A Sea Of Red

Early signee LHP Chase Vaden struck out 16 in a 4 hit, 8 inning performance against Gretna on Friday! This could bode well for LU, as this is the type of local signee I have been railing about. The only thing that concerns me (and it is a huge concern) is the competition he is facing--the Single A Dogwood District. HMO can vouch that the Dogwood is a VERY weak (except for Chatham) lower classification league. It will be very interesting to see if the young man can adapt his game to the challenges of D-I play. I applaud the staff, especially Coach Tomlin, for FINALLY going after local talent. Believe me, there are plenty more like and even better than Vaden out there that Royer has let get away or given the line, "We would like you come but we can't give you any money."

I believe summer ball is the best true determiner of talent for small school prospects. That said, putting up that type of performance against anyone shows some talent.

21 K's in 8.2 innings vs Nelson County on Friday! I don't care what the competition is like, 21 K is IMPRESSIVE.

must have been a fun bus ride home for the losing team.

I dont know if yall recognize the name but his father is the local NBA official for many years and now is a supervisor for NBA officials...he has a ton of MJ stories and other greats like that, he's a treat to talk to....back when I was like 12 he got me back to meet Shaq and Penny, that was when Penny was good though

The Dogwood is extremely weak this year and I much rather him do this in the Seminole although like Sly said this summer will be the telling point

Vaden pitched yesterday in the Semi's against Appo who is in the Seminole and has a pretty good team, he was able to go 4 innings and left with the lead in tact at 4-1 (he left due to pitch count)....then the bullpen was beat to death so they lost in the semi's

It's nice to see a good outing against a team I know can swing the bat b/c I've seen it first hand...Appo has a few sticks that are pretty solid, not special but solid

You have to appreciate his HS coach sees the big picture, by saving his arm. Of course, this is AFTER his 141 pitch 21 K performance last Friday.

are you kidding me? 141???? I HATE NOTHING MORE THAN THAT!!!!!


even for more developed arms like in the minors and majors that's out of the question....especially this time of the year

I kid you, not. 141, sure as I live and breathe. Straight from Chase. BTW--looked like some pretty good games. The Crouch kid from Amherst (16 K) was offerred $$ at LU, but chose JMU, instead.

If I was a father I would walk out there myself and take the ball from his hand....Jeff Jordan and many many others who had nothing left when then came to LU, not to mention a few that it occurred while attending LU

Dads can be all about the glory--and Chase gets alot of pub in this area--especially with the 21 K's. I would have loved if he had pitched against a, upper-tier team in the tourney, but no way he could go Friday-Tuesday.