Kentucky Country Day - Athletics

Head Coach: Matt Evans
Assistant Coach: Jeff Holbrook and Trey Blair

KCD Parent Student Handbook each player must submit a signed form from the handbook prior to practicing or playing for any Kentucky Country Day School athletic team.

Baseball Intro Letter

With their backs against the wall the Bearcats played their best. KCD’s middle school baseball team had to beat the Bearcats of Beth Haven, last Friday, in the play-in game just to receive an invitation to tournament play. The boys from KCD found their stride offensively as they handle Beth Haven 9 – 2. After stellar defense all year the Bearcat bats were coming alive. On to the tournament!

Saturday’s tournament started off slower than frozen molasses. The first game between Whitefield and Oldham County took over three hours pushing back KCDs start time an hour and a half. Once the Bearcats finally took the field at 5:30 they were ready to play. Their opponents this time were the Indians of Bloomfield; a team that beat the Bearcats twice this season. Things were going to be different this time. KCDs hit parade left off where the Beth Haven game ended and the Bearcats were able to hang eleven runs on Bloomfield finishing the game 11 – 3. The final out of the game came at a force play at the plate where Josh “Nails” Spurrier took the throw and while making the play he received a deep gash to his left forearm as a result of a reckless slide by the opposing player. The metal cleats left Josh with a cut that would later require stitches. On to the Championship Game!

As an inspiration to his teammates Josh elected to wait until after the Title Game to receive medical treatment. He started the game behind the plate with little more than butterfly sutchers and an Ace Bandage©. The Final Game was against Whitefield Academy who like Bloomfield had previously beaten KCD twice before.

After a scoreless first frame the Bearcats put four runs on the Wildcats. Nik Gorman set the stage with a lead off double and was advanced by a well placed base hit bunt by Jacob Coury. Sixth grader Casey Klein loaded the bases with a single to left then all three were brought home by a fielders choice error on a solid hit by Jake Austin. Once the flood gates were opened KCD was able to score eleven more runs versus only 1 by Whitefield. When it was all said and done the Bearcats prevailed by forcing the 10 Run Mercy Rule and taking home the first ever Championship trophy by a KCD middle school team!

April 29th, 2008 - Beth Haven
Bearcats Win! Bearcats Lose! The Beth Haven Bearcats invaded Samide Memorial Stadium to take on the Bearcats of County Day. Starting pitcher Nik Gorman sat down the visitors in 1 – 2 – 3 order to open the game. As has been the norm all season long lead off hitter Josh Spurrier managed to find himself on base to get things going. Josh reached on a third strike passed ball. His hustle down the first base line beat the throw. Spurrier stole second and then was moved over to third when Zach Lyles put the next pitch in play. “Nails” then scored on another passed ball. 1 – 0 KCD Bearcats. Over the next four innings Beth Haven’s pitcher managed to make life difficult for the KCD batsmen.

Defensively the Bearcats were paced once again by third basemen Jake Austin and second baseman Chase Leonard. Although the Beth Haven hitters seemingly managed solid contact every time they hit the ball only a few hits were able to drop in for base hits. Beth Haven lead 4 – 1 after five and a half innings. Web-gem of the day was turned in by left fielder Casey Klein with a full speed catch going away from his glove hand. The defensive play of the day was a beautiful sequence started by right fielder Robert Scholtz. With a runner on second Scholtz fielded a line drive then made a perfect throw to the relay man, Ricky Brown, who then spun and gunned down the runner at home as Spurrier sacrificed all 75 pounds of his body to block the plate. Inning over.

KCD put one more run on the board in the bottom of the 6th but still trailed by two. Parker James, pitching in relief, sat the visitors down in-order in the crucial top half of the seventh. In the home half of the seventh Gorman drew a walk with one out and then scored on Coury’s RBI double. Pinch hitter Danny Roberts gambled on a 3-0 pitched and drove it to centerfield scoring Coury to tie the game. Clutch hitting!

