2007 County Champions!!!

2008 Whitfield County Early Bird Champions

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2010 Game Schedule Now Available

Cubs Batting Leaders:Logan Hilton .532, Jackson Bell .500, Drew Guffey .486, TRey Hasty .412

Cubs Pitching Leaders: Logan Hilton 34 Innings -71 K's, Jackson Bell -29 innings 44 K's, Drew Guffey 21 Innings -37 K's,

Valley Point Cardinals vs. Westside Cubs

Valley Point 11

Cubs 5

The Valley Point game is a game we look forward to each year. They are well-coached and have a lot of talent. It seems our boys learn so much from playing Valley Point, and it is just another opportunity to learn and have fun. If we take away lessons from each game we win or lose, it improves the caliber of our own play. If we could play Valley Point every week, we could become one of the elite teams in the county.

The Valley Point game was our first loss, but we hung tough until their last at bat. We were actually ahead at one point. Drew Guffey pitched a great game and we will probably begin to use him more often, since he seems to improve with every outing. We had intended to put Jackson Bell in to finish the game, but a base running error convinced us to bring Logan Hilton in for the last inning. Logan surrendered 5-runs, which put the Cardinals ahead by 6-runs, which mathematically eliminated us from having the opportunity to tie them in our half of the 5th inning.

Our stage of development is right on the edge of having the ability to win every game we play. The game actually came down to a few critical errors on our part. I see a number of areas where we improved and other areas in which we need work.

The first area in which we need work is base-running. We keep stressing that players need to slide. We had a couple of outs, which ended rally's, by players who can't or won't slide into the bases. During our next practice, plan to dress in long pants and long sleeves, because I have a feeling the entire team will learn to slide before our next game.

Second, was our outfield play. Eight of eleven Valley Point runs were scored on our outfielders, who let balls get past them. Six of these runs were the difference in the game.

If you take away the outfield errors and the base-running blunders, we had the opportunity to win this game.

Our hitting was not up to our usual standard, but Ethan Neal continues to hit the ball in each game, and he has earned the right to move into the fourth or fifth spot in the batting order in our next game. Ethan has hits in almost every game, is among our leaders in batting average, and is tied for the lead in runs scored. Ethan has come a long way from last year, when he could not hit, catch, or throw.

While we had a number of strikeouts this game, I must defend the players, because if you are unsure of where the strike zone is, it makes it difficult. Several balls that bounced on home plate were called strikes. While I never criticize officiating, we would like to see more consistency behind the plate. If a ball that bounces on home plate is a strike, fine. Let's just make sure that all balls that bounce on home plate are called strikes. It is very important that umpires be consistent with the strike zone, so our players learn what to expect.

During the game Valley Point led off their first at-bat with one run. Drew did a fine job of retiring 3 of their first 5 batters on three strikeouts and a pop out to Logan at first.

Valley point 1 - Cubs 0

In our second inning, Clay Phillips reached base on an error and scored on three stolen bases for our only run. We had three strikeouts in the inning.

Clay Phillips scored our only run.

Valley Point 1 - Cubs 1

In the Valley Point Second, they scored on a single and 3 stolen bases to go ahead. Drew struck out three players in the inning.

Valley Point 2 - Cubs 1

In the Cubs third, we took the lead on a walk by Chip Brown and Logan Hilton. Drew Guffey singled to score both runs and pick up two more RBI's.

Chip Brown and Logan Hilton each scored runs in the third.

Valley Point 2 - Cubs 3

In the Valley point third, they scored 4 runs on outfield errors. Clay Phillips picked off two runners trying to steal and Blake Ownbey made a great play on a hard hit grounder to short. Logan Hilton made a good play on a high throw to make the catch and keep his foot on the bag.

Valley Point 6 - Cubs 3

In the Cubs fourth, we scored two runs on a walk by Clay Phillips and a double by Ethan Neal. Clay Phillips scored on the RBI double by Ethan and Ethan Neal scored on two stolen bases. The rally ended on a strikeout followed by a player caught stealing (did not slide).

Valley Point 6 - Cubs 5

Valley Point scored 5 runs in their half of the fourth, all made possible by outfield errors. The final run, which ended the game occurred when our pitcher and catcher fell asleep, allowing the runner on third to score on the throw from the catcher to the pitcher. At the time, we had a full count on the batter. If we had the opportunity for one more pitch (without the run scoring), we could have salvaged another at-bat.