Brownsburg basketball teams take two of three this weekend

Girls - BBurg 50, Noblesville 41 - Stephanie Mavunga led the team with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 blocked shots. Ryne Carr played her usual all-around game and had 10 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Lindsey Dall scored 9 points. The Dogs are now 9-2 on the season and play Jeffersonville on December 29th in the Hall of Fame Classic. Jeffersonville is 8-0 and ranked 4th in class 4A.

Boys Friday - Avon 65, BBurg 50 - The Dogs held a 43-40 lead at the 6-minute mark of the fourth quarter, but were outscored 25-7 the rest of the way. Avon was just too quick and too good for BBurg at the end of the game. It was a brutal, physical game as Brownsburg scored 22 of their 50 points from the free throw line. Mycha Whetstone led the team with 22 points and Chase Dutra scored 10. Jaraan Lands pulled down 9 rebounds.

Boys Saturday - BBurg 51, Ben Davis 47 - Great defense and great shooting pushed the Dogs to victory in this game. Brownsburg shot 63 percent (22-35), including and amazing 15-19 from inside the arc. Mycha Whetstone scored 19 points with 5 three pointers and 5 rebounds. Chase Dutra had 8 assists as the team assisted on 16 of the 22 baskets for the Dogs. Jaraan Lands hasd 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting. The Dogs defense caused 29 turnovers and held BD to 37 percent shooting (17-46). The Dogs travel to Perry Meridian (2-5) on December 30th.

Ball State hires football coach?

The rumor floating around this morning is the Ball State has hired Pete Lembo as the new football coach. Lembo has been head coach at Elon University for the past 5 years. The question is...why would he go to Ball State when he has a much better team where he was? According to the Massey ratings Elon would beat Ball State 34-28. Yes, I know Elon is a 1-AA program, but BSU is a low-level 1-A program. Other that prestige and money, why would Lembo go to Muncie?

In other news, the Brownsburg basketball teams play some tough games this weekend:

Girls - Saturday at Noblesville - The home team has won the last 5 games in this series. The two teams play different styles as BBurg likes the games in the 50's while Noblesville can play in the 30's. Sagarin give the Dogs a 17-point edge. While I do think that Brownsburg will win, I think 17 points is way too many points to take.

Boys - Friday at home against Avon - Brownsburg has won 5 of the last 6 games in this series, but were soundly defeated in last year's game by a score of 57-34. It may be more of the same tonight. Avon is led by Notre Dame signee Austin Burgett. Burgett is averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds per game. In Avon's 5 games this year, he has hit 13 3-point baskets and shot 56% from behind the arc. This game may be uglier than the 13-point margin that Sagarin predicts....

Boys - Saturday at Ben Davis - Just like Friday's matchup, the Dogs have had recent success against Ben Davis, winning 3 of the past 4 games....but last year they lost 54-41. Also, just like Friday's game, it may be a repeat of last year's defeat. Ben Davis is led by Harry Wills, who leads the team in scoring (17ppg) and assists and is 2nd on the team in rebounds. David Quarles also adds 17ppg for the Giants.


BBurg leaders

Girls:
Scoring - Stephanie Mavunga - 18.8
Assists - Morgan Miller - 4.1
Steals - Ryne Carr - 2.1
Blocks - Mavunga - 4.6
Rebounds - Mavunga - 9.9

Boys:
Scoring - Mycha Whetstone - 12.2
Assists - Chase Dutra - 3.5
Steals - Jordan Reagan - 1.7
Blocks - Darayl Jordan - 1.3
Rebounds - Jaraan Lands - 7.2

Small phrases describe this weekend's games

Boys BB - Zionsville 45, Brownsburg 40 - "ugly" - The BBurg/Zionsville games are usually defensive struggles that stay in the 50's point-wise, but this game was a combination of good defense, poor offense, and terrible rebounding by the Dogs. BBurg was 14-54 from the field (26%) and shot better from 3-point land (29%) than 2-pointers (22%). In 56 possessions, the Dogs only managed 40 points, a rate of 71 points per 100 possessions.....not very good. However, it wasn't the worst outing of the weekend....

Boys BB - Pike 85, Brownsburg 43 - "blowout" - After three quarters, the score was 69-32. The Dogs shot 28% from the field, hurt by the 2-for-20 from beyond the the arc. In 71 possessions, the Dogs got 43 points, a rate of 61 points per 100 possessions.

Girls BB - Brownsburg 53, Harrison 20 - "Mavunga" - The only stat line you need to know: Stephanie Mavunga 23 points, Harrison's entire team 20.

Redskins - Tampa Bay 17, Washington 16 - "Kicker" - Redskins kicker Graham Gano missed two field goals of less than 40 yards early in the game that got the Redskins off on the wrong "foot". Those points could have changed the game early, instead of having to rely on a late touchdown and a botched snap on an extra point to lost the game. This season, NFL kickers have a 91% accuracy rate on field goals of less than 40 yards. Gano is 12-for-16 from that distance, a 75% rate. Even kicking at the NFL average gives the Redskins two more field goals in a season where the team has lost 4 games by 4 points or less.

Difficult weekend ahead for Brownsburg boys basketball

The Brownsburg boys basketball team hosts Zionsville on Friday and travels to Pike on Saturday. Brownsburg comes into the weekend with a 2-2 record. Zionsville is 2-1 with their only loss to 3A #7 Brebeuf in OT. Pike is 2-1 with their only loss against 4A #1 North Central. The Sagarin ratings have Brownsburg as a double-digit underdog in both games.

The girls host Harrison on Saturday night. Brownsburg is 6-2 with both losses to top ten teams in 4A. Harrison is 0-8 this season and 8-88 over the last 4+ years. Obviously, Brownsburg is a prohibitive favorite.

Quick start send Bulldogs to victory

The Brownsburg girls basketball team took a 20-9 lead over Center Grove after the first quarter on Tuesday night. The Trojans had a 5-0 run to start the second quarter to cut the lead to 6 points, but it never got closer than that as the Bulldogs ran away to a 68-48 win.

Brownsburg's Stephanie Mavunga led all players with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. Erica Lesch scored 14 points, including four three-point baskets. Ryne Carr scored 11 and Morgan Miller dished out 7 assists. Center Grove's Melody Doss was a one-woman wrecking crew with 22 points and 3 blocked shots. Lauren Weidman chipped in with 10 points.

Both teams shot the ball pretty well. Brownsburg was 27-54 (50%), Center Grove shot 19-41 (46%). There was a disparity in foul shots as many calls did not go right for CG. The Dogs shot 13 free throws to the Trojan's 5. Fouls were skewed also, BBurg had 6 while CG was called for 14 fouls. The frustration boiled over late in the game as Center Grove's coach got a technical foul arguing a call on a clean block that was called a foul. The ref gave him two chances to settle down, but the frustration was too much.

Even though the fouls were not even, Brownsburg was clearly the better team. The Dogs out-rebounded CG 25-14, including 9-5 on the offensive glass. Center Grove turned the ball over 22 times to BBurg's 13.

The Dogs are now 6-2 and host 0-8 Harrison on Saturday. The Harrison team has fallen on hard times as their record over the last 4+ years is 8-88. According to the Sagarin ratings, Brownsburg is a 37-point favorite.

Be careful what you wish for

Rumor has it, a few years ago meddling "parents with connections" got Joe Lentz fired from the Center Grove girls basketball program that he built into a perennial contender. I hope those parents are happy with the 15-12 record since the beginning of last year and their first round loss to Franklin Central in the sectional. Lentz coached the team for 15 years and had 256 wins, 14 winning seasons, 8 sectional titles, 4 regional titles, and the 1996 state championship. To throw that away seems ludicrous. Anyways, I hope the selfish parents got what they wanted at the expense of the team as a whole.

Why do I bring this up? Brownsburg hosts Center Grove this evening! Brownsburg is 5-2 with both losses coming against top 10 teams (Ben Davis and Hamilton SE). Center Grove is 3-3 with all losses against unranked teams. The Sagarin ratings show Brownsburg as a 13 point favorite.

Brownsburg is led by Stephanie Mavunga (16ppg, 8 rpg, 4 bpg) and Lindsey Dall (6ppg, 6 rpg). Center Grove is led by Mel Doss (15ppg, 8 rpg, 3 spg) and Nikky Moan (10ppg, 5 rpg).

Center Grove has won 9 of the last 10 games against Brownsburg, with the Bulldogs losing last year's game 46-37 at Center Grove. The Dogs have already avenged 2 of their losses from last year, could this be another one?

What has happened to the Redskins?

The Redskins lost to the Giants yesterday 31-7. It's not that they lost, but how they lost. Here is the drive sequence for the Skins on Sunday

Punt
Missed FG
Punt
Fumble
Punt
Punt
Punt
Fumble
TD
Interception
Fumble
Fumble
Interception

The offense couldn't hold on to the ball and the defense couldn't stop anybody. The Giants rushed for 197 yards and a 5.5 yard average. New York gained more yards than the Redskins in fewer plays.

In Washington, the team is normally known for its defense but is ranked in the bottom fourth of the league in the major categories. They are 23rd in points against, 31st in yards allowed, 29th in passing yards allowed, and 28th in rushing yards allowed.

The offense isn't much better. They are 28th in points, 20th in yards gained, and 27th in rushing. The team is 9th in passing yards, but that is an effect of playing from behind in most games.

I'm not sure what needs to be done. All I know is that the Skins are 3 games out of a playoff spot with 4 games left, so it doesn't look good.

The only bright spot is that there are 114 days until baseball's opening day....

Bulldogs struggle to catch up, but can't get over the hump

The Brownsburg girls basketball team lost to Hamilton SE last night 53-52. The Bulldogs came out strong, leading 17-11 after the first quarter. However, the next 20 minutes of basketball was not very good. The Dogs leading scorer and rebounder Stephanie Mavunga was in foul trouble most of the game, having to sit most of the second quarter and eventually fouling out with 4 minutes left in the game. The team was held to two points in the second quarter, and were down 11 points in the third quarter.

However, the Dogs came storming back to take a 52-51 lead late in the game. A Royals basket followed by two HSE missed free throws gave the Dogs a chance to win. But, Southeastern's center Taya Reimer blocked two Bulldog shots as time expired to seal the victory. Mavunga led all scorers with 19 points. Reimer and Jessica Stewart led the balanced HSE attack with 13 points each.

The loss drops BBurg to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference. HSE is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference, giving them the early lead in the HCC. Brownsburg faces Danville on Friday night in what should be a relatively easy game. Danville is 1-4 and has lost to Avon by 17 and Plainfield by 58 (yes, 58, 71 to 13).

Brownsburg's girls basketball team faces big test tonight

The Brownsburg girls basketball team has avenged 2 of its 6 losses from last year, leading to a 4-1 record in the month of November. The team is led by sophomore center Stephanie Mavunga, averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots per game. The rest of the team is pretty balanced, with the group of Lindsey Dall, Ryne Carr, Morgan Miller, Erica Lesch, and Allison Devaney averaging between 4 and 6 points per game. Miller leads the team in assists and steals.

