Baseball Ops (99)

Congratulations to Circleville Post 134, Ohio Region V Champions!

 

Chillicothe OH -- It's tourney time in Region V Ohio American Legion Baseball again! Beginning Sunday July 17th the tournament kicks off at 8:30 am. All games will be played at VA Memorial Stadium. The final seeding, based on league play, is as follows:

  1. Circleville Post 134
  2. Waverly Post 142
  3. Chillicothe Post 62
  4. Chillicothe Post 757
  5. Hillsboro Post 129
  6. Portsmouth Post 23

Come on out to VA Memorial Stadium and support local youth baseball players!! 

G# DATE DAY TIME TEAMS RESULT
1 7/17/16 SUN  8:30 am 4 Chillicothe 757 | 5 Hillsboro 129 Chillicothe 757, 12 - 1
2 7/17/16 SUN  11:00 am 3 Chillicothe 62 | 6 Portsmouth 23 Chillicothe 62, 7 - 1
3 7/18/16 MON 3:00 pm 1 Circleville | Winner G1 Chillicothe 757 Circleville, 13 - 3
4 7/18/16 MON  9:00 am 2 Waverly | Winner G2 Chillicothe 62 Waverly, 4 - 3
5 7/18/16 MON  6:00 pm Loser G2 Portsmouth 23 | Loser G3 Chillicothe 757 Chillicothe 757, 10 - 9
6 7/18/16 MON 12:00 pm  Loser G1 Hillsboro 129 | Loser G4 Chillicothe 62 Hillsboro, 12 - 4
7 7/20/16 WED 3:00 pm  Winner G3 Circleville | Winner G4 Waverly Circleville, 14 - 4 
8 7/20/16 WED  12:00 pm Winner G5 Chillicothe 757 | Winner G6 Hillsboro 129  Chillicothe 757, 4 - 3
9 7/20/16 WED  6:00 pm Loser G7 Waverly | Winner G8 Chillicothe 757 Waverly, 17 - 7 
10 7/21/16 THU  4:00 pm Winner G7 Circleville | Winner G9 Waverly   Circleville Champions, 11 - 4 
11 7/21/16 THU  7:00 pm Champion | Loser G10 (if 1st loss)  

 

 

, Reporter7:29 p.m. EDT July 13, 2016

 

CHILLICOTHE - As Chillicothe Post 757 heads towards the Region V Tournament, the Colts are in good hands when comes to a leadership aspect.

Veterans Zack Stapleton, Leo Woods and Cody Hendershot are all in their last year with the organization and, because of that factor, they're determined to carry their team on the deepest postseason run possible.

The recipe for that hoped for success? Heart, togetherness and hitting the cover off the ball.

"We can win the whole thing if we put our minds to it," Woods said, a four-year veteran on the club. "We have to come out playing in every game, play together and listen to our coaches. We've got a lot of new kids this year, who have never been in the tournament. It's up to us older guys to show them the ropes."

The Colts (11-18) have just two regular season games left, a doubleheader with Hillsboro Post 129 on Thursday evening before the tournament starts. In a double-elimination format, two losses over the weekend signal the end of three storied 757 careers.

"The other night, we played our last game on our home field," Hendershot recalled, speaking of Post 757's JW Hoffman Field in Chillicothe's Mary Lou Patton Park. "That was a bittersweet feeling. I love playing here. It's been home for seven years. To know that I was stepping on that field for the last time, in a game sense, it was emotional."

Hendershot, 19, has spent the longest of the three with the Colts as the 2016 summer marks his seventh in blue and gold. The Southeastern High School graduate originally planned to play for 757's crosstown rival Post 62, but thought otherwise when the two parties' first meeting didn't go as planned.

"When I came out of little league, I wanted to play for Post 62 because that's where all of my friends were playing," Hendershot said. "But there was a lot of 'daddy ball' so to speak. So when I showed up to tryouts, they didn't want me because they already had their team picked. I then came to 757 and (coach) Tom (Barr) gave me the chance. After my first year here and pretty much every year since, I've been offered the chance to go to 62. But I haven't done that because they didn't want me."