In the extra frame James, once again, sat down the foes in order. KCD was not going to be denied this long overdue win. Pinch hitter Miles Lee patiently drew a walk to get on base. Lee moved to second as Spurrier reached first after getting hit by a pitch. When Brown was also plucked by a frustrated pitcher Lee reached third. Chris Miller achieved the game winning RBI by demonstrating great patience at the plate as he forced a full count walk.

The KCD Bearcats have shown great improvement over the course of the season and against Beth Haven their hard work paid off. There are four games left before the Whitefield Tournament and the goal is to continue to get better each practice and each game.

April 22nd, 2008 - Whitefield Academy
Tuesday’s tough loss was highlighted by several group and individual performances. The Bearcats, for the third game in a row, jumped out to an early lead. Chris Miller’s RBI double put KCD on the scoreboard in the top of the first. The Bearcats managed two more runs before closing out their half of the inning. Henry Crockett took the mound for his second start of the season – four pitches later KCD was up to bat again. For several innings Henry controlled the Whitefield Wildcat batters inducing several ground outs. Second baseman Chase Leonard was instrumental in keeping the ball in the infield with his defensive prowess. He teamed with first baseman Robert Scholtz to throw out their foes.

Crockett’s battery mate Josh “Nails” Spurrier was once again excellent behind the plate framing pitches and blocking a few low balls. Josh also had a hit and scored a run. From the outfield the catch of the day was turned in by Jacob Coury’s full speed over the shoulder catch. Willie Mays would have been proud.

6th grader Casey Klein was also stellar from the mound for the final three innings. Unfortunately the error bug struck once again as the Bearcats snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Wildcats managed to take advantage of a few mishaps and a couple of bunt singles to take, and hold onto, a 5 – 3 lead.

After three road games, a few rain outs, Spring Break, and Pine Mountain the Bearcats will final hold their home opener Friday April, 25. The boys are excited to show the home crowd their ever-improving baseball skills.

April 2nd, 2008 - Spencer County
Once again the Bearcats found themselves outside the friendly confines of Samide Memorial Stadium. On the road against the Grizzlies of Spencer County, KCD quickly jumped ahead 1-0 behind the tough right arm of 7th grader Josh Spurrier. For four and a third innings Josh mystified the opponents with a steady combination of fastballs and change-ups. Behind the pitcher was a solid defensive effort lead by Jake Austin at the hot corner and second baseman Chase Leonard. Wednesday’s web-gem goes to utility outfielder Brian Lewis who made a highlight reel catch in right field and then a heady throw to double up the runner on first to end the 5th inning. Sixth grader Zach Lyles provided offensive pop turning in a 2-4 performance with an RBI and a run scored on a seeing eye base hit by Parker James. Danny Roberts was also solid with the aluminum going 2 – 3.

The Bearcats lead 2-1 going into the final frame when, for the second game in a row, they were snake bitten. A few tough at bats by the Grizzlies loaded the bases before the number four hitter drove the pitch to the outfield. The ensuing throw to home plate was deemed to arrive slightly after the base runner. The final score was Spencer County 3, KCD 2. The Bearcats will have a two-week hiatus for Spring Break and the seventh grade trip to Pine Mountain. Play will resume April 22 when the KCD road warriors play at Whitefield Academy.

Thank you to all the parents who made the trip to Spencer County to support the boys. Have a great Spring Break.

March 31st, 2008 - Bloomfield
Although the Bearcats fell to the Indians of Bloomfield 4 – 3 in extra frames the opening day for the young KCD squad was a great benchmark for the upcoming season. Seventh grader Henry Crockett got the nod on the mound to open the season and threw four impressive innings giving up only one hit and striking out four. Casey Klein, Zach Lyles, and Chris Miller and took the mound and threw some impressive pitches to help the cause. The Bearcats were lead from behind the plate by catcher Josh Spurrier. Offensively, KCD pounded out four hits including three from the bottom of the order. First year players Robert Scholtz and Brian Lewis notched line drive singles. The SportsCenter web gem came from right fielder Danny Roberts for his sliding catch to rob a sure double.

Overall there were plenty of positives on the day; a great first outing. The Bearcats return to practice to address a few of the bumps that got in the way of a W. As always, thanks for your support.