Tonight, the Dogs travel to Hamilton SE, a team they beat in overtime last year. Both teams are 4-1. The Sagarin ratings say the game is a toss-up. Having seen both teams play, I'm not sure that Brownsburg can keep up with HSE's quickness. However, I think our guard play may be better. The key matchup is BBurg's Mavunga against HSEs Tara Reimer. Reimer is averaging 14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 assists per game while shooting 55 percent from the field. Reimer is also 5-of-10 from three-point range. HSE is more front-loaded than Brownsburg as the Royals other top scorers, Jordin Alexander (14ppg), Jessica Stewart (14ppg), and Jessica Pongonis (8ppg) are the only players that contribute to the scoring offense. Point guard Ariel Brewer is averaging 7 assists per game with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.5.

This game is for the early lead in the HCC. The winner will be 3-0 in the conference and have a good start towards the title.

Redskins miss a chance to get in playoff position

The Redskins lost to the Vikings on Sunday 17-13. I don't have a big write-up, but I do have a list of things that could have been done by the Skins to make up that 4-point deficit.

- Stopping the backup running back, Toby Gerhart, who gained 76 yards in three quarters after All-World RB Adrian Peterson left the game

- Running the ball. The Redskins had 18 yards on 8 carries.

- McNabb not throwing an interception on first down inside the Skins own 5 yard line. I know the ball bounced off of Santana Moss and it wasn't all McNabb's fault. Having any kind of running game at all would have prevented the offense from having to pass constantly.

- Any kind of offense at all. After the first scoring drive, the Redskins only had 11 plays in Viking territory, and none of those plays were inside the red zone.

- An finally, how can we let a 42-year-old hobbling quarterback run for a first down on 3rd-and-8 with two minutes left in the game?

If the Redskins would have won this game, they would have been one game out of the playoff picture. Instead, they are two games out and probably need to start looking towards the 2011 NFL draft.

"Year One" for Brownsburg Boys Basketball?

The boys basketball season starts tonight when the Brownsburg Bulldogs travel to Carmel to face the Greyhounds. The BBurg team will look very different from the team that went 5-16 a year ago. The team lost 88% of the points, 82% of the rebounds, and 72% of the assists from last year's squad. The losses were through graduation and the non-return of two major contributors to the team (Torrey Nibbs and Tyler Whetstone).

But, that doesn't mean that it is all bad news for the Dogs. Three freshmen will get a lot of playing time and help to rebuild a program that is only three years removed from a state championship. The top freshman is Jaraan Lands, a 6-4 220 pound forward that has already recieved an offer from IU coach Tom Crean. The other two freshmen are 6-6 Kyle Thompson and 5-8 guard Xavier Ringo. The top returning scorers are senior Scott Hathaway (2 ppg, 1 rpg), junior Micah Whetstone (1 ppg, 1 rpg), and sophomore Chase Dutra (1 ppg, 1 rpg, 1 apg).

With only one senior on the roster, this team could be building for a great run over the next few years. This season may be ugly, but just as the girls basketball team did over the past three years, this team may have to take its lumps before it can bring Bulldog basketball back to relevance.

Brownsburg struggles but defeats Decatur's one-woman show

The Brownsburg girls basketball team struggled early in last night's game against Deactur Central, not scoring a basket until the end of the first quarter, but eventually prevailed 45-31. Stephanie Mavunga led the team with 14 points and 6 blocks. Ryne Carr scored 8, while Lindsey Dall and Erica Lesch chipped in with 6 points each. The team was 15 of 19 from the line, a much improved mark from the last few years. Lexus Murry had 16 of DC's 31 points, but didn't have a lot of help from her teammates.

Brownsburg travels to Ben Davis on Saturday night to face the Giants and their 58-game winning streak. If there ever was a season where BBurg can beat BD, this would be it....

Brownsburg girls basketball team has tough road in November

The high school basketball season starts tonight when the Brownsburg girls team hosts Decatur Central. This is "the" year for Brownsburg, as they return 8 of their top 9 players from last year's 18-6 squad. There are no cupcakes to start the season as BBurg plays teams that contributed to 4 of last year's 6 losses in the first 3 weeks.

Tonight, the team plays Decatur Central, whom they beat in their last matchup in the sectional semis last year to avenge a loss that started the season. Decatur has lost at least two starters, with one of those being Indiana All-Star Anna Munn. BBurg is 1-3 against DC over the last 5 years.

On Saturday, the girls travel to two-time defending state champs Ben Davis. The Giants lost two Indiana All-Stars from last year's team, but they have so much depth that they can still be a dangerous team. BBurg is 0-6 against BD in the last 5 years, including two losses last season.

The final three games in November are Covenant Christian (2A, new to the schedule), Avon (always tough county rival), and Lafayette Jeff (BBurg is 0-5 against them over the last 5 years). Getting through November with a winning record would be a great accomplishment for this team considering past history.

GO DOGS!!!!

Poor coaching and poor play calling lead Redskins to loss

Here's the situation - The Redskins are beating the Lions by 5 points on the road with 4:40 left in the game. The Skins have the ball , it's 2nd and 10 on their own 26. Their backup running back, Keiland Williams, is in the game and has 25 yards on 6 carries so far in the second half, so he is doing pretty well. Now is the time to run the ball and either take some time off the clock or make the Lions start using their timeouts......or not!

McNabb throws his only interception of the game and that puts the Lions in decent scoring position. Detroit covers 37 yards in 7 plays and converts the 2-point conversion to take a 28-25 lead with 3:17 left in the game.

At this point, McNabb is 16 of 27 for 200 yards, a decent game, but not a great one, but the team still has a chance to win. A holding call on first down makes it 1st and 20. A pass from McNabb to Santana Moss gains 10 yards for 2nd and 10. Two incomplete passes make it 4th and 10. McNabb is sacked on 4th down, giving the ball back to the Lions. Nothing during this series shows that McNabb is not getting the job done. Detroit knows that the Redskins are going to pass the ball, so a short gain and a few incompletions are not out of the ordinary.

Detroit takes the good field position and kicks a field goal to make it 31-25 with 1:50 left in the game. The Redskins still have a chance, only down 6 with just under 2 minutes left and no timeouts. The team comes from the sidelines WITH REX GROSSMAN AT QUARTERBACK!!!!! WTF!!!!! The man who has played in 5 games over the past two and a half years, has a career QB rating way below average, and has below average stats in just about every category in his career is going to take the field with the Redskins down 6 points on the road with no time outs and under 2 minutes to go!!!!

Of course, on the first play Grossman is sacked and fumbles the ball. Detroit picks up the ball and runs it in for a touchdown to seal the game. Just a poor decision by coach Shanahan. He says that Grossman runs the 2-minute offense better than McNabb, but I think that's a bunch of crap. Coach made a bad decision and it blew up in his face. Plus, the team now has the bye week, so that gives them 2 weeks to discuss how the man that has helped the team to as many victories as they had all season in 2009 was benched for a guy who hasn't played very much over the past 3 years.

Is Eastern Michigan really that bad?

Ball State hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 1pm. BSU, a team that has lost to 1-AA Liberty and just lost by 29 points as a 5 point favorite at home to Western Michigan, is a 14-point favorite against EMU.

Sure, EMU hasn't won a game since November 2008 and has lost 18 straight games since that day, and they are 3-27 over the last three years. But, is Ball State really that much better? Central Michigan is the only common opponent so far this year. BSU played their game of the year in a 31-17 win at the Chippewas. EMU lost to CMU at home 52-14. The Cardinals won't play as well as they did against CMU, but will not play as bad at last week's game against WMU. They will play somewhere in the middle, which may be good enough to beat EMU, but not by 14 points.

Another season ends.....

The Braves lost to the Giants last night 3-2, ending the NLDS. Brian McCann had both RBIs in the game and was the only starter to hit above .230 in the series. The team batted .175 in the 4 games and the fielding was just as bad. Atlanta's defense committed 7 errors that allowed 3 unearned runs. Take away the unearned runs and the last two games could have been won by the Braves.

The pitching was great, as it has been for the last half of the season. The starters had a 2.78 ERA, which is good, but the relievers only gave up one earned run in 14-1/3 innings for a 0.63 ERA. All of the pitchers, with the exception of the retiring Billy Wagner and free agent Kyle Farnsworth should be back next year.

The offense has some spots to fill and I will go over those in future posts. The team will also have to deal with a new manager as Bobby Cox will no longer be the skipper for Atlanta. Those two issues will be the big questions to answer for GM Frank Wren in the offseason.

Good pitching plus clutch hitting plus poor fielding equals loss

The Braves stole a game in San Fran on Friday night, but could not hold serve on Sunday, losing to the Giants 3-2. Tim Hudson threw a great game for Atlanta, giving up 1 unearned run in 7 innings. Eric Hinske hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.

Without closer Billy Wagner, Bobby Cox called on 22-year-old Craig Kimbrel to save the victory. Kimbrel got two outs sandwiched around a walk. He then gave up a single to Freddy Sanchez. At this point, Cox should have had confidence in Kimbrel and gave him a shot at closing out the game in a pressure situation. Instead, he called on left-hander Mike Dunn to face left-handed batting Aubrey Huff. Huff batted just under .300 against left-handers this year, so the platoon advantage did not exist. Yet, Cox went to the bullpen anyway. Of course, Huff singled in the tying run to tie the game at 2.

Peter Moylan relieved Dunn and got a ground ball that should have ended the inning, but Brooks Conrad's third error of the game allowed the go-ahead run to score. This time, Cox didn't make a change when he should have. He had Diory Hernandez on the bench, who has been a great fielder over the past two years. But, instead he leaves the poor fielding Conrad in the game and also puts Nate McLouth and Melky Cabrera in the game. McLouth and Cabrera have been two of the worst fielders on the team according to Total Zone Rating.

Has the game passed Bobby Cox. Is it a good thing that he is retiring? Some of the poor play can be attributed to all of the injuries, but you have to know what players you have and how to use them in critical situations. So far this series, Cox has not done that.

Game four is tonight at 730p. Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves on short rest. Youngster Madison Bumgarner will pitch for the Giants.

Once again, you can't win if you don't score

The Braves were stymied by an unbelievable pitching performance by the Giants Tim Lincecum last night, losing 1-0. Lincecum struck out 14 Braves and gave up 2-hits in the complete game shutout. Cody Ross singled home Buster Posey for the only run of the game. Atlanta's Omar Infante led off the game with a double and Brian McCann doubled in the seventh inning, but the Braves could not muster any type of offense against Lincecum.

Tonight is Game Two of the NLDS. Tommy Hanson will pitch for the Braves while the Giants will send Matt Cain to the mound. Game time is 937p on TBS. The Braves must win this game to have a chance in the series. Tommy Hanson has pitched well lately with a 1.81 ERA over his last 7 starts, but it's the Atlanta offense that needs to kick it in gear.

(...and I didn't even mention the missed stolen base call that eventually cost the Braves the game last night!)

Let's hope the Braves at least get a hit tonight

Game one of the Braves/Giants NLDS series is tonight at 930p. Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves while the Giants will counter with Tim Lincecum. Lowe has pitched well lately with a 5-0 record and a 1.17 ERA in September. His season ERA is 4.00 and he has been given 4.87 runs of support per game. Lincecum also pitched well in September. He was 5-1 with a 1.94 ERA during the final month of the season. For the season his ERA was 3.43 and he got 4.45 runs per game from the Giants offense.

This game will come down to which offense can get out of it's slump. Neither team averaged more than 4 runs per game in September. The Giants averaged 3.66 runs per game and batted .235 with a .704 OPS. Not to be outdone, the Braves averaged 3.5 runs per game and batted .247 with a .684 OPS. All of these numbers are way below the league averages, but considering both team have been playing in "playoff-type" games over the last month that is to be expected.