At 19 years old, Stapleton is in his sixth season with the Colts out of Jackson High School.

"A kid from Jackson told me to come up and try out when I was around 13 years old," Stapleton said. "That's what brought me here and I've stayed ever since. I've grown up with some of the guys I've met here and have made some really good friends."

Whatever the reason in which the three came to 757, the Colts are glad they have them on the roster. But as Hendershot alluded to, Barr is a central reason why they continue to show up summer after summer.

"Coach Barr is a confidence booster and he likes playing the game hard," Stapleton said. "He doesn't like losing and neither do I. I've grown a lot as a ballplayer since coming here. Going into my freshman year, I didn't want to play any sport. Coach Barr is one of the main reasons why I played high school baseball. It's been a roller coaster ride for me but I'm glad I'm on it."

The seeding for this weekend's tournament, being held at VA Memorial Stadium, will take place Friday. No matter where they're seeded or who they're eventually slated to play, 757's goal is a clear one.

"We want to win. Period," Woods said. "We've got a lot of talented guys on our roster and they're able to get the job done. Zack, Cody and myself have to be the leaders. We have to bring the intensity and we have to get our guys up. If we do that, you never know, you may just see an underdog win a tournament championship."

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509

Follow along

The Gazette will have live coverage of the American Legion Region V Tournament as Chillicothe's Post 62 and 757 both vie for a championship. Follow @dw1509 on Twitter for updates throughout the event and visit chillicothegazette.com for full details.

Gazette Staff 4:31 p.m. EDT July 8, 2016

 

FRANKFORT - The Adena High School baseball program will hold a youth camp from July 19-21 at the high school baseball field for grades K-8 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Players from all area schools are welcome to participate. The cost per camper is $30 and instruction will be given in throwing, hitting, fielding, base running, pitching, and catching in a fun environment.

Campers will need to bring a bat, glove, and other equipment necessary to work hard and be prepared. Registration is available at the field but is encouraged via the camp’s website at Chillicothebaseball.com/camp.

Parents are welcome to bring their lawnchairs and watch as well.

If you have any further question, contact Adena High School baseball coach Tom Barr at AdenaWarriors@gmail.com or by phone at 740-703-1184.

 and , Editor10:17 p.m. EDT July 8, 2016

CHILLICOTHE – When the high school sports season starts next month, the “Voice of the Scioto Valley Conference” will change.

Mike Smith, a local radio mainstay for more than 37 years, was not retained by the iHeartMedia stations in Chillicothe, as of Friday. Smith was not only news director at the WKKJ-FM and WBEX-AM, but a noted play-by-play voice for SVC sports for many of his years there.

Smith confirmed that he was no longer with iHeartMedia in a post on his private Facebook page and to the Gazette.

“I would want to thank all the owners and managers that allowed me to do a job that was a dream of mine since I was 12,” he said in a statement. “I have been blessed by faithful listeners and the great broadcasters I have worked with over 37 years.”

Smith cut back his schedule of broadcasting games in recent years, choosing to let others do play-by-play on football games, but kept a regular schedule of volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball.

Local coaches and officials gave thanks to Smith for everything he's done during his time with WKKJ and WBEX.

"(Smith) is the first person I think of when I think about SVC athletics. Since I can remember, his voice and appearance are synonymous with everything that is great about athletics in our conference," Unioto basketball coach Matt Hoops said. "He was the best in every aspect. It was his voice I would have in my head when I was 10 years old shooting baskets on my driveway, hoping someday to hear him call a game I would play in. He made so many memories for so many people, special."

Bud Lytle, who worked with Smith as a softball coach from 2012 to 2015 and as a detective from 2007 to the present time, echoed those sentiments.

