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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!

Coming soon will be my first human interest piece published on this blog.  I am calling it "Pete and Pick".  I am sure you can figure out the subject matter and you wont want to miss it. 

Also, now that we have six games under our belts, I am going to start publishing offensive and pitching stats.  I waited because the numbers are obviously skewed when we have so few at bats.  That should be done in the next couple of days.

Thanks for reading and tell your friends about this site.  Our guys deserve the notoriety.

Galesburg versus Pekin

Tonight the Streaks defeated the Pekin Dragons by a score of 10-0 in five innings.  We got to see another dominant performance by Tyler Farrell as he moved his record to 3-0 and kept his ERA at 0.00. 

Pictures wanted!!

I am looking for any pictures that you might be taking at our games.  I would like to spice up the blog a little and am finding it difficult to get pictures taken during the games.  My wife cannot make many of the games do to her work schedule and our camera is a little suspect at that.  So, if you are taking pictures of your son, take some of other players to and send them to me.  I will use these throughout the season.  Also, Troy, I notice you taking video.  I figure out a way to display video on here too.  So, if you catch an exciting or controversial play, send it to me in a jpeg or mpeg file.  I will publish it here.

Here is the email that you can send these to and I would be very appreciative.

Thanks

jkmstreak@hotmail.com

Streaks rebound against East Peoria

For those that came to East Peoria Wednesday afternoon, they were able to witness what I feel to be the most complete game the Streaks have played all season.  Galesburg beat East Peoria by a score of 6-5.  Some interesting things occurred in this game.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Galesburg versus Washington Part II

0328 ghs geneseo bb 2.jpg
As you could probably infer from my previous post, the Streaks were defeated by the Washington Panthers for the second time in just 10 days.  This time by the score of 7-6.  What makes this loss a little tougher to handle is that we jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind solid starting pitching by Austin Gernant and a huge base emptying triple by Zach McCrery. Reliever Colton Crain ran into the "meat" of the Panther lineup in the fifth and struggled through a walk and an error on the infield. 

Tough Loss at Morton

We started out well against Morton before falling 11-10 in 8 innings. Drake Sykes threw 3 shutout innings and we had a big 5 run second inning to get up 5 - 0. While trying to save pitching for Saturday, I took Drake out in the 4th inning and put in Carson Cheesman. I failed to make sure that Carson had enough time to get ready and he didn't. Carson wasn't sharp and we didn't help him out defensively behind him as we gave up 8 runs in the inning. We battled back offensively and scored enough runs to win the game, but we again failed to make some plays defensively that led to them getting 2 more runs in the 5th inning.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Gotta get better

I will keep it short for now as i am on the bus and still a little emotional. We need to back up our pitchers...and we need to keep the pressure on offensively with a lead. We did neither tonight and we paid the price.

Galesburg's Invite schedule

Ok, here is Galesburg's schedule for the Invite. I will try and post a complete tourney bracket if I can figure that out later this week.

Streaks beat the Leafs

Galesburg defeated Geneseo on a chilly Monday night at Sunberg Field by a score of 12-3. Tyler started and got his second win of the year. Because of the cold, and the busy week ahead, we used four different pitchers tonight. All of them did a great job. Timmy ran into some bad luck after a couple of walks, we were not able to bail him out with help defensively. That again was our glaring weakness. As I have said, we will pitch and we will hit...but we need to continue to work on handling the baseball. This will be a point of emphasis for the remainder of the year. Happy now to report our record is 3-1. I will begin to post our stats, both offensively and pitching, on a separate page once we have at least five games in.

Sophomores Win at Geneseo

The sophomores won 9 - 1 at Geneseo last night. We got off to a slow start offensively, but Jake Hannam was able to pitch out of a couple jams and throw 4 scoreless innings for the win. Tanner Guss rebounded from a shaky outing last time out and only gave up one run in throwing the final 9 outs for the save. Drake Sykes led the streaks going 4-4 with a triple. Riley VanVelsor added a 3-4 effort also with a triple.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Bundle up!!!!!!!