I expect the Giants will win tonight's game, based on home-field advantage, slightly better offense, slightly better pitching, and I'm sure an Atlanta error will cause a few unearned runs that will make the difference (The Braves had the most errors in the NL this year).

We made it!

The Braves struggled throughout the weekend, but did win one of three games against the Phillies. Coupled with a Padres defeat in San Fran, the Braves made the playoffs as the wild card team. Atlanta now faces the Giants in the NLDS starting Thursday at 930p.

The potential pitching matchups are:

Game 1 - Derek Lowe vs. Tim Lincecum

Game 2 - Tommy Hanson vs. Matt Cain

Game 3 - Tim Hudson vs. Barry Zito

The Braves need to get the bats going. In September, the team batted .247 with an OPS of .684, both well below league averages. The pitching wasn't too good either. The team ERA in September was 3.71, the team's worst showing since April.

In other news, the Redskins beat the Eagles on the road to go 2-0 in the division. They ran the ball and played good defense, which is what this team has to do to win ball games.

Also, the Ball State football team went to Central Michigan as 19-point underdogs and came out with a 14-point victory. The BSU defense forced 4 turnovers and had 6 sacks, holding CMU to 13 points under their average. Next week is homecoming for the Cardinals against Western Michigan. BSU will probably be the favorite in this game and the line could be up to a touchdown or so. Imagine, a team that got beat by Liberty as a 7-point favorite over another D-1 team.....this is a crazy game.

Two up with three to play

The Braves host Philly this weekend in a series that will be fiercely contested by the Braves and used as a warm-up for the playoffs by the NL East champion Phillies. The other series of importance is in San Fran, where the Giants host the Padres. The Giants have a three game lead in the NL West, so the Padres must win all three games to force a one-game playoff on Monday.

Atlanta's depth shines in sweep of Marlins

The Braves swept the Marlins yesterday, capping the series with a 5-1 victory. Derek Lowe got the win, pitching 5-1/3 innings on three days rest and giving up only 1 run on 7 hits while striking out 9. The bullpen was brilliant once again, allowing 2 hits in 3-1/3 innings. For the series the bullpen was spectacular, throwing 9-2/3 innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits and striking out 16 batters. The pitching depth was only rivaled by the depth on offense for the Braves. In Tuesday's game, part-timer's Eric Hinske and Brooks Conrad had huge hits. On Wednesday, Conrad and back-up catcher David Ross sparked the offense. With season-ending injuries to Chipper Jones and Martin Prado, this is the time for the bench to step up. So far, they have done a great job.

The victory puts the Braves 1.5 games ahead of the Padres in the wild card race. The Braves are off on Thursday and host Philly this weekend. The Padres play the Cubs on Thursday and play the Giants this weekend. The Giants lead the Padres by 2 games in the NL West.

Omar Infante was 0-for-4 rendering his fight for the batting title useless at this point in the season. Infante is batting .323 this year. NL batting leader Carlos Gonzalez was 0-for-5, taking his average to .338. Infante needs to get 7 more hits than Gonzalez over the next three games to keep his hopes alive.

Eric Hinske delivers a big home run to continue the march to the playoffs

The Braves only scored 3 runs last night, but it was enough as they defeated the Marlins 3-2. Eric Hinske hit a two-run pinch-hit homer in the seventh. That home run followed an RBI triple by Brooks Conrad. Tim Hudson pitched on 3 days rest and gave up only 1 run in 6 innings. The bullpen of Kimbrel, Moylan, Venters, and Wagner gave up a run on two hits while striking out 6 in three innings.

Atlanta is now 1.5 games ahead of San Diego in the wild card race with 4 games left (SD has 5 games remaining). The Giants have a 2 game lead on the Padres in the NL West.

Omar Infante was 1-for-4 last night to lower his average to .326. NL hitting leader Carlos Gonzalez was 2-for-5 to raise his average to .341. It may take a miracle for Infante to win the batting title now. He would need to go 13-for-16 over the next 4 games and have Gonzalez hit less than .341 over that same span. To put it another way, Infante needs 8 more hits than Gonzalez over the next 4 games to win the batting title.

Omar Infante may not win the batting title, but he had a huge hit last night

After a one-hour rain delay, the Braves beat the Marlins in 11 innings last night 2-1. In the 11th, two walks sandwiched around a sac bunt put runners on first and second with one out. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third. Pinch-hitter Freddie Freeman struck out, leaving Omar Infante at the plate with two outs. Infante singled to left field to help the Braves escape with a victory. Tommy Hanson pitched will for the Braves, giving up 1 run in 7-2/3 innings. The bullpen of Venters, Wagner, Moylan, and Dunn threw 4-1/3 shutout innings and held the Marlins to one hit over that span. The two teams play tonight on MLB Network at 7pm. Tim Hudson will pitch for the Braves on 3 days rest. Hudson has only pitched three games in his career on 3 days rest and none since 2006. His ERA in those games is 2.61.

Atlanta leads the wild card race by 1/2 game over San Diego, due to the Padres loss on Monday night. The Giants had an off day and lead the NL West by a game over San Diego.

Omar Infante was 2-for-5 with a walk last night, raising his batting average to .327. NL hitting leader Carlos Gonzalez was 1-for-4 to lower his average to .340. Infante needs to get on a hot streak to win the batting title. He would need to go 13-for-20 over the last 5 games and get some help from Gonzalez to get the job done.

Anything is possible, although it may not be likely

The Braves lost 2 of 3 this weekend to the Nationals, falling to a 1-5 record over the last 6 games. Atlanta is now .5 games behind in the wild card race behind San Diego. The Giants lead the Padres by .5 games in the NL West.


The Braves have 6 games left and host Florida and Philly. The Phillies have already clinched a playoff spot, so they may be resting their players in that last series, so that is a good thing. The Giants are off on Monday and host Arizona and San Diego. The Padres host the Cubs for 4 games and then travel to San Fran. If the Braves can hold on until Thursday and let the Padres and Giants beat up on each other, they could still make the playoffs.


Omar Infante has struggled like the entire team has over the weekend. Infante was 2-for-13 against Washington and is 3-for-25 over the last 6 games. That type of performance will not win you a batting title. Infante is batting .326 and with 4 plate appearances per game over the next 6 games, he will be qualified for the batting title. However, Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL with a .341 average. Infante needs 15 hits over the 6 games remaining to have a shot at winning the title.

Nine game season for the Braves

The Braves have nine games left this season. As of today, they are 6 games behind in the NL East and 1/2 game ahead of San Diego and 3.5 games ahead of Colorado in the wild card race. Atlanta has three three-game series remaining with the Nationals, Marlins, and Phillies. The Nationals series is on the road, while the other two series are at home, where the Braves have the second best home record in the NL. Hopefully a 6-3 stretch can get us to the playoffs.

The Padres play the Reds this weekend while NL-West leading San Fran plays the Rockies. All four of those teams still have something to play for, whether it be home-field advantage, winning the NL West, or just trying to get to the playoffs.

There was a swwep in the Braves/Phillies series, just not the one I had hoped for

The Braves put up a fight, but lost to the Phillies 1-0 on Wednesday night to get swept in the very important 3-game series. Tommy Hanson gave up 0 runs in 6 innings last night while the bullpen only gave up 1 run in 2 innings. Roy Oswalt was just as brilliant for the Phillies, giving up 0 runs in 7 innings. Brad Lidge got the save for Philadelphia. The Braves did not play especially bad in the series, it's just the Phillies were a little better. Atlanta pitching only gave up 9 runs in 3 games, but the offense only scored 4 runs. Plus, the Braves did not throw their aces while the Phillies did. Philly outhit the Braves by a slight margin, 21-16, over the three games.

Atlanta is now 6 games behind Philly with 9 games left, so it doesn't look good for the NL East division title. We now have to look toward the wild card, where the Braves hold a 1/2 game lead over the Giants. Atlanta has a day off on Thursday before traveling to Washington for a weekend series. The Giants play today at Chicago before traveling to Colorado for a big three-game series that could have implications in both the NL West and the wild card race for both teams.

Omar Infante struggled the entire series against the Phillies, going 1-for-12. That performance ruined his chances for the NL batting title. Carlos Gonzalez leads the league with a .341 average. Infante needs 18 hits in the next 9 games to have a shot at the title.

Are the Braves falling apart?

The Braves lost to the Phillies last night 5-3. Once again, Atlanta started a rookie pitcher while the Phillies adjusted their rotation so that their 3 aces would pitch in this series. I know the pitching staff is hurting, but this series was important and the Braves are throwing rookies out on the mound! Game 3 of the series is tonight at 705pm. Tommy Hanson (who is not a rookie!) will face Roy Oswalt.

Atlanta is now 5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and only one game ahead of San Diego in the wild card race. San Diego is at LA tonight on ESPN.

Omar Infante was 1-for-4 to lower his batting average to .333 with a qualifying average of .326 because he does not have enough plate appearances to qualify. He should get enough PAs by the next-to-last game of the season, although it may not matter if he doesn't get the bat going. Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL in hitting with a .339 average after going 1-for-4 last night. Infante still needs 19 hits over the next 11 games to have a chance at the batting title.

Well, that wasn't pretty....

The Braves lost to the Phillies last night 3-1. Philly capitalized on a Jason Heyward error as part of a two-run 5th inning that gave them the 3-1 lead. The Braves grounded into double plays in the 1st, 2nd, and 6th innings to stem any type of rally. Brandon Beachy got the start for Atlanta due to Jair Jurrjens sore knee. Beachy was recalled from the Instructional League for the start, and considering the circumstances he did not do too bad. He gave up 1 earned run in 4-1/3 innings.

The Braves are now 4 games behind the Phillies in the NL East with 11 games to play. Atlanta leads the wild card by 2 games over San Diego and 3 games over Colorado. The Braves and Phillies play game two of their series tonight.

Omar Infante was 0-for-4 last night lowering his batting average to .334 and his qualifying average to .324. Carlos Gonzalez did not play last night and still leads the NL with a .340 average. Infante needs 19 hits over the last 11 games to reach a .340 average and hope Gonzalez has a few off nights.

Things were going well on Sunday until 4pm

By 4pm Sunday, the Braves had beaten the Mets to sweep the series, the Phillies were down 6-3 in the 9th inning against the Nationals, the Cowboys had lost to the Bears, and the Redskins were starting their home game against the Texans. However, a 4-run ninth inning gave the Phillies a victory and the Redskins blew a 27-10 lead to turn a great day for my teams into a so-so day.

Atlanta is 3 games behind Philly in the NL East and 2.5 games ahead of San Diego in the wild card race. The Braves and Phillies start a 3-game series tonight, a series that the Braves need to win the series to have any chance at the division title.

Omar Infante was 2-for 4 with a walk to raise his average to .337 with a qualifying average of .327. Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL with a .340 batting average. Infante needs 19 hits over his last 12 games to have a good chance at winning the batting title.