"When I was growing up playing sports, Mike Smith was the voice of the SVC. Period," Lytle said. "That's who you associated with when it came to sports in our area. He has covered every big game that I can remember. From the time I was in high school to the time I started to coach, he was there. He was just an absolutely tremendous advocate for all of our local athletes."

Local listeners expressed shock on iHeart’s Facebook page with one person writing, “Very disappointed in your company for not retaining Mike Smith. He is loved by many in central and southern Ohio. Your company obviously has no idea about the impact he has on our region.”

During his career, Smith has covered hundreds of championship games a well as Adena's girls' basketball state championship in 1994 and Paint Valley's baseball state title in 1995. Smith was named Associated Press Sportscaster of the Year four times as well as the AP News Anchor of the Year once.

Smith is a member of the Zane Trace Tip-Off Classic Hall of Fame, has led his station to AP Ohio Most Outstanding Sports Operation 19 times, and is a two-time winner of the OPI Award for Best Public Affairs Interview in Ohio for The Sounding Board.What’s next for Smith is exactly known, but he’s upbeat. “God has a plan for each of us, and I'm excited to find out what the next chapter is for me,” he said.

CONNOR DAVIS AND TJ BARR, BOTH AGE NINE, PLAY FOR ROSS COMPUTER SERVICES IN THE CYBL. FOR THEM, BASEBALL IS KING.

Editor's note: The Boys of Summer series follows Ross Computer Services, a team in the Chillicothe Youth Baseball League. 

CHILLICOTHE - "Believe in yourself."

It's a simple, easy-to-understand sentiment but yet holds a mountain of meaning inside Ross Computer Services' dugout. While the saying has caught on like wildfire as the season has gone along, one would think a coach or a parent would've introduced the saying to the little league team's 13 roster members consisting of 8, 9 and 10-year-olds.

However, that credit belongs to 9-year-old Connor Davis.

"You have to believe in yourself," Connor said. "You have to know you can do it. That's why I say it."

During one of the team's early season contests, Connor introduced the saying from his left field position. With his teammate Jack Oyer on the mound, he loudly proclaimed "Come on Jack, we need a strike. You just have to believe in yourself."

From that point on, Connor's coined saying has become the team's actual motto. And Connor, himself, now wears a "Believe in yourself" T-shirt to each game as if he's ready to patent the saying.

"I don't know where it came from," Connor said. "I just kind of said it one day because I think it's helped me. When I bat, I go up there and believe in myself. And if I do that, I usually hit the ball."

He might just be onto something.

When the season started, Ross Computers' coaching staff collectively thought Connor would be a bottom-of-the-lineup type hitter. Since that time, he's successfully moved into the two-hole and established himself as one of the team's best contact hitters.



TJ Barr hits the ball during a game Tuesday, June 7,Speaking of contact hitters, Connor's teammate TJ Barr has become quite the slugger himself.

TJ, nicknamed "Big Shug," started the year with a picture perfect swing but rarely managed to make contact. As the year came along, so did Big Shug's hitting.

In a tournament game against the Stampede, TJ sent a ball over the right fielder's head for a clean two-run double. When the Stampede's defense bobbled the ball, TJ advanced all the way home, making the play worth three runs and giving his team an 8-3 lead.

"I was surprised I hit it that far," TJ said. "I think when I swung, I had my eyes closed. It was close to hitting me so I swung."

“I was surprised I hit it that far. I think when I swung, I had my eyes closed. It was close to hitting me so I swung.”
- TJ BARR

Hey, whatever it takes.

TJ, aside from his recent barrage of hitting, is also known for his euphemisms. In the middle of the season, he jetted towards home on a passed ball while standing at third. When he was called out, clearly, at home plate, TJ returned to the dugout and announced, "If I had longer legs, I'd have made it there."

TJ Barr hits the ball during a game Tuesday, June 7,
TJ Barr hits the ball during a game Tuesday, June 7, at Yoctangee Park.
(Photo: Jess Grimm/Chillicothe Gazette)
On another occasion, TJ scored and immediately looked at his mom, Caralee, sitting in the stands and yelled, "I scored. You owe me a video game."

