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Announcement regarding bats to be used for 2011 American Legion season - February 8, 2011

Nebraska American Legion Baseball Activities Director Brent Hagel-Pitt sent an email message to coaches across the state yesterday informing them of a new bat rule recently adopted by the national American Legion baseball sub-committee.  According to the announcement, "a composite bat in ANY FORM will not be allowed for the 2011 season. No composite material at all can be in the bat, whether it be handle only and metal barrel or BESR or BBCOR rated. Only ALL METAL bats or all wood bats with BESR or BBCOR will be allowed. Metal to Metal bats are considered 'all' metal."

If this announcement leaves you scratching your head about all of the various bat requirements that must be met during the spring and summer seasons, you're not alone.  To help you sort out the confusion, we've prepared a handy bat guide.  Note:  Nike has a bat exchange program for owners of now illegal composite barrel bats that not ABI-compliant.  See Nike Exchange Offer.

| 2011 Legion Post-Season Schedule and Sites |

Bat Rules driving you batty?  Check out our 2011 Bat Guide.

Latest news:  Nike has an exchange program for those who purchased certain composite-barrel Nike bats on or after July 1, 2009 that are now illegal for NFHS or American Legion play.  Under the program the purchasers can exchange the bat for a Nike Fuse BESR bat or an MC2 BBCOR bat.  The Fuse bat has a composite handle, thus, making it illegal for American Legion play this summer.  It is, however, legal for spring high school ball.  We're also checking with Louisville Slugger and Easton to see if they have a comparable exchange policy.

Countdown to 600 is on for Papillion-LaVista's Coach Thomas - March 7

Jim Thomas, the dean of Nebraska high school baseball coaches, is within striking range of 600 career coaching victories as he heads into his 38th year as head coach at Papillion-LaVista High School.  Thomas' win total stands at 593, just seven short of the 600 mark. 

During his tenure as head coach, Thomas has averaged 15.6 wins per year while compiling a 593-284 record (.676).  His teams have made twenty state tournament appearances, winning the championship twice ('97, '98) and finishing as runner-up twice ('77, '99). 

His 2010 ballclub finished 23-7 with a state tournament appearance.  The 2011 Monarchs will rely on  a talented core of experienced juniors that includes Jake Placzek, a three-year starter at shortstop, and outfielders Josh Kramer and Cole Gruber. 

We'll keep readers posted on the progress of the countdown.  (No pressure, Monarchs.)

Old Faces in New Places - March 7

In addition to the twelve new head coaches in Nebraska high school dugouts this spring, fans will also see some familiar faces in new uniforms.  Among the coaching switches this spring:

- Former Omaha Bryan head coach Mike Demilia will be a varsity assistant on Dave Cork's Millard North staff

- Former Millard South head coach (and current Elkhorn South football coach) Trevor Longe will be a varsity assistant for Elkhorn South head coach Todd Beran

- Former Omaha Northwest head coach Bill Olson will be the pitching coach at Omaha Roncalli for Tom Kupfer

- Former Wayne State College head coach John Manganaro will be an assistant for Frank Ryan at Milard West

- Former Millard South Junior Varsity head coach Tom Cooper will be in the same role at Millard West

- Former Burke and Millard West Junior Varsity head coach Chris Emanuel will be in the same role at Omaha Bryan under new head coach Eric Fischer.

And, those are just the ones we know of at the present time.  We'll pass on any others that we learn of. 

It's great to see Coach Olson and Coach Manganaro getting on the field this spring.  Both are full-time instructors at the Ultimate Baseball Academy in Omaha. 

Veteran Umpire Frank Pecha Ready for Season Opener After January Heart Attack  - March 5

Frank Pecha isn't going to let something as trivial as a heart attack get in the way of launching his sixth decade of baseball umpiring. 

Pecha, who started umpiring baseball in 1961 when John F. Kennedy was in the first year of his presidency, suffered a heart attack on January 13th while refereeing a boys junior varsity basketball game between Gretna and Boys Town.  According to Pecha (pronounced Pecka), he began not feeling well during the second quarter of the game and was unable to resume his duties after halftime.  Gretna superintendent Kevin Riley, a former student of Pecha's, insisted that he get medical attention.  Although Pecha didn't experience the chest pain normally associated with a heart attack, a visit to the Lakeside Hospital emergency room revealed that to be the case.