The winds of change

A month ago, the Reds (up 2 games) and Braves (up 2.5 games) were leading their divisions by healthy margins while the Padres (up 5 games) were running away with the NL West. Flash forward to today, and things are much different. The Reds have run away with the NL Central and are leading the division by 7 games, thanks to solid play and the failure of the Cardinals to beat the dregs of the division. The Braves are playing .500 ball over the past month, but the Phillies are 20-10 over the same period and lead the NL East by 3 games. The Padres are 12-16 over the last month, thanks to a 10-game losing streak. The Giants now lead the NL West by a 1/2 game. These last two weeks should be good, as two divisions and the wild card race are pretty close.

The Braves travel to New York to face the Mets this weekend. Atlanta is 3 games behind Philly in the NL East and a half game ahead of San Diego in the wild card race. We really need to take 2-of-3 from the Mets and hope the Phillies struggle against a surging Washington team.

Braves continue to falter down the stretch

The Braves lost the game 4-2 and the series to the Nationals 2-1. A grand slam by Justin Maxwell in the second inning was all the scoring that Washington needed. Atlanta's David Ross hit into a double play with 2 on and 1 out in the bottom of the second that could have helped the Braves get on the board. I know I have written this before, but it seems that the Braves have a tendency to ground into double plays at the worst times in the game. If there is any solace in the Braves loss it's that Brownsburg's own Drew Storen got his fourth save of the season in that game. Matt Diaz led the Atlanta offense with 3 hits. It's good to see Matty-D get back on track. ATL is off today and travel to New York to face the Mets over the weekend.

The Phillies won, again. They are 16-4 in their last 20 games while the Braves are 10-10. That's a good way to lose the division lead and fall 3 games back. The Giants also won, so the Braves are only half a game ahead in the wild card race.

Omar Infante was 1-for-3 with a sacrifice to keep his average at .340 with a qualifying average of .326. NL hitting leader Carlos Gonzalez raised his average to .341 with a two-hit day. Infante needs 23 hits in his next 65 at-bats over the last 15 games to give himself a chance at the batting title.

Livan Hernandez shuts down Infante, Braves

The Braves lost 6-0 last night due to a dominating performance by Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez. Livan pitched 8 shutout innings on the mound and helped his cause at the plate by hitting a double and a home run with 2 RBI.

The Philies won, leaving the Braves 2 games behind in the NL East. The Giants lost, so the Braves remain 1.5 games ahead in the wild card race.

Omar Infante was 0-for-4 last night. Coupled with the Rockies Carlos Gonzalez going 3-for-4, this night was not good for Infante's chances at the NL batting title. Infante is batting .340 with a qualifying average of .325 because he does not have enough plate appearances to qualify. Gonzalez is batting .340 to lead the NL. Infante needs 24 hits in his 69 at-bats over the last 16 games to keep his chances alive in the batting race.

Lowe pitches a great game, Braves win, but so do the Phillies

Derek Lowe shutout the Nationals over 8 innings to lead the Braves to a 4-0 win. All of the Braves runs were scored in the second inning on two walks, two balks, a single (Infante), a double (McLouth), and a triple (Diaz). McLouth has been hitting the ball well since being called up from AAA. In September, he is batting .391 with 2 HR and 8 RBI. Even his outs are hit hard as evidenced on Sunday night against the Cardinals.

The Phillies won, so the Braves are still one game back in the NL East. The Giants had an off day, pushing the Braves wild card lead to 1.5 games.

Omar Infante was 2-for-4 last night raising his average to .343 and his qualifying average to .327. Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL with a .337 average after going 2-for-5 last night. Infante needs 22 hits over the next 17 games to have a reasonable chance at winning the batting title.

Tough loss on a day when we needed a win

The Braves fell behind early to the Cardinals on Sunday night and could never quite catch up, losing 7-3. They were down 2-0 in the third when Martin Prado singled home a run to cut the lead to one. However, the Cards put up 4 runs in the sixth to take a 6-1 lead that they would never relinquish.

Atlanta is 1 game behind the Phillies in the NL East due to a Philly win on Sunday. The Giants also won on Sunday, so the Braves lead in the wild card was cut to one game. The Braves host a series with the Nationals before traveling to New York over the weekend.

Omar Infante was 2-for-5, raising his average to .342 and a qualifying average of .325. Carlos Gonzalez still leads the NL in hitting with a .337 average. Infante needs 25 hits over his next 77 at-bats in the next 18 games to have a good shot at the batting title.

The comeback Braves do it again

The Braves took 2-0 and 3-2 leads against the Cardinals before the Cards tied it in the 8th inning. In the bottom of the 12th Alex Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to win the game. In the game the Braves also continued their league lead in walk-off wins and wins in their last at-bat.

The Phillies and Giants both lost, so the Braves are tied for the NL East lead with the Phillies and lead the Giants by 2 games in the wild card race.

Omar Infante was 2-for-5 with a walk to continue his charge toward the batting title. His average is .341 with a qualifying average of .322. Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL with a .335 average. Infante needs 25 hits over his next 81 at-bats to win the batting title.

It looked bleak at the start, but an offensive explosion leads to the win

The Braves were facing Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals. St Louis jumped out to a 4-2 lead until the bottom of the sixth when Atlanta piled on 6 runs to escape with a 8-6 victory. The big hits in the 6th came from Jason Heyward and Martin Prado while a two-run error by STL right fielder John Jay off the bat of Brian McCann allowed two runs to score. Takashi Saito pitched a scoreless 8th while Billy Wagner did the same in the ninth to seal the win.

The Phillies beat the Mets, so the Braves are still 1 game back in the NL East. The Giants won, so the Braves a game ahead in the wild card race.

Omar Infante was 1-for-4 in his quest to win the batting title. He is currently batting .340, but his qualifying average is .319. Carlos Gonzalez leads the NL in batting average with a .335 clip. Infante needs approximately 27 hits over the next 20 games with at least 87 plate appearances.

Braves show early spark, then forget to play the last 8 innings

The Braves took a 3-0 lead on the Cardinals in the first inning only to give 5 runs back in the second inning and much more as the game went on in a 11-4 defeat. The game pushed Atlanta 1 games back of the Phillies in the NL East. The Braves are still one game ahead of the Giants in the wild card race.

Omar Infante was 1-for-4 to lower his average to .342. His qualifying average is .319 because he does not have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. Using his playing time averages with respect to at-bats and plate appearances, he needs 29 hits in 89 at-bats over the next 21 games to catch NL batting leader Carlos Gonzalez' .337 average.

Can Omar Infante win the NL batting title?

During the Braves blowout of the Pirates last night, Omar Infante was 3-for-5 to raise his average to .342. Right now, he is short of the 3.1 plate appearances per game to qualify for the batting title. He does have a chance to make it, but he will need to play every day and get at least 4 PAs per game to reach the necessary 502 PAs for the season.

Current: 407 PA 380 AB 130 H .342 AVG

The Braves have played 140 games, so Infante needs 434 PAs to qualify, so add 27 PAs/ABs to his total: 130 H/407 AB's = .319 average, which puts him 4th in the NL.

Last 30 team games: 138 PA 127 AB 44 H, so he is getting over 4 PAs per game.

22 games left, he needs at least 95 PAs which will consist of about 88 ABs. To catch NL hitting leader Carlos Gonzalez (.340), Infante needs 29 hits in those 88 ABs, or bat around .330 in more than 95 PAs.

This was just a quick calculation. Over the next few days, I hope to have a better calc on how Infante can win the NL batting title.

Where has all the power gone? Long time passing....

With a loss to the Pirates last night and a Phillies win, the Braves are in second place in the NL East for the first time since May 30. What has happened to the team in the last few weeks? Well, Chipper is out for the year, Derek Lowe missed his last start, and the team can't decide on who should play left field or center field. Kris Medlen is out for the year, which takes us down to three healthy starters (Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens), a hurting Derek Lowe, an ineffective Kenshi Kawakami, and rookie Mike Minor. That is disappointing for a team with too many starting pitchers to begin the season. It just goes to show that a team can never have enough starting pitching.

But, the most confusing thing is the lack of power over the recent week or so. In September, the Braves are 7th in the NL in batting average and 8th in on-base percentage, so they are hitting the ball. However, the team is 15th in the league in slugging percentage and dead last in isolated power (slugging minus batting average).

The pitchers are 5th in the NL in ERA this month and 3rd in WHIP, but they are not getting the outs with runners on base as the team is 14th in the league in stranding runners so far in September, allowing 33.8 percent of all runners to score.

I don't know what is going on, but the Braves need to get back on track. They have one game left in the Pirates series, which they need to win because getting swept by Pittsburgh is embarrassing. Then they host the Cardinals for 4 games and the Nationals for a three game series. The Braves have the best home record in the NL and the Cardinals have been struggling. It would be nice to take 3 of 4 from them. (Plus it would also help the Reds in the NL Central). Atlanta needs to win 4 of the next 5 games to get back into the driver's seat in the NL East.

Braves, Reds, Phillies continue winning while the Cardinals and Padres continue losing

The Braves beat the Mets last night 4-1 for their 5th straight win. However, the Phillies have won 5 of their last 6, so the Atlanta lead in the NL East is still 3 games. The Braves play the Mets on Thursday in a great pitching matchup. Tim Hudson will go to the mound for Atlanta against the Mets' Johan Santana. This weekend, the Braves travel to Florida. The Phillies travel to Colorado on Thursday for a make-up game, then host Milwaukee for a three-game series over the weekend.

The Reds have won 4 games in a row and 6 of their last 7 while the Cardinals just got swept by the lowly Astros and have lost 8 of their last 10 games. About a month ago, the Cardinals swept the Reds to take a one-game lead in the NL Central, but now the Reds lead the division by a staggering 8 games. Both teams have an off day on Thursday before a big three-game series between the two teams at St. Louis. The Cardinals must sweep the series to have any chance at the playoffs.

The Padres had the best record in the NL a week ago, but after a 7-game losing streak they have to worry about the NL West division title. The Giants are only 3 games behind after Wednesday's games. San Diego hosts the Rockies this weekend while San Fran travels to LA to play the Dodgers.

Inconsistency could hurt Braves in the long run

Even though the Braves were 2-2 over the last 4 games, they were not very consistent in doing so. On Thursday, they had a catastrophic fall from a 10-1 lead to a 12-10 loss. They made up for that on Sunday with 6 runs in the last two innings to recover from a 6-1 deficit to win 7-6.

How are the Braves inconsistent? Check out the scoring for those 4 games, starting on Thursday:

10 runs in 3 innings
followed by
1 run in the next 16 innings
followed by
10 runs in the next 3 innings
followed by
3 runs in the next 11 innings
followed by
6 runs in 2 innings

Over that span, they scored the equivalent of 4 runs in the 27 innings where they didn't feast on pitching. If the Braves get to the playoffs, they can't have scoring droughts like that or they will not make it very far.

NL division races becoming clearer?

NL East - The Braves are 2-5 in their last 7 games. Six of those games were on the road against the Cubs and the Rockies. The Phillies had a chance to gain some ground, but were also 2-5 over the past week, but they hosted the Nationals and the Astros. The Braves hold a 3 game lead in the division. If the Phillies can't beat Washington or Houston at home, do they even have a chance at catching the Braves? I hope not!

Remaining Schedules:
ATL - .488 opp win pct, 19/35 games against teams over .500, 6 games against Philly
PHI - .508 opp win pct, 20/35 games against teams over .500, 6 games against ATL

It looks like the Braves have a slightly easier schedule and a 3 game lead, so I would think that Atlanta has a good chance of keeping this lead. Obviously, the 6 games against the Phillies are important, so a split in those games would be nice.