It looks like we get to play baseball today!! High of 44 but sunny and little wind. Come out and support your Streaks as they play Geneseo. Also, I have been alerted to a mistake on the schedule...today's game is at home.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Sophomore Game Saturday at Morton is Postponed

Saturday's scheduled doubleheader at Morton has been postponed to 4:30 pm Tuesday 3/29 @ Morton High School due to the cold weather and will now only be a single game. We will still have practice tonight from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm. We will not have practice Saturday or Sunday.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Varsity game against Canton

I just received word that the game against Canton for today is cancelled. Practice is at 1:30. Should be done in a little more than an hour. This weekend does not look good either. Stay tuned for more info on that to come.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Sophomores rebound from home loss to Macomb with a win at Sherrard

   Tuesday night we struggled throwing strikes again in the first inning and dug ourselves a 4 run hole in the first inning. We got within 4-3, but wound up falling 7-5. We struggled to get the big hit to finally get over the hump and tie the game up. Tanner Guss led the streaks with 4 of the team's 9 hits including a bunt single.

    Tonight we regrouped against Sherrard. We got a quick 2 run lead in the first after a lead off double from Drew Nall, a ground ball to the right side from Carson Cheesman to move Nall to third, and a single from Chans Sugden to drive in Nall. Chans later scored on an error. We still struggled in the first inning on the mound with Carson Cheesman walking in a run, but he settled down and threw 3 shutout innings after the first.
    The game was still 4 -1 until the 4th inning when Nate Perez reached by walking to lead off the inning and Drake Sykes followed with a drag bunt single that was fielded by the pitcher and thrown into the right field corner to score Perez from first base. Sykes scored one batter later on a sac fly from Nall. In the sixth inning the rain and cold really came and Sherrard struggled to throw strikes and field the baseball. The final score wound up being 16-3.

I'm looking forward to working on some different things at practice tomorrow. Hopefully we get a chance to get outside.
   

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Galesburg versus Dunlap

The light sprinkles that came down during the game tonight didn't hinder the Galesburg offense in the slightest. Zach McCrery led the way offensively which is what we need him to do. His effort also included our first team homerun as the Streaks won tonight 12-2. It is fun to watch our team when they play like they did tonight. Everyone seems to feed off one-another. It is true what they say...hitting is contagious. Personally, I am glad to see that we are putting good swings on the baseball. But, in an effort not to become satisfied, I hope to see us continue to work on getting better defensively. Tonight, we improved on our 4 error game on Saturday and committed just one. I know we can hit, and I know we can pitch, (as evidenced by the effort of Chris Fields and Austin Gernant tonight), but if we are to become complete, we need to field the baseball on a consistent basis. As the infield coach, I take a personal pride on how well we field the ball. And, I believe, that in order for us to win against a real quality opponent we need to play error free ball. I was impressed with Zach Riley as he got his first start at Shortstop. We need to continue to have guys push everyone around them to become better defensively. I know the weather does not look good for this weekend. I hope we get a break so that we can keep playing. Keep coming out to support your Streaks. It is good to see the amount of fans we have at our games

Monday, March 21, 2011

Sophomores Win at Dunlap

Despite walking 12 batters and committing 3 errors, we found a way to win Monday night. Tough mound conditions gave our pitchers problems over the first 5 innings, but Jake Hannam finally found control on the mound and held Dunlap to only 1 run over the last 3 innings.

Drew Nall and Ian Milligan led the way offensively with 2 hits a piece including doubles in the 8th inning. Drake Sykes also had a double in the 8th and was later scored by Nall.

We learned some more about our team tonight and we'll find out how we play at our own field tomorrow night at 4:30 pm against Macomb.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Sophomore Baseball Opening Weekend

It was a beautiful day at Blodgett Field on the Knox College campus. Moline finished the day 2 - 0, Normal West finished the day 0 - 2, and Galesburg finished with a split at 1 - 1.


In game 1, Moline jumped out to an early 2 - 0 lead after 3 innings. We answered with 3 runs in the 4th inning after a lead off triple from Ian Milligan and an RBI ground out from Jake Hannam. Drake Sykes then reached base on a bunt single, then stole second base and was driven home by a single from Drew Nall. A single from Carson Cheesman moved Nall from first to third and Nall scored the go ahead run on a wild pitch. Moline answered with runs in each of the last 3 at bats, with two more of those runs reaching base due to walks. We failed to score with a runner at 3rd and one out in the sixth and failed to score after having runners at first and second with no one out in the seventh inning.

Moline threw a strong left handed thrower Dallas DeVrieze who struck out 6 hitters in 3 2/3 innings with a good sophomore curve ball and finished with Matt Brill who struck out 4 with a little more velocity. Our pitchers struggled a little more with the tall mound at Blodgett field and walked 7 batters, 4 of which ended up scoring.

In Game 2 Moline beat Normal West in an exciting extra inning contest.

