ninth inning on Friday lifted the Demons to a 4-3 win over UCA…he has had multiple hits in seven straight games and is hitting .449 and slugging .679 during his current hitting streak… for the week, he also had three doubles, knocked in five runs, and scored four times.
Weekly Notes
NSU went 2-2 on the week and won its fifth SLC series of the season after taking two out of three from UCA… that series wrapped up a 9-game road swing away from home… NSU went 3-6 during that span… catcher Aaron Munoz picked off his 11th runner over the weekend which ranks him No. 1 in Division I baseball… Eric DeBlanc extended his hitting streak to 17 games, a career high. That’s one game shy of the season high of 18 set by Chase Lyles earlier this season. That 17 game streak ranks as the third longest in school history… with two strikeouts on Saturday, Luke Irvine now has 85 for the season which ranks tied as the 5th most in school history in a single season. The record is 110… relief pitcher Heath Hennigan needs five Ks to set the mark as the school’s all-time career strikeout king. He has 237 with the record being 241 set by Jimmy Heard last season… after hitting 19 home runs in their first 28 games, the Demons have matched that with 19 in the last 16 games.
The Week Ahead
Saturday, May 8 vs. Lamar, 2 p.m. DH
Sunday, May 9 vs. Lamar, 1 p.m.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)