NL Central - Two weeks ago, the Cardinals swept the Reds in Cincinnati to take a one game lead in the NL Central. Since then the teams have gone in totally different directions. The Cardinals are 4-8, including a 3-5 homestand against the Cubs, Brewers, and Giants. They then lost 2 of 3 at Pittsburgh and lost Thursday night at Washington. Contrast that with what the Reds have done in the last two weeks. The Reds are 9-3 since being swept at home by St Louis. That stretch includes a 6-3 road trip and a sweep of Florida in Cincinnati. The Reds lead the division by 4 games.

Remaining Schedules:
CIN - .466 opp win pct, 10/35 games against teams over .500, 3 games against STL.
STL - .477 opp win pct, 16/35 games against teams over .500, 3 games against CIN.

The Reds have a 4 games lead and a much easier schedule, with only 3 games left against the Cardinals. Barring a breakdown, I think the Reds will win this division.

NL West - The Padres took 2 of 3 games against the Giants two weeks ago to take a 3.5 game lead in the division. Since then, the Padres are 7-3 including a 5-2 road trip. The Giants are 4-5 since the Padres series, but have faced tough competition in the Cardinals, Reds, and Phillies. The Padres lead the division by 6 games.

Remaining Schedules:
SDP - .515 opp win pct, 29/37 games against teams over .500, 7 games against SFG.
SFG - .489 opp win pct, 19/39 games against teams over .500, 7 games against SDP.

Although San Diego has a 6 game lead, they have a tough schedule ahead. They only have 8 games left against teams that are below .500 while the Giants have 20 such games remaining. The 7 games against each other will be important, but if the Giants win the games they are supposed to, this could be a closer division than many people think it will.

Braves and Reds blow 10-1 leads, but only the Reds come out victorious

The Braves took a 10-1 lead on the Rockies Wednesday afternoon, but somehow managed to lose the game 12-10. After a Brian McCann double to lead off the 4th inning, Atlanta's win probability was 98.8%. The Braves then gave up a run in the fourth inning, three in each of the 5th and 6th innings, and 4 runs in the 8th. The Atlanta offense only mustered two hits after McCann's double in the 4th inning. I guess the only good thing about this is that the second-place Phillies lost to the Astros to keep the Braves lead in the NL East at 2.5 games. Atlanta has Thursday off before hosting the Marlins this weekend.

The Reds had a 10-1 lead on the Giants, only to see the Giants take a 11-10 lead after the 8th inning. But the Reds got some clutch hitting and a crucial error late in the game to pull out a 12-11 win in 12 innings. Homer Bailey had an RBI single in the 5th to make the score 10-1. At that point, the Reds had a 99.5% win probability. The Giants came roaring back with 2 runs in each of the 5th and 6th innings, followed by a 6-spot in the 8th to take a 11-10 lead. Ryan Haningan led off the Reds 9th with a fly out. Drew Stubbs hit a ground ball to Pablo Sandoval, but Sandoval's throwing error allowed Stubbs to reach second base. Paul Janish singled to drive in Stubbs and tie the game. After a walk to Jay Bruce, Miguel Cairo bounced into a double play to end the 9th.

The teams were scoreless until the 12th inning. A Janish single and a Cairo double put runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Chris Heisey grounded to short where Janish was thrown out attempting to score. MVP candidate Joey Votto did what he does best and drove in the go-ahead run with a single to right field, giving the Reds a 12-11 lead. That left Fransisco Cordero to pitch the 12th in his own heart-stopping way. After two singles, a fly out, and a strike out, there were runners on 1st and 3rd and two outs. Cordero induced Andres Torrres to ground out to end the game. The Reds win, coupled with the Cardinals loss to the lowly Pirates gives the Reds a 3.5 game lead in the NL Central. The Reds host the Cubs in a three-game series this weekend.

Double plays, lack of team speed hurt the Braves over the past few games

On Tuesday, the Braves lost to the Nationals 3-0. They had their chances to win, but a Brian McCann double play hurt their best chance to get in the game. In the 6th inning with the Braves down 3-0, Chipper Jones led off with a single. McCann came to the plate and grounded into the double play to erase Chipper. Adding insult to injury, the next batter (Eric Hinske) doubled. After Hinske's double, the Braves never reached base again as the Nationals retired the next 10 batters in order.

Saturday's game against the Marlins was even worse than Tuesday's game against the Nationals. Down 4-3 in the seventh inning, Troy Glaus stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. The ensuing double play ruined a great chance to steal a divisional road game. But, wait! There's more! In the 11th inning, with the score tied at 4, Nate McLouth was batting with the bases loaded and one out. His double play set the tone for the Marlins to win in the bottom of the 11th.

Now, I'm not saying the Braves need to change the way their team is built, but there needs to be some balance between speed and power. We're built like an American League team. This year, the Braves have 42 stolen bases (14th in the NL) and have grounded in to 82 double plays (3rd in NL). In 2009, they had 58 stolen bases (15th in NL) and 142 double plays (3rd again). The entire NL usually has a 1.3 GIDP/SB ratio over the last 5 years. However, the Braves push this ratio to 2.0, or sometimes 3.0. Without team speed, you have to get three hits to score a run, as opposed to a team with good to great speed only needing two hits on most occasions. This could be the difference between and team that does well in the playoffs or a team that does poorly in the playoffs, if they make it at all.

Brownsburg Little League Update

Brownsburg 12s - lost to Ben Davis on Friday 7-6 in a battle of undefeated teams. Beat WDT on Saturday 9-8 to advance the the championship round. Lost to Ben Davis 7-4 in the finals on Sunday. It is the first time since 2006 that Brownsburg has not won the district. The team has won 9 of the 12 District 8 titles since 1999.

Brownsburg 13s - Defeated Southmont to win the district title. They now advance to the state tourney in Lowell, IN starting July 29.

Brownsburg Little League has big games this weekend

Brownsburg 12's - On Saturday, Brownsburg plays Ben Davis. Both teams are undefeated and are stingy in giving up runs. Brownsburg gave up 1 run in three games of pool play while Ben Davis only gave up 2. It should be a good match up between the top two teams in the district.

Brownsburg 13's - Played Southmont last night for the District title in Danville. I do not have the results yet.


The Braves got another win while the Phillies and Mets both lost, which gives Atlanta a 5 game lead in the NL East. Newly acquired Alex Gonzalez had a double and a walk in his Brave debut.

BBurg little league update

12's - Tonight they will play the winner of Tuesday's Broad Ripple/Zionsville game. This will be Brownsburg's first game in the double-elimination bracket.

13's - Lost to Southmont on Tuesday. They will play Southmont again on Thursday in a winner-take-all game.

14-15's - Lost to Eagledale on Tuesday and were eliminated from the tourney.


I read that the NL won the All-Star game, so when the Braves make it to the World Series they will have home-field advantage....

Brownsburg Little Legaue update

Brownsburg 10's - beaten by Ben Davis on Monday in the single-elimination tourney.

Brownsburg 11's - beaten by Zionsville on Monday, eliminating the team from the tourney.

Brownsburg 12's - Play on Wednesday after getting the bye in the double-elimination bracket.

Brownsburg 13's - Play Southmont today in the finals. Brownsburg needs to win one of the possible two games to advance.

Brownsburg 14/15's - Beat WDT on Monday to advance to the finals. Must beat Eagledale twice to advance to the next round.

Oh yeah, the MLB all-star game is tonight......this time it counts......and I really don't care.

Little League tournament season is underway

Here is a recap of the Brownsburg Little League's tournaments so far:

Brownsburg 9 White - Did not fare very well going 0-3 in pool play. Had a 30-72 scoring deficit in the three games including a 42-18 loss against Zionsville 10 White.

Brownsburg 9 Purple - Went 1-2 in pool play. Beat Tri-West's 10 year old team, but lost to Danville 10's and the Zionsville 9 year olds. Were outscored 18-35 in the three games.

Brownsburg 10 Purple - Went 2-1 in pool play and advanced to the elimination round. Beat the Tri-West 9's and Westlane-Delaware Trail teams. Lost to the Zionsville Green 10's by a score of 8-6. The team plays Monday against Ben Davis in an elimination game.

Brownsburg 11 - The team is 1-1 so far in the double-elimination tournament. They play Zionsville in an elimination game on Monday.

Brownsburg 12 - Went 3-0 in pool play while only giving up 1 run. The double-elimination bracket starts today, but the team has a bye and will not play until Tuesday.

Brownsburg 13 - Are 3-0 in the double-elimination bracket and await the Eagle Creek/Southmont winner in the finals. BBurg only has to win one of the possible two games to advance to the next round.

Brownsburg 14s-15s - Have a 1-1 record in the double-elimination tournament so far. They play Westlane-Deleware Trail on Monday in an elimination game. WDT is the team that beat them earlier in the bracket, so it looks like a tough road for BBurg.

Big night for the Braves on Wednesday

The Braves used a 6-run sixth inning to beat the Phillies 7-5. In that inning, Brian McCann had a 3-run double, Matt Diaz hit a two-run homer and Martin Prado hit his second solo home run of the game after leading off the first inning with a home run. Kris Medlen was solid on the mound and the bullpen pitched well, as usual. The win gave the Braves a 6 game lead over the Phillies in the NL East. The Reds beat the Mets, so the Braves lead New York by 3 games in the division.

The next four days close out the first half of the season and could be very important games for the NL East. The Braves play the Mets in a three-game series while the Phillies play 4 games against NL Central leading Cincinnati. The worst-case scenario after this weekend is that the Braves are tied with the Mets with the Phillies 2.5 games back. Best-case puts the Braves 6 games up on the entire division.

Brownsburg grads and the MLB draft

Brownsburg baseball has had recent success in the MLB draft, so here is an update on how they are doing.

Drew Storen - Has pitched in 19 games for the MLB Washington Nationals. He is 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA. He is part of a decent young pitching staff. Five of the 6 pitchers in the starting rotation are under the age of 26. Only 5 of the 15 pitchers that see most of the action are over 27 years old. Drew is pitching well and if the team can start hitting and fielding like a major league ball club, they could contend for the NL East in a few years.

Lance Lynn - Lance is struggling at AAA Memphis this year. All of his peripheral numbers are about league average. He is 5-6 with a 5.81 ERA. Lance has given up 11 home runs in 89 innings. His last three starts have been really bad. In those starts, he has thrown 12-1/3 innings and given up 22 earned runs. But, it is not all bad.....He is only 23 years old in a league where the average player is 27. He may spend another year at AAA next year, but he should have a chance at a big league roster spot in 2012.

Tucker Barnhart - Tucker just started his season at Rookie League Billings for the Reds farm team. Through 4 games, Barnhart is batting .214. However, just like Lance Lynn he is playing against much older players. Barnhart is 19 years old in a league that averages 21 years of age.

Kawakami finally gets a win...plus it is the last day of interleague play, HOORAY!

The Braves beat the Tigers 4-3 yesterday, giving Kenshin Kawakami his first win of the season. However, it did not come easily. The Braves were down 1-0 in the 7th when Chipper Jones hit a 3-run homer to give Atlanta a 3-1 lead. An Eric Hinske double in the 8th added another run for the Braves. But, the Tigers were not finished. In the ninth, a home run by Miguel Cabrera cut the lead to 4-2. Four straight walks (yes, four straight walks), cut the Braves lead to 4-3 with Johnny Damon at the plate. Damon struck out on a pitch that was nowhere near the plate, as seen in this link (look at pitch 7). But, a win is a win and the addition of a Mets loss puts the Braves 1.5 games ahead in the NL East. Atlanta hosts Detroit at 135p this afternoon. Tommy Hanson goes to the mound for the Braves.