Fortunately, Pecha's condition was one that could be treated with the insertion of stents to open clogged arteries instead of open heart surgery. 

"I'm feeling fine, and the doctor says I'm good to go," said Frank on Friday, adding that he and partner Jerry Rempe will work the March 17th season opener at Creighton Prep between the Junior Jays and Millard West.

Pecha was away from umpiring for a few years when he started the baseball program at Paul IV High School in Omaha, but other than that has umpired baseball for most of the past fifty years since first stepping behind the plate.

Millard West, Creighton Prep in National Rankings - March 3

Two Metro teams have appeared in recent national preseason high school rankings.  Creighton Prep was ranked #42 in BaseballAmerica's  Preseason High School Top 50 Rankings published February 22nd, and Millard West was awarded the #50 spot in the undated ESPN RISE Fab50 Preseason Team Rankings.  Millard West had previously earned a #27 ranking in Collegiate Baseball Newsletter's Easton Sports National High School Preseason Poll. 

BaseballNebraska preseason Top 10 rankings for Class A and Class B will be released on or before March 16th. 

Sunshine, 50 degrees, Baseball in the Forecast - March 2

Tuesday's warm temperatures allowed local teams to get outdoors.  While some ballfields may yet be too soggy for infield drills, Westside's all-weather turf allowed the Warriors to take some groundballs.  The crack of fungo bats and the pop of the ball hitting the glove are welcome sounds after another long winter.   

Practice Begins Today!  - Feb. 28

Preparations for the 2011 season ratchet upwards today, the first permissible day of team practice.  Although temperatures in the mid-30's and some remaining snow cover will keep teams indoors, the tempo will quicken now that entire teams, rather then four players at a time, can begin practicing together under the supervision of coaches.  Weather conditions should begin improving tomorrow as temperatures reach near fifty and should remain in the forties for the remainder of the week. 

Opening day on March 17th is just two and a half weeks away.  Eleven games are on tap for the St. Patrick's Day season opener:

4:30 pm Seward at Arlington
4:30 pm Omaha Skutt Catholic at Bellevue East
4:30 pm Crete at Platte Valley
4:30 Mount Michael Benedictine at Nebraska City
5:00 pm Millard West at Creighton Preparatory School
5:00 pm Waverly at Lincoln Northeast
5:00 pm Lincoln High at Norris
5:00 pm Lincoln Pius X at Lincoln Southwest
5:00 pm Norfolk at Columbus
5:00 pm Papillion-LaVista at Omaha Westside
6:30 pm Bennington at Blair
 

Macke Injury Update  - Feb. 25

We have been informed by a friend of the Macke family that Pete had surgery yesterday (Thursday) in Pittsburgh to repair his injured right knee.  It was an arduous six-hour ordeal, and Pete is reported to be experiencing considerable pain following the surgery.  He will return to Omaha on Saturday. 

Evidently, the reason that the surgery took place in Pittsburgh was unrelated to the fact that Pete has chosen to attend school and play baseball there.  Instead, it was solely a medical decision based on the advice of doctors in Omaha. 

In case you missed our Tweet yesterday, we encourage baseball fans to send "get well" wishes to Pete's Facebook account (Pete Macke).  Pete, if you're reading this from your hospital bed, all of us here in your home state are thinking of you and wishing you well.  As a ballplayer you've learned to overcome adversity on a regular basis.  And, as a pitcher we know you've got the mental toughness to come back strong and keep throwing strikes.  Hang in there, kid.  Things will get better.

2011 Mavs Have Familiar Look  - Feb. 20

UNO head coach Bob Herold introduced his 2011 ballclub Saturday evening during an informal fundraiser event at the Knights of Columbus Hall in South Omaha.  Demonstrating Coach Herold's mastery of the art of recruiting in his backyard, thirty out of the forty players on the this year's roster are in-state players, including twenty-five from the Omaha Metro area.

The Mavericks kick off the season this weekend with doubleheaders Friday and Saturday against Augustana. College.  The games were originally scheduled to be played at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, but the collapse of that facility's roof in December has not only required a location change for the Mavs and Vikings but also for upwards of 300 college baseball games scheduled there for March and April.  Instead of heading north, the Mavs will play the Vikings in Topeka.  With the weather forecast looking unfavorable for the weekend, there is a possibility that the games could be moved to an earlier date this week.