Much like Connor, TJ's dry sense of humor keeps the team smiling. But when the two aren't cracking jokes or supporting their teammates, they're getting better.

After spending much of his time in the outfield this past season, TJ made his first start at first base during the postseason. It went well as the 9-year-old threw two runners out and caught a ball. That was the same game he belted the bases-clearing double.


In any instance, Connor and TJ may not hit a home run in every other at-bat and they may not spend any time on the mound.

But nevertheless, they are what makes up the identity of Ross Computer Services' mojo. Both will return to the team next year before moving up to the CYBL's Major League division. More euphemisms, smiles, hits that surprise TJ, and "believing in themselves" are sure to come.

Part three of the Boys of Summer series will appear in Sunday's Gazette. 

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509

Article courtesy of the Chillicothe Gazette

Brock Netter 7:22 p.m. EDT June 8, 2016

 

CHILLICOTHE - The time had come to light up Joseph W. Hoffman Field.

After 46 years of hosting day game after day game, the Chillicothe Post 757 Colts can now begin to host night games after finalizing and installing six new light towers Thursday afternoon.

The 757 committee spearheaded by General Manager Art DeVore and Don Rockhold, along with 757 coach Tom Barr, Steve Neal, Ron Shoemaker, Bob Puffer, Fred Yengling, Roy Stone, Larry Gates and John Herrnstein, raised more than the $150,000 needed to put the plan into action.

“This is an exciting time to be a part of the Chillicothe Post 757 Colts,” Post 757 coach Tom Barr said. “I’m honored to be a part of this, and I get goose bumps thinking about some of the guys that are looking down with huge smiles on their faces. Guys like Jim Jadwin, Leo Woods, Dick Stewart and countless others who gave so much of their time to the youth of our community.”

DeVore, who has been with the Legion ball club since the day the field opened, couldn’t be more pleased with the lights.

“They are absolutely beautiful,” DeVore said. “Many people told me that we could never raise that type of money, but it didn’t matter. We reached out to people we thought would be willing to help or donate, and I didn’t have one person turn me down. This isn’t a field just for 757; this is a field for the community and our athletes. Back in 1970, Jim Jadwin and I put the first fence post down, and he said: ‘This would be a great place for a baseball field if we can get some lights.’ And 46 years later, we finally got them. We were all really happy and it’s such a wonderful sight to see.”

Rockhold, who has been with the club as a coach and dedicated member since 1971, understands the importance of the lights for those with baseball aspirations.

“A lot of people were amazed by the lights,” he said. “We kept the lights on for about an hour, and a lot of people came out just to see them. That couldn’t believe it. I grew up playing Legion ball in West Virginia, and I was fortunate to have lights and play 7-8 games a week back then. If you want to play college ball and in the major leagues, you have to learn how to play under the lights, and this is a great step in the right direction for us. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”

With the lights have officially been installed, Chillicothe now has three full-size baseball diamonds with light towers, along with VA Memorial Stadium and Balmer Field in the Yoctangee Park. Located in the southeast corner of Mary Lou Patton Park, within Chillicothe city limits, the committee believes the city and community can only benefit from the lights.

In a letter written by Herrnstein and Gates, they elaborated on how the lights will benefit the city and the influence DeVore and Rockhold have had on the Legion team over the years.

“Since the baseball is located on city property, the city and community will accrue the following: A $150,000 improvement to its recreation infrastructure, an additional source of pride on the east side of town, plus a projected two million dollar annual economic impact from planned baseball and softball tournaments. Even more importantly, another lighted field translates into substantially more scholarship opportunities for our surrounding area’s high school athletes; both male and female, which has always been our committee’s highest priority. Approximately 100 local athletes have earned baseball scholarships in the past and have gone on to play at the college level, with an impressive number of those players advancing in the professional ranks.”

DeVore and Rockhold have spent nearly 100 year combined volunteering with the youth of Ross County.