Can we pitch around Carlos Quentin in today's game?

The Braves have lost both games of the White Sox series so far and have one game left against Chicago this afternoon. One reason for the losses is the Sox slugger Carlos Quentin is having a field day at the plate. In two games, he is 4-for-7 with 3 homers, 6 RBI, and 4 runs scored. He has personally added .457 games of win probability in those two games. Since a full game of WPA is .500, I can say that the Braves really need to pitch around Quentin and make someone else beat us.

Atlanta still leads the NL East by half a game over the Mets. The Braves have a game left against the White Sox and then three at home against the Tigers. The Mets have a game against the Tigers today and then play the Twins. Hopefully, Atlanta will still lead the NL East at the end of the week.

The Braves may have figured out this inter-league thing

The Braves beat the Royals yesterday to sweep the three-game series. Atlanta is now 7-2 against the AL, including series wins against the Twins and the Rays, each who led their divisions at the time. This breaks a string of underwhelming performance against the AL, with a combined 24-36 record over the previous 4 years. The Braves are off today before traveling to Chicago for a three-game series against the White Sox. They will host the Detroit Tigers over the weekend to end the abomination that is inter-league play for the season.

Can we get Kenshin Kawakami some run support???

The Braves lost to the Rays last night 10-4, giving Kenshin Kawakami his 9th loss of the year against zero wins. While Kwakami is pitching slightly below league average at this point in the season, his record is not indicative of how he has pitched. He is only getting run support of 3.13 runs per 27 outs and the Braves are 4-20 when scoring three runs or less. Hopefully, all of these will revert to the mean and Kenshin can crawl back closer to .350 before the season is over. He should have about 19 starts left, going .500 over those starts would get him to 7-16 including no-decisions.

The team needs to at least split the next two games with the Rays before starting a relatively easy next week and a half against the Royals, White Sox, and Tigers. Currently, the Braves hold a half game lead over the Mets in the NL East

Braves balance early season losing streak with a 9-game winning streak

Twenty games ago, the Braves were 16-18 and 4.5 games out of first place in the NL East. Four games later they were 6.5 games out of the division lead and had a 17% chance of making the playoffs. But, a 16 game stretch in which the team has gone 14-2 has put the Braves on top of the NL East by 3.5 games and half a game behind the Padres for the best record in the NL. Now they have a 58% chance of making the playoffs. How did they do it?

Troy Glaus was named player of the month for May. Jason Heyward won his second straight Rookie of the Month award. The team batted .279 in May compared to a .227 average in April. The team ERA was 4.24 in April, then 3.51 in May.

The schedule for the rest of the season is just about the middle of the pack with a .503 winning percentage. The Braves have 52 games remaining against division foes and series against AL-leading Tampa Bay, NL-leading San Diego and the always competitive Dodgers. It's been a roller-coaster ride so far, but it has been enjoyable. Hopefully, the rest of the season will be just as fun!

Why can't Brownsburg win a baseball sectional?

Once again, just like the previous four years, the Brownsburg baseball team was the clear front-runner in the sectional and could not get the job done. They lost to Pike 12-10 in the semi-finals of the sectional yesterday afternoon. BBurg used 5 pitchers in the slugfest. Also, they had trouble protecting a lead, something that they have had a problem with most of the year. BBurg scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th to take a 8-3 lead, only to give up 6 runs in the top of the 5th to fall behind 9-8. I don't know what the deal is with this team but they had 23 wins this year in a sectional where no other team had more than 16 wins. They had 24 wins last year and lost to Decatur Central in the sectional. Is the team built for the regular season and not prepared for the one-and-done format of the tournament? Is there an issue with coaching strategy or player motivation? I don't know what it is, but it is frustrating to follow a team all year and have high hopes for a strong tourney run just to get smacked in the face during the sectional round.

Seniors Joel Stucker, Ben Blystone, Justin Hartnagel, Alex McGowan, and Dalton Wentz had a great three-year run that would only be surpassed by the 2002-2005 group that went to three state championship games. Their record was 69-18 over the 2008-2010 seasons. Congratulations on your success and good luck at school next year.

Final NCAA baseball seeding projections

There wasn't much movement among the top teams in my seeding projections, but the bottom half jumbled a little. The host sites are announced today and the selection show is tomorrow.

1. Arizona State
2. Virginia
3. Coastal Carolina
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. Louisville
7. UCLA
8. Georgia Tech
9. Miami
10. Arkansas
11. Cal-State Fullerton
12. TCU
13. Florida State
14. South Carolina
15. Vanderbilt
16. Auburn

Tourney wins for Brownsburg and Ball State

The Brownsburg baseball team started off slowly in their sectional game against Ben Davis, falling behind 1-0 after 5 innings. But, a three-run 6th inning that included a hard slide into home and RBI singles by Justin Hartnagel and Joel Stucker lit a fire under the Bulldogs. From that inning on, players and coaches from the opposing teams were jawing at each other. Players were taunting opponents and coaches were yelling at opposing coaches. Brownsburg took that fire and turned it into a 7 -run 7th inning, led by a Tyler Hampton 2-run homer. The final score was 10-2. Macklin Runyon threw a gutsy 6-2/3 innings to get the win. Brownsburg will face Pike in the second game on Monday, following the 10am game between Tech and Avon. The winners of those two games will play Monday night at 7pm in the sectional championship.

The Ball State baseball team scored a touchdown and two field goals in beating Ohio 13-10. Zach Dygert led a strong offense, going 5-for-5 with a double, a homer , a walk, 3 RBI and 4 runs scored. The team had 18 hits and 3 home runs. They will play Bowling Green in an elimination game this morning at 9am. If they win, they play Central Michigan at 4pm. If they keep winning, the Cardinals will play 2 games on Saturday.

Ball State baseball has a bad start, but the basketball team gets good news

The Ball State baseball team lost to Bowling Green 6-4 in the first round of the MAC tourney. The loss moves them to the losers bracket where they will play Ohio at 1230p this afternoon in an elimination game. The Cardinals will have to win 5 straight games to win the tournament. In Wednesday's game, Bowling Green scored 4 runs in the third inning off of BSU sophomore Perci Garner. Garner threw 7 innings and gave up 5 earned runs. BSU scored two runs in the 5th and two more runs in the 7th to cut the lead to 5-4, but could not get any closer. Blake Beemer had 2 hits and 2 RBI to lead the offense.

The BSU basketball team has been invited to play in the Great Alaskan Shootout this November in Anchorage. The teams in the tournament include Arizona State, St. John's, Drake, Houston Baptist, Southern Utah, Washington and Weber State.

NCAA baseball seeding predictions

With most of the major conference tourneys starting this week, I thought I would give one last seeding projection for the NCAA baseball tournament:

I see the teams in four distinct groups:

Seeds 1-5

1. Arizona State
2. Virginia
3. Texas
4. Coastal Carolina
5. Florida

These five teams are clearly above the rest of the nation. They are the top 5 in the polls and in the RPI.

Seeds 6-8

6. Louisville
7. UCLA
8. Georgia Tech

These three teams are all ranked between 6-10 in both the RPI and the polls. Georgia Tech has a chance to move up a few notches if it can win the ACC tournament. Louisville must win the Big East to stay in this group.

Seeds 9-13

9. Cal-State Fullerton
10. Miami (FL)
11. South Carolina
12. TCU
13. Arkansas

TCU will need to win the Mountain West if it wants to stay in this group as it's RPI of 21 may not be enough to get a seed otherwise. CSF already has the automatic bid from the Big West and plays a 29-24 CS-Northridge team this weekend. Taking two of three would solidify their placement in this group. Miami, South Carolina, and Arkansas need to win two games in their conference tourneys to stay in the 9-13 seeds.

14-16 seeds, plus two bubble teams

14. Florida State
15. Auburn
16. Oklahoma
Bubble #1 Vanderbilt
Bubble #2 Clemson

A win or two in the conference tourneys will get these teams seeded.


My team, the Ball State Cardinals, plays Bowling Green in the first game of the MAC tourney at 9am this morning. With a RPI of 107 and a record of 26-27, BSU needs to win the tourney to get a chance in the big dance.

The softball season ends

The Brownsburg softball team lost to Ben Davis last night 4-1, ending the season with a 9-20 record. The good thing is that most of the team returns next year. Seniors Nicki Meidinger (.378 avg, 3 HR), Janikka Tillotson (.263 avg, 39 IP), and Chelsea Terrell (.250 avg) will graduate. However, a strong JV team and an undefeated freshman team will look to fill those spots on the roster.

The summer lull....

It's that time of year when the high school and college teams aren't playing everyday due to end-of-season tournaments, so there isn't too much to write about every day...

Brownsburg softball - Won the Crawfordsville Invitational over the weekend by beating Crawfordsville and Scecina. Their record is now 9-19. They play 6th-ranked Ben Davis (25-4) tonight in the sectional tournament at Pike. BD beat Brownsburg 9-2 earlier in the year....and tonight's score may be similar.

Brownsburg baseball - Plays Ben Davis on Thursday in the sectional tournament at Brownsburg. Brownsburg is 22-6 while Ben Davis is 15-9. Brownsburg beat BD 16-5 very early in the season.

Ball State baseball - Plays Bowling Green in the MAC tournament at 9am on Wednesday. BSU is the #4 seed. The Cardinals took two out of three against the Falcons earlier this year, scoring 45 runs in the three games, including a 32-10 blowout in game two of the series.

A very disappointing week comes to an end

Brownsburg baseball - The team started the week with a 1 game lead in the conference with 4 games remaining. However, the Dogs lost 3 in a row before salvaging a victory against Fishers on Saturday afternoon. Brownsburg finished the regular season 22-6 overall and 12-6 in the conference. Westfield won the conference with a 13-5 record. Hamilton SE was tied for second with Brownsburg. The Bulldogs starts sectional play on Thursday against Ben Davis. The sectional will be hosted by Brownsburg.

Ball State Softball - The BSU softball team was eliminated from the NCAA tournament after a 5-1 loss against Louisville. BSU started off well, taking a 1-0 lead after two innings. However, single runs by Louisville in the 3rd and 4th innings gave them a 2-1 lead. Things stayed that way until the 7th when Louisville added three more runs for the final margin. The final four Louisville runs were all unearned as BSU made three errors during the game. BSU finishes the season with a 43-16 record and it's second NCAA tournament appearance.

Ball State Baseball - a Ball State win against Toledo would give them the #1 seed in the MAC tourney, and for 7+ innings it looked like that was going to happen. BSU took a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the 8th inning when Toledo scored two runs off of Brad Piatt (who has struggled all season.....I have no idea why he was even pitching at all). So, BSU took a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning when Toledo led off with a solo home run then followed that with two unearned runs, including a sac fly to end the game. BSU finished the regular season with a 28-27 record overall and 19-8 in the MAC. They finished 3rd in the MAC West and will be the #4 seed in the MAC tourney. They play #5 seed Bowling Green at 9am on Wednesday.

