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Was fortunate to have the good experience of watching some of the Varsity/JV team in the "open gym" hitting facility last week as they were finishing up and some of the younger kids and us dads were waiting to take some batting practice and looks like Coach McGraw-Landrum-Lord had quite a turnout and some of the boys looking good in the cage.

Little bit of excitement brewing as McGraw has some experienced and some new talent to work with for this year, some people expecting the Ironmen to be pretty competitive in the SEOAL this season...assume the favorite is Gallia Academy but will need to wait and see. Spring practice right around the corner....finally.

This JHS baseball alumni wishes a great season to Coach McGraw and his team. We'll cross paths a lot in February and March.

Just heard the Ironmen are set up for a scrimmage with the defending State Champion Wheelersburg Pirates this spring. Be interesting to see if the Pirates throw for a coupling innings at least their #1 (senior) and #2 (sophomore) against us. The senior is being looked at by WVU, Cincy and Xavier apparently, and the sophomore was the freshman last year that threw in the State Championship game. Be some great early season baseball teams and players to watch locally.

When and where?

Jackson won 15 games last year with a very young roster. I would be very disappointed if they didn't win at least that many. Coach McGraw is the right man to lead the IRONMEN. Jackson baseball will be good for 10 plus years as the younger teams are loaded.

Viking96 wrote:Jackson won 15 games last year with a very young roster. I would be very disappointed if they didn't win at least that many. Coach McGraw is the right man to lead the IRONMEN. Jackson baseball will be good for 10 plus years as the younger teams are loaded.

They are strong down thru the elementary grades, but many of those kids are in everything and will eventually have to choose. I could see some of those very good players not even being students at JHS down the road....but agree, there are several in every grade who have played a lot of baseball for their age and at a high level as they are very talented. Jackson could very well be set for the next decade....but as many of those kids as possible must stick with it.

Interesting observation, I thought about 5-years ago the same thing about a group of kids. And then there were a couple transfers do to parents moving for employment reasons, and then a couple went to track, and then all of a sudden what was a solid group of 7-8 players went to 4-5, and then one player decides AAU basketball may be his spring sport, and then there are possibilities of injuries....soooo I92 you are right what looks good now...may fall to pieces by the time they are 15-18. But let's hope not, and let's hope Oak Hill and Wellston doesn't claim any of them back lol.

Let me clarify (reword).....those young athletes won't have to choose between sports. I meant it's extremely rare to play all 3 seasons....I sincerely hope that changes.

I've ALWAYS had the belief that the more sports the better (as long as the kid enjoys it)....each sport brings different types of pressure situations. The more of those situations the athlete is in....the better the athlete will handle the pressure situations when it matters the most. Show me a great golfer at 4 foot putts and I'll show you a great free throw shooter. Anyone think throwing a discus or wrestling doesn't help an offensive or defensive lineman?

what grade year is Tyler Neal this year and is he still at jackson ...its been several yrs since ive seen him play ...he was a very good second baseman for us in th SVYL ...used to come to coach schulers summer camp too

Tyler is a great player, 90% sure he is a junior this season. Great position player, played some 2nd Base, some outfield. Good bate usually rakes at the plate. Coach McGraw be leaning on him this year...just a few seniors and a boatload of juniors, sophomores and freshmen.

Only 20 games?....or was I misinformed?

Ironman92 wrote:Only 20 games?....or was I misinformed?

I heard 22, but not sure schedule is 100% completed...may be trying to add one here or there or confirm a DH date.

How about the JHS Softball...how many scheduled games you have?

24 scheduled and it's killer lol

We have Minford, Wellston and Waverly as non league on Mon, Tues and Thurs with league games Wed and Fri....that's the first week. Minford, Wellston and Waverly are 3 very good teams with great pitching....tough tough start that doesn't ease up much. Defending the title is going to be tough....keeping a good non-league record with only 1 main pitcher will be very tough....hopefully our backups keep improving. League title....district championship.

Schedule looks like it is posted on www.jacksonbullpen.com. Looks like about 22 dates with some DH's, so 24 or 25 games it appears...weather permitting as always. Plus the Jackson County event Ironmen-Rockets-Oaks so maybe a couple more games on top of that.

40+ kids turned out for JV and Varsity teams this year and I was told an announcement at the JHS Baseball Dinner & Auction this past weekend was made that given the numbers in 8th grade that Jackson would have a freshman team in 2014. Ironman baseball is back and that is some good news.

Jackson Varsity has scrimmaged Porstmouth Notre Dame and defending State Champions Wheelersburg thus far, both away. While I did not travel to see them both outings were solid..."winning" the ND outing and hanging tough in a "losing" effort by a couple runs to the Burg. Neither Burg nor Jackson threw their aces as opening day starts 3/30 for both teams, but a lot of work for 4 or so other pitchers including a couple freshmen for Jackson.

Jackson JV only scrimmage pre-season was with Oak Hill and they are solid 1-15 with a number of talented freshmen and sophomores easily "winning" that scrimmage.

Having a log-jam of talent on both JV and Varsity squads is I am sure not a problem with Coach McGraw.

Good luck opening up in Minford with a DH to the Ironmen on Saturday. Look for seniors Stanley and Abrams to be on the hill for Jackson opening day and some appearances by some freshman pitchers as well. Good luck to all the players on both squads.

Jackson is very solid. They're a young team too. The catcher has a good arm and blocks well behind the plate. I could see this team making some noise for sure. Josh McGraw is a great teacher of the game as well.

Jackson Varsity Home Opener against Wellston Golden Rockets tonight. On the hill for the Ironmen will be Austin Leach not sure who is getting the starting nod for the Rockets.

JV travel to Southeastern.

Varsity record is 2-0 after sweeping Minford. This will be the JV's first game.

Good luck to both squads.

Ironman Varsity squad out of the gate fast with a 5-0 record, and playing a DH against Waverly today.

Is Jackson playing at home today?