In Game 3 we dug ourselves out a 4-1 hole that was created by 4 fielding errors. We were able to get the offense going in the third inning thanks to another bunt single from Drake Sykes, that was followed with a stolen base, a single from Chans Sugden and a double from Drew Diaz. After tying the game at 6 in the 4th inning, The floodgates opened in the fifth after Milligan and Riley VanVelsor reached on an error and a walk and Hannam followed with a bunt single. After another error that scored 2 runs, Sykes followed with a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third and Nall drove in a run with a sac fly.

We still struggled on the mound, walking 6 more hitters, but it was good to see our bats come alive. I think our players are starting to buy into the small ball concept of bunting and running and putting pressure on the defense. We still have a lot of work to do on the mound and in the field, but I'm encouraged by what I saw Saturday.

I would like to thank Knox College for letting us use their facilities, Officer Luna and the freshman that helped run the concession stand, and the parents for helping with the players' meals between games. Hopefully the rain will hold off and we'll be able to make some more progress on Monday night at Dunlap.

Opening Weekend

It was nice to get to play baseball this weekend. Galesburg came away with a split on Saturday. Normal West and Washington left this weekend at 2-0. The previously mentioned Streaks and Western Big Six teammate Moline finished Saturday at 1-1. While Rockford Guilford and Pekin played competitively, but finished 0-2. First things first...Moline suffered a scare as one of there coaches suffered a seizure as they were warming up for their first game. He was taken to the hospital and when I talked to a Moline player later in the day, I was told they believed it to be diabetes related. This player said that he was expected to stay under observation and be released the next day. Hopefully all is well with him. Makes one realize how trivial the game of baseball really is. My take on Saturday: Game 1: Tyler was dominant. Our bats did what they are supposed to against decent pitching. Defensively we were ok. Game 2: Two thoughts...runners left on base and 4 errors We found out that we are not invincible. And, I think that is good for us to learn. Washington made every routine play on defense, and a couple of really good plays (especially by their shortstop). And that, ultimately, is what the difference in this game boiled down to. I am happy that our guys got to see that. It is the most glaring area that we need to improve and if our guys are willing to put in the work to get better defensively, we will come out on top in the games like this in the future. I am confident that we will.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Room for Improvement

I once had a coach tell me..."The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement" I am not sure what we can take away from the JV game tonight except that it was another chance to improve. A lot of guys got some swings and we had someone other than ourselves hitting baseballs back at us. A few important days of practice coming up. We aren't exactly ready yet...but we are getting there. Come out Saturday (I will post a schedule tomorrow) and watch us as we look to improve some more. Think positive thoughts about no rain!!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Meet the Streaks

Thanks to all those who braved the cold to support our Silver Streaks. Also thanks to those who brought the Gatorade's/etc. for us to use during the season. It is much appreciated. We saw some things we liked tonight, and of course, some things we need to work on. It was obvious that the pitchers were ahead of the hitters tonight...and that is to be expected. But, for the most part, we threw strikes, handled the baseball, and put good swings on the ball. I can't wait to see this team when we fire on all cylinders. Sometimes, you have to field a team that is out-gunned from the beginning talent wise. I don't see that being the case this year. But, we will need to be able to respond to adversity and stay mentally and emotionally tough. And how we do that remains to be seen. How will our guys respond to a bad at-bat, a throwing error, a base running mistake, a base on balls? It will all become clear as we head into our season. We as coaches, are hopeful that our experiences from last year and the ones to be had at the beginning of this year will pay dividends. We are excited. Brave the cold and come out as we play our first opponent in a JV game tomorrow at 4:30. Looking forward to the progress we make tomorrow!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Dates to remember

Here are some important dates to remember concerning Silver Streaks Baseball news and happenings. March 9th Pizza House Fudraiser 5-8 March 11th & 12th HyVee Bagging for Donations Fri. p.m. and Sat. a.m. March 13th Varsity parent meeting 4:00 (tentative) in the cafeteria at GHS March 14th Meet the Streaks (Fr./So. at 4, Varsity around 5:30) Bring a Sports drink or Bottled Water for admission March 15th Season opener JV game against Abindgon 4:30 March 19th Opening Weekend Tourney TBA March 25th and 26th Spring Break Invite TBA March 31st-April 2nd Streaks Invite May 20-21st Streaks Classic (Varsity parents to run 50/50 and grill out at the Invites/Classic) Go Streaks

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Goal

As practice has started, I thought I would remind all of the common goal...to get here!