Good news, bad news, and no news

The good news - Ball State's baseball team beat Toledo to even the series at 1 each. BSU is tied with Central Michigan for the MAC West lead and is one game ahead of Toledo. BSU does have the tiebreaker on Central Michigan as they beat them in 2 of 3 games a few weeks ago. So, all the Cardinals have to do is win today to clinch the MAC West title and the #1 seed in the MAC tournament.

The bad news - The Ball State softball team lost to Tennessee in their first game of the NCAA regional tournament. The Lady Vols took a 3-0 lead after the first inning on a walk, a double, and a home run. UT added single runs in the fourth an fifth innings for the final margin. The Cardinals only managed 4 hits against Tennessee ace Ivy Renfroe. Alicia Barkley had two hits to lead the BSU offense. Elizabeth Milian took the loss, giving up 5 earned runs on 8 hits and 4 walks while striking out 3. The team faces an elimination game this afternoon against Louisville at 330p. If they win, they play the loser of the UT/Virginia game in another elimination game at 6pm.

Upset alert - Softball #7 seed Texas lost to BYU and East Carolina yesterday to be eliminated from the tournament. They are the only one of the top 16 seeds to lose a game so far.

No news - The Brownsburg baseball game against Fishers was rained out yesterday. The game is scheduled for this afternoon at 5pm. The Dogs (11-6 HCC) are a full game behind Westfield (12-5) in the HCC. Westfield plays Lafayette Jeff today. HSE (11-5) plays road games at McCutcheon and Harrison this afternoon. Another crazy day in the HCC.....

Brownsburg's week keeps getting worse

Brownsburg's baseball team lost their third straight game this week, falling to Fishers 4-2. The Dogs are now 21-6 and 11-6 in the HCC. They are a half-game behind Hamilton SE in the standings. Brownsburg hosts Fishers tonight for the final game of the regular season. HSE (11-5 in HCC) plays McCutcheon tonight and Harrison on Saturday. Westfield (11-5 in HCC) played Lafayette Jeff last night and plays them tonight, but I do not have a result from Thursday's game yet. McCutcheon still has an outside chance at the title at 10-7.

The Brownsburg softball team lost their 8th straight game, losing to Decatur Central 6-3. Tori Martin and Chelsea Terrell each had 2 hits. Janikka Tillotson took the loss on the mound. The Bullodgs finish the regular season with a record of 7-18. They play Ben Davis in the sectional next Tuesday at Pike High School.

The Ball State baseball team has their fate in their own hands as they travel to Toledo for a three-game series to finish the regular season. The Cardinals are one game ahead of Toledo and Central Michigan in the MAC West. The winner of the MAC West will most likely be the #1 seed in the MAC tourney. Today's game starts at 3pm.

The BSU softball team starts the NCAA tournament tonight at Tennessee against the host Volunteers. The BSU game will follow the Virgina/Louisville game that starts at 4pm.

Brownsburg swept by Zionsville

Brownsburg's baseball team has had a disappointing week so far. They started the week in first place in the HCC and were finishing the season with 4 games against teams that were under .500. Two of those games have been played, both losses by the Bulldogs, and now they find themselves in a 4-team fight for the conference title. Browsburg is 11-5 in the HCC, Westfield is also 11-5, Hamilton SE is 11-4, and McCutcheon is 10-6. Brownsburg plays Fishers on Thursday and Friday. Westfield plays two against Lafayette Jeff, Hamilton SE plays one game against Harrison and two against McCutcheon. McCutcheon only has the two games with Hamilton SE remaining. These next three days are going to be fun....

Brownsburg baseball loses a tough one

The Brownsburg baseball team suffered a tough loss at home to Zionsville last night 5-4. Macklin Runyon took the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs. Alex McGowan hit a 3-run homer, his 9th of the season, to account for most of the Bulldog runs. I can't find the result of the Harrison/HSE game from last night, so as of now BBurg is a half-game ahead of HSE in the conference. Brownsburg goes to Zionsville tonight then travels to Fishers on Thursday. The Bulldogs host Fishers on Friday to end the regular season.

The Brownsburg softball team lost their 7th straight game, losing to Franklin Central 11-1. In those seven games, they have been outscored 63-13. The Dogs finish the regular season tonight at Decatur Central (15-9).

The Ball State baseball team played Michigan last night and lost 16-10. BSU used 6 pitchers, with none of them throwing more than 2 innings. Starting Friday, the Cardinals go to Toledo to face the Rockets in a series that will decide the MAC West title and the #1 seed in the MAC tourney. Game one starts at 3pm on Friday.

The Ball State softball team travels to Tennessee to play in the NCAA softball tournament. The Cardinals will play at 630p on Friday against Tennessee. That game will follow the Louisville/Virginia game at 4pm. The regional tournament is double-elimination. The Cardinal softball team has set numerous team records including runs scored (338), hits (473), doubles (90), triples (35), RBI (293), batting average (.305), total bases (717), slugging percentage (.463), wins (43), strikeouts pitched (389) and fielding percentage (.975). (All data from www.ballstatesports.com)

Pitching staff bepth will decide the HCC baseball title, and Drew Storen makes his major league debut

Assuming most games were rained out yesterday, the Hoosier Crossroads Conference baseball title will be decided with four games over the next four days. The remaining schedule for the contenders:

Brownsburg (11-3 in HCC) - Zionsville (2), Fishers (2)

Hamilton SE (10-4) - Harrison (2), McCutcheon (2)

McCutcheon (9-5) - Avon (2), Hamilton SE (2)

Westfield (9-5) - Noblesville (2), Lafayette Jeff (2)

With the compressed schedule and the 10 innings in 3 days pitching limit, it looks like Thursday's games will show what each team has beyond their #1 and #2 starters. Brownsburg has the easiest schedule and has a one-game lead, so if they play the way they have all year they could win this thing!

Drew Storen made his major league debut with the Nationals on Monday night. Storen pitched 2/3 of an inning, getting a fly out, a hit batter, and a strikeout. He contributed positively as his .021 WPA would attest and was the only Nationals pitcher with a positive WPA last night.

One of Brownsburg's own gets the call to "The Show", and the current Bulldogs finish their season this week

The Brownsburg baseball team plays four conference games this week to finish the regular season. They play Zionsville on Monday and Tuesday and Fishers on Thursday and Friday. The Dogs are 21-3 overall and 11-3 in the HCC, one game ahead of Hamilton SE for the conference lead. McCutcheon and Westfield are two games back with a 9-5 conference record.

The Brownsburg softball team plays Franklin Central on Tuesday and Decatur Central on Wednesday to complete their regular season. The Bulldogs will travel to Pike next Monday for their sectional tournament game against #5 Ben Davis.

Ball State Baseball – swept Northern Illinois this weekend to take their conference record to 18-6. The Cardinals play Michigan on Tuesday before traveling to Toledo for a three-game series that will decide the MAC West division title. BSU is one game ahead of Toledo and Central Michigan in the MAC West.

Ball State Softball – Won the MAC Tournament with a 4-0 record. They earned a bid to the NCAA tournament and will travel to Tennessee to face the 15th seeded hosts from the Volunteer state. The tournament starts Friday and is a double-elimination format. Other teams in the Tennessee regional are Virginia and Louisville.

Brownsburg high school graduate Drew Storen was called up to "The Show" by having his contract purchased from triple-A Syracuse by the Washington Nationals. I believe he is the first graduate of my alma mater to play in the major leagues. Good luck, Drew!

Running a 10k today

In a few hours, I will be running in a 10k in Anderson. It is my first competitive 10k, so we will see how it goes. I'm looking to run a 1:08.

Some scores from the last two nights:

Brownsburg baseball team beat Harrison 9-8 and Plainfield 20-4. BBurg is now 21-3 and has the most wins of any 4A school in the state.

Brownsburg softball was beaten by a top-10 Noblesville team 12-0.

The Ball State baseball team beat Northern Illinois 7-6 to keep their one game lead in the MAC West.

BSU's softball team has won all three of their games in the MAC tourney so far. They play today at 3pm against the winner of the 1230p game between Kent State and Northern Illinois. BSU only has to win one game (of a possible two) to win the tourney and get the automatic bid to the NCAA tourney.

Two big wins in games that matter, and a loss in a game that doesn't

Brownsburg's baseball team won a close game against Harrison last night 4-3. Matt Bowman threw a complete game for the Bulldogs in a very efficient 81-pitch effort (estimated). Alex McGowan homered and Justin Hartnagel had 2 RBI. Ted Kackowski had 3 hits and 2 doubles. The Dogs travel to Harrison for a game tonight. BBurg is 10-3 in the HCC and tied for the conference lead with Hamilton SE. Westfield is one game back of those teams and McCutcheon is another game behind Westfield in the conference with 5 conference games remaining.

The Ball State baseball team played a meaningless non-conference game against Ohio State and lost 8-4. The Cards were only down a run going into the bottom of the 8th, but 3 unearned runs by OSU let the game get away. The Cardinals host Northern Illinois this weekend. BSU leads the MAC West by one game over Toledo and Central Michigan.

BSU's softball team got off to a great start in the MAC tourney, beating Buffalo 7-0 behind a no-hitter from pitcher Elizabeth Millian. It was Millian's 3rd straight shutout and 3rd straight game of 10 strikeouts or more. Amanda Carpenter had 4 RBI to lead the offense. This victory was the 40th of the season for the Cardinals and set a new record for victories in a season. The #2 seeded Cardinals continue their tourney run against 6-seed Northern Illinois today at 5pm.

A win, a loss, a rainout, and the beginning of a tourney

The Brownsburg baseball team handled Center Grove last night by a score of 10-3. Levi Slawta got the win for the Dogs. Justin Hartnagel had 2 HRs and 3 RBI while Joel Stucker added a homer. BBurg hosts Harrison tonight in a HCC conference matchup.

Brownsburg's softball team lost their 5th straight game last night, losing to Zionsville 8-2. The road doesn't get any easier as they face #9 Noblesville (14-2) on Thursday night. The Millers have given up 15 runs in 16 games, led by pitcher Kaitlyn Flak and her 0.41 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 85 innings.

The Ball State baseball game against Purdue was cancelled due to rain. The Cardinals travel to Ohio State for a 630p game tonight. Speaking of Ohio State, have you seen the Big 10 baseball standings? All 10 teams are either 10-8, 9-9, or 8-10!!! Every weekend series can have a huge impact on the league standings! I believe only 6 teams make the conference tourney, so if you want to see some exciting games with something on the line, watch some Big 10 baseball this weekend! (Or you can also watch some MAC games, you know, like BSU trying to keep their one game lead in the MAC West)

BSUs softball team starts the MAC tourney this afternoon with a 5pm game against Buffalo. Earlier this year, the Cardinals swept Buffalo in a two-game series by scores of 3-2 and 8-4. The tourney is double-elimination and runs through Saturday.

Brownsburg softball jumps out to early lead, then can't stop the LN hit parade

The Brownsburg softball team took a 3-2 lead after 3 innings against Lawrence North on Monday. However, the team struggled after that, being outscored 12-0 over the final innings in a 14-3 defeat. The Bulldogs (7-13) host Zionsville (12-5) for a HCC matchup tonight.

The 6th-ranked Brownsburg baseball team (17-3) hosts Center Grove (6-13) this evening in a non-conference tilt. If you look at their record, Center Grove is having a down year, but they are always a tough team for the Bulldogs to beat.