Although we have previously commented on the exceptional freshman season that Bellevue East alum Tyler Splichal had last year, we'll take this opportunity to make up for our failure  to mention that he was selected as the 2010 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year.   Splichal led the MIAA in doubles with 21, finished sixth in the league with a .407 batting average and fourth in the conference in hits with 74. He received All-MIAA Second Team honors as well. 

Junior right-hander Joe Holtmeyer (Creighton Prep) is coming off an exceptional 2010 season in which he earned MIAA Pitcher of the Year and NCAA Division II First Team All-American honors.  Holtmeyer, a Tino Martinez Award finalist last year, is again on the watch list for the award presented to the top D-II player in the nation. 

Coach Herold, enters his 11th season with a 342-204 record at the school and is assisted by coaches Chris Gadsden and Dan McGinn and grad assistants Evan Porter (Millard North) and Brian Strawn (Bellevue East).  Earlier this month MIAA coaches picked UNO to finish third in the conference this season behind defending league champion Central Missouri and Emporia State.

| Schedule | Roster |  Coach Herold Bio |

2011 Spring Baseball Storylines - Feb. 18 (updated Feb. 18, 4:30 pm)

With the first day of baseball practice just ten days away, it's time to think about some of the top storylines that we'll be following throughout the 2011 season.  We'll start our list with a look at the top rung of the baseball ladder -- the head coaches.  The big news in the coaching ranks this year is the fact that more twenty percent of the coaches will be starting new jobs this spring.  Eleven new head coaches have been hired in the off-season, including seven new coaches for existing programs and four skippers for brand new programs.  

|  More |

Lubach's Commitment to Illinois State Raises Class of 2011 D-1 Count to Thirteen - Feb. 13

Lincoln Southwest catcher Tanner Lubach has given his commitment to play baseball for Illinois State University.  "It was a long process but worth the wait," said the 6-foot, 170 pound receiver on Friday.  Lubach gave his commitment Thursday while on an unofficial recruiting visit to the school.

Located in Normal about an hour and a half south of Chicago, Illinois State tied for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference last year with a  15-6 league record (32-24 overall), won the Valley Conference Tournament and picked up a win against St. Louis University in the Louisville Regional.  Earlier this month the Redbirds were picked as the 2011 pre-season favorite by Valley Coaches.

Lubach was a Journal Star Super-State First Team selection and a World Herald All-Nebraska Second Team pick in 2010 after setting a school record with seven home runs.  The Silver Hawks' everyday catcher commited just one fielding error last spring (.995 fielding percentage).  Last summer he slugged another nine home runs, second highest in the state, and placed among the state's leaders in a number of other offensive categories, including a .423 batting average. 

A strong student, Lubach also earned Academic All-State honors last spring.

A significant consideration in Lubach's commitment to the Redbirds was the fact that second-year head coach Mark Kingston is a former catcher and has had success coaching and developing catchers at other schools, including Tulane and Miami.  Kingston was on the coaching staff of the 2001 Hurricanes' national championship team.

Lubach stated that he is "excited to play for an up and coming program that is developing a reputation in the Missouri Valley Conference under Coach Kingston and his staff."

Tanner is the thirteenth member of the Nebraska's Class of 2011 to commit to or sign with an NCAA Division I school. 

Prep's Macke Lost for Season to Knee Injury - Feb. 13

Pete Macke's much-anticipated senior season has ended before it began.  The Creighton Prep left-hander suffered a serious knee injury last Sunday that, according to his father, Mark, will require surgery.  Mr. Macke, who teaches Phys Ed at Prep, described the injury as being a complete tear of a ligament in the posterolateral corner of Pete's right knee and a 50% tear of the posterior cruciate ligament or PCL.  "It definitely wasn't an ACL tear.  This one is much less common," he said.

Pete will undergo surgery in approximately two weeks.  "He is definitely done for the spring," said Mr. Macke.  "There is a possibility that he could be back for part of the summer, but we're not going to hurry it.  Pittsburgh is still there for him in the fall so we're going be careful."