The Colts will play their first game under the lights next Saturday as part of a doubleheader against Portsmouth. The first game will start at 5 p.m., followed by a ceremony at 7:30 p.m., and then the night game with cap the night off.

“You can’t help but to be excited for Art,” Barr said. “He’s been the driving force behind Phase I of the Hoffman Restoration Project. We’ll now move on to Phase II, III and IV, but it will be very special for our kids and community when we finally light up Hoffman Field.”

Article Courtesy of WKKJ Sports Staff

Two Ross County American Legion posts are busy trying to make their baseball programs and facilities, even better.

Chillicothe Post 757 has completed a two-year project, where they have raised over $150,000 to place lights on their Douglas Avenue "Hoffman Field". The field, which was built in 1970, will see its first game night game, this Saturday against Portsmouth Post 23. The first game starts at 5pm, followed by a ceremony then their nightcap at 7:30pm.  

Across town, American Legion Post 62 Baseball will be having a Fish Fry on June 11 from 11am to 7pm at 808 Eastern Avenue at the MJM Express Trucking Company.  The team is working to raise funds for a field improvement project that they will be planning to complete this fall. The project will include adding draining tile to the field located at the Ross County Ballpark on Egypt Pike, performing other work to help with drainage issues on the field, and fixing the fence along both fields at the park. This will be the first fundraiser held so that they can achieve their goal of raising approximately $5,000 to complete the projects.

 

WBEX Sounding Board with Mike Smith, June 7, 2016

Thank you to Mike Smith and Post 757 Baseball VP Don Rockhold for taking the time to discuss the Hoffman Field Restoration Plan! If you missed it, you can hear it here: http://wbex.iheart.com/media/play/27056238/

 

 

    Wins Losses Win% RA RS RD G1 RA G1 RS G2 RA G2 RS G3 RA G3 RS
1 Circleville Post 134 3 0 100.00% 4 21 17 0 3 1 13 3 5
2 Waverly Post 142 Shockers 3 0 100.00% 9 22 13 2 7 0 7 7 8
3 Pickerington Post 283 3 0 100.00% 15 38 23 2 12 5 15 8 11
4 Tri-County Timberwolves 16U 2 1 66.67% 7 17 10 3 0 0 10 4 7
5 Sissonville (WV) Post 94 2 1 66.67% 10 26 16 2 18 8 7 0 1
6 Beverly Post 750/389 2 1 66.67% 30 29 -1 5 6 14 15 11 8
7 Columbus Sharks 1 2 33.33% 12 6 -6 4 6 7 0 1 0
8 Cambridge Post 84 1 2 33.33% 22 9 -13 13 1 2 4 7 4
9 Jackson Post 81 1 2 33.33% 32 32 0 2 13 15 5 15 14
10 Lancaster Post 11 0 3 0.00% 19 5 -14 10 0 4 2 5 3
11 Chillicothe Post 757 JR Colts  0 3 0.00% 31 9 -22 7 3 6 4 18 2
12 Chillicothe Post 757 15U Colts 0 3 0.00% 31 9 -22 13 2 12 2 6 5

 

Wins Losses Win% RA RS RD
Waverly Post 142 Shockers 3 0 100.00% 9 22 13
Circleville Post 134 2 0 100.00% 1 16 15
Pickerington Post 283 2 0 100.00% 7 27 20
Beverly Post 750/389 2 0 100.00% 19 21 2
Tri-County Timberwolves 16U 1 1 50.00% 3 10 7
Sissonville (WV) Post 94 1 1 50.00% 10 25 15
Columbus Sharks 1 1 50.00% 11 6 -5
Cambridge Post 84 1 1 50.00% 15 5 -10
Jackson Post 81 1 2 33.33% 32 32 0
Lancaster Post 11 0 2 0.00% 14 2 -12
Chillicothe Post 757 15U Colts 0 3 0.00% 31 9 -22
Chillicothe Post 757 0 3 0.00% 31 9 -22