Ball State's baseball team (24-23) hosts Purdue (28-18) this afternoon at 3pm. Admission is FREE!!!

Both Ball State teams take division leads

The Ball State baseball team took two games out of three yesterday to win their 7th straight conference series. BSU won game one 4-3 and won game two 10-5. They lost game three 6-1. The team is now 24-23 overall and 15-6 in the MAC, a full game ahead of Toledo and Central Michigan for the MAC West lead. The Cardinals host Purdue on Tuesday for a non-conference battle.

The Ball State softball team split their double header with Ohio yesterday, winning the first game 4-0 and losing the second game 5-4. The team finishes the regular season with a 39-14 record and won the MAC West with a 17-5 conference slate. The Cardinals will be the #2 seed in the MAC Tourney and start play on Wednesday against the #7 seed. BSU will need to win the tourney to have a shot at the NCAA tournament as their RPI ranking as of May 4th was #58. I don't think that will get an automatic bid.

Ball State baseball plays triple-header today

The BSU baseball team's series against Western Michigan was rained out again on Saturday. Today they need to play the final 5 innings of Friday's scheduled game, play Saturday's game, then play the game actually scheduled for today. It should be a battle of attrition for both teams....let's see whose pitching staff is deeper.

The BSU softball team's game was postponed to today. They will host Ohio in a double header that will include the Senior Day festivities.

The Brownsburg baseball team beat Lafayette Jeff 5-3 on a windy day at Mary Beth Rose Park. Isaac Sampen pitched 6-2/3 innings (with an estimated 103 pitches) to get the win. Alex McGowan pitched the final out to get the save, getting out of a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the seventh. Tyler Owensby had 3 hits and Joel Stucker had 2 hits and an RBI. The Dogs are 17-3 and 9-3 in the HCC. Westfield beat HCC-leading HSE on Saturday, so the Dogs are at least in a tie for the conference lead. They play 4 games in a row starting Tuesday when they host Center Grove.

A good day for Brownsburg baseball and Ball State softball

The Brownsburg baseball team jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Lafayette Jeff on Friday night en route to a 9-2 victory. Alex McGowan was 3-for-5 with 3 RBI. The teams play again this morning at 11am at Brownsburg.

The Ball State softball team swept Akron yesterday by scores of 7-0 and 3-0 to clinch the MAC West title. They host Ohio for single games on Saturday and Sunday to complete the regular season.

The Ball State baseball team's game against Western Michigan was suspended in the 4th inning with BSU down 1-0. The game will resume on Saturday and game two of the series will follow.

The Braves go hitless for seven innings, then tie the game, only to lose it without getting an out in the ninth

The Braves were held in check for 7-1/3 innings of no-hit ball by the Nationals' Scott Olsen, but three hits and an error in the 8th inning allowed Atlanta to tie the game at 2. Jason Heyward's pinch-hit single scored the two runs in the inning. However, the ninth inning was not too kind to the Braves as Eric O'Flaherty gave up a lead-off walk then Peter Moylan allowed a double, an intentional walk and a RBI single to end the game. The lack of offense for the Braves ruined a good performance by starter Tim Hudson. Huddy gave up 2 earned runs in seven innings. The runs were allowed on two solo home runs, so Hudson was throwing very well. The Braves travel to Philly to play the division leading Phillies. The Braves are 5 games behind in the NL East and the wild card.

The Brownsburg baseball team travels to Lafayette Jeff tonight for a 6pm game, followed by a home game against Jeff on Saturday morning at 11am. Jeff is 11-9 while BBurg is 15-3.

The Brownsburg softball team lost their third straight game last night, losing to Plainfield 7-6. The team is 7-12 this season. The girls have the weekend off before hosting Lawrence North on Monday. The Dogs lost to LN 13-2 in the LC Invitational a few weeks ago.

The Ball State baseball team hopes to continue their series-winning streak in the MAC against Western Michigan this weekend. The Cardinals will use their normal rotation of Perci Garner, Cal Bowling, and Kolbrin Vitek during the series. The Cards are tied with Toledo for the MAC West lead and one-game ahead of Central Michigan.

The Ball State softball team finishes their regular season this weekend. The team is 36-13 and 14-4 in the MAC, leading the MAC West by three games with 4 games remaining.

Brownsburg baseball fares better in second part of suspended game

The Brownsburg baseball team took a 2-1 deficit into Wednesday's resumption of Monday's suspended game against Avon. However, the Dogs put a 9-1 hurting on the Orioles leading to a 10-3 victory. Tyler Hampton hit a 3-run homer, Jason Catron had 3 RBI, and Justin Hartnagel scored 3 runs. Macklin Runyon got the win in relief of Matt Bowman. Runyon pitched 4 innings and struck out 7 batters. Bowman threw 3 innings and gave up 2 runs. The Bulldogs travel to Lafayette Jeff on Friday and host them on Saturday at 11am. BBurg is 15-3 overall and 7-3 in the HCC, one game behind Hamilton SE for the lead. Brownsburg's four remaining conference opponents are all in the bottom half of the league. If the Dogs play like they have been and they get some help from other teams, the conference title is within reach.

The Brownsburg softball team lost to Fishers 6-1. The Dogs are 7-11 overall and 3-4 in the conference. They travel to Plainfield for a non-conference game this evening.

A big home run and a lot of walks and wild pitches lead Brownsburg to a win

The Brownsburg baseball team beat Avon last night 11-5. The score was tied at 2 in the bottom of the third when Bulldog pitcher Isaac Sampen hit a 3-run homer to make it a 5-2 game. After a hit and a couple of walks, the bases were loaded and Avon had to switch pitchers. The pitcher then proceeded to throw two straight wild pitches to allow two runs to score. A few more hits and walks later, the Bulldogs scored 7 runs in the inning to take a 9-2 lead. Sampen pitched 6 innings to get the win. BBurg is 14-3 overall and 6-3 in the HCC, one game behind Hamilton SE for the conference lead. The Dogs will complete Monday's suspended game at Avon today. Brownsburg is down 2-0 in the 4th inning when play will resume.

The Brownsburg softball team was shut-out by Harrison last night 5-0. The Dogs could only manage 2 hits against Raider pitcher Brooke Jordan. The Dogs are 7-10 overall and 3-3 in the HCC. They travel to Fishers tonight and Plainfiled tomorrow before having the weekend off for the prom.

BSU softball wins, baseball loses

The Ball State softball team continued their winning ways in a 6-5 defeat of Western Michigan. Jessie Ware was 4-for-4 with 4 runs scored for the Cardinals and was 14-for-18 with 3 doubles, 3 triples, and a home run over the four games this weekend. Elizabeth Milian gave up 5 runs, all on the four homers that Western Michigan hit. Milian is 26-5 this season. The Cards are 36-13 overall and 14-4 in the MAC. They are 3 games ahead of Central Michigan and Northern Illinois with 4 games left to play. BSU will host Akron for a double header on Friday and single games against Ohio on Saturday and Sunday.

The Ball State baseball team could not hit the ball in a 10-5 loss against Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals managed 4 hits, but used 6 walks and 3 EMU errors to get the runs on the board. Kolbrin Vitek started for BSU, but could not get out of the sixth inning, pitching 5-1/3 innings and giving up 5 earned runs. Derek Grabner pitched 2-2/3 innings of shutout ball in relief of Vitek to keep the score close at 7-5 after 8 innings. Eastern got 3 runs in the top of the ninth against Cardinal pitcher Aaron Hammons to put the game away. The Cards are 22-22 overall and 13-5 in the MAC. They are tied with Toledo for the lead in the MAC West. BSU travels to Western Michigan next weekend for a three-game series starting Friday.

Cardinals continue to roll over MAC opponents

The Ball State baseball team clinched their 6th straight series win over a MAC opponent by beating Eastern Michigan 18-11. Kory Benbow had 3 home runs and was 5-for-5 with 6 RBI and 5 runs scored. The team had 6 home runs in all and pounded out 20 hits. Cal Bowling gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings to get the win. Jon Cisna pitched 3 innings to get his first save of the year. The final game of the series is today at 1pm. BSU is now 22-21 and 13-4 in the MAC. They lead the MAC West division by half a game over Toledo.

The Ball State softball team won their 7th straight game, blanking Western Michigan 13-0. Elizabeth Milian became the all-time leader in wins as she upped her record to 25-5 this season. Milian struck out 8 and only allowed 3 hits in her 5 innings. Alyssa Collins had 3 hits and 3 RBI in the game. The final game of the series is today at 1pm. The Cardinals are 35-13 overall and 13-4 in the MAC. They lead second-place Central Michigan by 2.5 games in the MAC West.

Everybody wins, even the Braves!!!!

Brownsburg baseball - Beat Pike 9-5. Levi Slawta started for the Dogs and pitched 5-2/3 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 4 hits. He did not get the decision. Ryan Rhodes got the win for BBurg pitching the final 1-1/3. He struck out 3 while giving up one hit and no runs. The team is 13-3 and 5-3 in the HCC. Their game today against Edgewood has been postponed due to a wet field.

Brownsburg softball - Beat McCutcheon 6-5. After falling behind 3-0 after two innings, the Dogs clawed their way back and took a 4-3 lead after five. Both teams were held scoreless in the 6th, but McCutcheon scored two in the top of the seventh to take a 5-4 lead. It seemed like the Dogs would fall an inning short, as they have so many times this year. But, Chelsea Vaught and Nicki Meidinger both got on base to start the inning. A single scored Vaught to tie the game. However, the Dogs recorded two outs sandwiched around a walk that loaded the bases. That brought Janikka Tillotson to the plate. A 3-2 count and a couple of foul balls later, Tillotson singled to right center to win the game for Brownsburg. Emily Schaefer pitched a great game and got the win. Vaught was 3-for-3 with a double. The team is 7-9 and 3-2 in the HCC. They play Harrison on Tuesday.

Ball State baseball - Kolbrin Vitek hit a three-run walk-off homer as the Cardinal beat Eastern Michigan 13-12 on a windy day in Muncie. Vitek had 3 hits (2 homers) and 4 RBI. Zach Dygert had a homer and 3 RBI. Ian Nielsen had 4 hits and Cody Elliott added 3 hits. The Cards had 18 hits as a team. The team is 21-21 and 12-4 in the MAC, a full game ahead of Toledo and Central Michigan in the MAC West. The Cards play EMU again today at 1pm.

Ball State softball - A lot of extra softball was played in Dekalb, IL on Friday afternoon. BSU beat Northern Illinois 10-7 in 10 innings in the first game and 7-6 in 8 innings in game two. Jessie Ware was 8-for-10 for the day, including hitting for the cycle in game one. Elizabeth Milian (24-5) got the win in game one, pitching 10 innings and giving up 6 earned runs. Audra Sanders (8-7) started game two and pitched 7 innings to get the win. Kim Mazzapica pitched a perfect eighth inning to get her first save of the season. The Cards are 34-13 and 12-4 in the MAC. They lead the division by one game over Central Michigan. BSU has clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament. They go to Western Michigan for single games on Saturday and Sunday.

Atlanta Braves - After a 9 game losing streak that saw them go from the top of the NL East to dead last in the National League, the Braves beat Houston 4-2. Jason Heyward and Nate McLouth homered in the game. Tommy Hanson pitched 8 innings and gave up 2 runs. Billy Wagner walked a batter in the ninth, but got a double play to finish the game. It was Wagner's second save of the season.