OVC 2009 Predictions

[UpTownHOyas]

any thoughts??

[balla4life]

fairland will win the conference easily. too much senior talent coming back in Thackston, Easterling, Burcham, Jordan, and others. i also hear that Hatfield is coming back and playing which is a key for the dragons because of how great of an athlete he is. not to mention the dragons also have good younger talent in fisher and roe which will make that outfield that much better. the dragons will have TONS of pitching with Burcham, Thackston, Hatfield, Easterling, Fisher, Long, Godby, and maybe even more then that. dragons win the conference with ease.

[collegesports]

You have to like Fairland in this one.They have a nucleus of kids that have been winning together since they were 10 yrs.old.They will be deep in every facet of the game:hitting,pitching,defense.Having said that,they have to practice and play with hunger and desire which should not be a problem since this will be their last time together.

[UpTownHOyas]

i don't believe fairland will have any competition whatsoever. they will have an infield of nothing but the most talented players in the OVC by far. they also have an unbelievable pitching staff to back up there very good run production.
they will be completely unstoppable.

[collegesports]

i will reiterate that hunger,desire,and hard work needs to take place.having said that,consider these names:zach jordan,cole hatfield,tyler thackston,robby easterling ,zach matasich,tyler godby,adam berry,ethan long,nate burcham,chad fisher,matt campbell,javie roe.with the exception of hatfield(who did play last year,but did the previous 2 years),these kids were all major contributors to LAST YEARS ovc championship team.if i were the coach,i would constantly remind them to remember that this is their last hoora together. remember,this is the group who finished 4th in the state as 11-12 yr olds,state champions as 13-14 yr olds,and 2nd in state as 15-16 yr olds.got to want it though.baseball is a funny game.the best teams in the majors lose 4 out 10 games .they will also have targets on their backs from the opposition and teams will play at their best against them

[SportsMom]

lets not count out the boys from CG!!!!!! they could surprise you!!!!! They've got Sparks, Haynes, murphy and several other good ones back!!!! So don't count them out!!!!!!! GO GROVE!!!!!!!!!!!

[collegesports]

i'm not counting anybody out.why do think i am harping on desire and hard work?i know cg will have a nice team and i also know that fairland will see everyone's ace pitcher.but i also know that of this fairland group, seven started as freshman and during this time,their record is like 55-15.not bad by any standard.

[SportsMom]

Cg has beaten Fairland with Sparks pitching more than once---so they're more than capable of doing it!!!! Cg's defense is comfortable behind sparks pitching!!! and it shows!!!! I think it's going to come down to who wants it more !!!! Cg and Fairland both will and should have the talent to make it an interesting season!!
GO BIG GROVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE TEAMS WHEN THE SEASON STARTS!!!!

[cgbaseballa839]

as a former coal grove player i would be the first to say coal grove all the way but knowing that fairland beat the most talented team coal groves had in years 2 of 3 times last year im thinking with fairlands senior talent that they got it. coal grove will have the best pitcher in the OVC by far with sparks on the mound who i believe will be throwing consistand 85 and has the best junk iv seen as a player. fairland will have to have a good all around game to beat sparks but with senior leadership i think fairland will take it this year but GO GROVE and il be there cheerin ya on! please do what we couldnt do last year! GO GROVE!!!!

[UpTownHOyas]

cgbaseball i hope sparks throws a consistent 85, because i have no doubt in my mind about the hitting the dragons have. sparks might be a good pitcher, but he isnt the best in the OVC, and i think fairland will personally prove that point wrong. but im glad you realize the talent the seniors of Fairland have.

[balla4life]

sparks is not the best pitcher in the ovc. he also does not come close to touching 85. im not down playing the kid. hes a good pitcher. i just dont think some people know what 85 truely is. fairland takes the ovc.

[Grits]

I will always pull for Fairland but as I tell my college pitcher son- It does not matter how fast you throw. When is the last time you saw any "stats" on speed in high school?

Pitching Stats usually include:
ERA,W-L, APP, GS, SV, IP, H,R ER, BB, SO, 2B, 3B, HR, AB, HBP, for pitchers.

And great pitching must be backed up by solid hitting, scoring and as few errors as possible.
Hope everyone is conditioning and getting ready. Best of Luck to ALL!

[BlizzardMan]

I would just like to see RV win three conference games this year. The losing has went on long enough.

[highschoolfan90]

cgbaseball, sparks is a good pitcher, but i would say zimmerman from chesapeake is the best in the conference this year. He isn't backed by very good defense or hitting, but he's someone i wouldn't want to face

[jl724]

NO WAY IS ZIMMERMAN THE BET PITCHER, IVE PLAYED AGAINST HIM..FAIRLAND HAS THE TOP 3 OR 4 PITCHERS IN THE OVC WITHOUT A DOUBT.

[osumufan]

If Fairlnad plays as inconsisitent in baseball as they have in basketball this season then they might lose some OVC games. They have the talent to win it all, but let's see if they really can. If they don't win it all then there is something wrong!

[bucking red]

If FHS ever played up to their potential they have the talent to go along way. They have pitching and hitting the only thing this team lacks is overall speed.

[UpTownHOyas]

If Fairlnad plays as inconsisitent in baseball as they have in basketball this season then they might lose some OVC games. They have the talent to win it all, but let's see if they really can. If they don't win it all then there is something wrong!

you can't even compare baseball to basketball.


and bucking red just what kind of speed do you think we are lacking?

[jl724]

Fairland isnt gonna need much speed with all the big hitters they have.

[groveyard08]

ur crazy to think sparks doesnt throw 85..i pitched for the grove last year and i hit 85 and sparks burned me...all out he could reach 90mph if he wanted!! but at consistant speed he is right at 85! he will be a big threat in the ovc and one of cg weapons!! he didnt even throw his best pitch last year at all!! i guarentee hes been working on his knuckle ball and i promise u its the sickest thing i hav ever seen!! he threw it to me last year and its not an ordinary knuckle ball..its just a tad slower than his fastball but the movement on it it ridiculous!!

good luck grove i hope u bring the ovc home!!!