Regarded as one of the top prep hurlers in the state, Pete signed with Division I Pittsburgh during the Early Signing Period last November.  He was 8-0 last summer following a 5-1 record this spring and hit 89 mph with his fastball this fall while throwing for the Ulimate Baseball Academy Elite Team.  "He was really throwing well this fall," said his father.  "We were looking forward to this spring.  It's very disappointing for him to lose his senior season."

UBA Dean of Instruction Bill Olson observed that Pete made great progress this fall and still has tremendous upside.  "He's got a big frame, his arm works well, his breaking ball works well.  And, the more he faced good competition, you could see things come together for him.  This is a very unfortunate situation.  Pete is a quality young man," commented Olson. 

Pete was to be a part of an outstanding pitching rotation at Prep this spring led by three southpaws:  Macke, Husker signee Kyle Kubat and junior Mason Raburn.   "We'll definitely miss him," said Prep head baseball coach Pat Mooney.  "We were expecting him to have a really good spring.  He's a game-changer when he's on the mound, and he really started to swing the bat well last summer so we were figuring on him in the middle of the lineup.  We'll be affected by his injury, but I feel for Pete."

Class of 2011 Commitments: 

Thirteen members of the Class of 2011 have given their commitments to Division I universities:

Tanner Lubach, Lincoln Southwest - Illinois State University

Trevon McGill, Lincoln Pius X - Creighton University

John Oltman, Beatrice - Creighton University

Pete Macke, Creighton Prep - University of Pittsburgh

Tyler Peitzmeier, Platte Valley (Yutan) - California State University, Fullerton

Taylor Anderson, Lincoln Southwest - University of Nebraska

Blake Headley, Millard South - University of Nebraska

Caleb Wallingford, Elkhorn - Kansas State University

Kyle Kubat, Creighton Prep - University of Nebraska

AJ Ladwig, Millard West HS - Wichita State University

Zach Kallman, Millard West HS - Kansas State University

Casey Gillaspie, Millard North HS - Wichita State University

Taylor Doggett, Lincoln Southeast HS - Wichita State University

For all 2011 Commitments, see "Signings 2011" link on Main Menu at left.

KU Career Records within Reach for Skutt Alum Walz; Will Face #1 TCU in Feb. 18 Opener

January 12, 2011

TJ Walz' collegiate debut wasn't particularly impressive. 

On February 23, 2008, the University of Kansas walk-on trotted in from the bullpen at Simmons Field in Kona, Hawaii to take the mound for the first time in a Jayhawks uniform.   Walz inherited baserunners on the corners with two outs as his team trailed the University of Hawaii-Hilo, 4-2, in the second half of a daytime doubleheader on the opening weekend of the season.  The lanky freshman reliever out of Omaha Skutt Catholic needed just one out to get his team back in the dugout and keep them in the game.

Three batters later, Walz was back in the dugout -- but his team was still on the field.  His first collegiate appearance turned out to be a very brief one that included -- in this order -- a run-scoring balk, a one-run double, a walk and a hit batsman.  The Jayhawks went on to lose 12-4.

Now, nearly three years after that inauspicious beginning, Walz heads into his senior season in Lawrence as the Jayhawks' team captain and within striking distance of becoming KU's all-time career  leader in wins and strikeouts.   | More |

Local Family Feels Feller Loss; Became Friends with Hall of Famer in his Final Year

December 22, 2010 (updated Dec. 31, 2010)

Just as his family sat down to eat dinner one evening last winter, Drew Grant's cell phone began to vibrate and rattle on the kitchen counter.

Grant picked up the phone, put it to his ear and heard the caller say, "Drew, this is Bob Feller from Ohio."

| More |

Images of 2010 - A Photo Retrospective

August 8, 2010

Below is a collection of photos taken during the 2010 spring and summer seasons.  Think of it as our way of saying "goodbye" to the 2010 season.  Photography by Bob Irlbeck, Steven Branscombe, Chad Ebel and Jack Mayfield.

To view these photos in full-screen size, click on this link to open the gallery, then click in the upper-right corner on the button that says "Slide Show."  The slide show includes 121 photos and runs about 18 minutes.  You may need to change your screen-saver settings to make sure that your screen-saver does not come on while the slide show is running.  And, here's a link to a few comments about the photos.  Enjoy.