High School Baseball Forum: Bernie vs. Clearwater

Replies (20)

• I am assuming that this game will consist of a Logan Morris vs. Quinton Stevens pitching matchup. This should be a very interesting pitchers duel. I have seen both pitchers pitch before. Both have good velocity. However, I would have to consider Morris to be more of a "pitcher" than Stevens due to the fact that when I have seen the Stevens kid throw, he seems to be more of a "thrower" than a pitcher. Morris has a strong fastball with a good breaking ball to back it up. From what I have seen from the Stevens kid, he basically just has a fastball. Not to take anything away from Stevens at all, he is a very good pitcher and has a strong fastball. I just think that I would have to give the edge to Morris if these two were to hook up for this game.

  -- Posted by baseballfan2010 on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 11:11 AM

• baseballfan2010

  I haven't watched Morris enough to compare the pitchers.

  I can only comment on what I have observed. The only thing I will say is Stevens is one of the best pitchers I have seen in Southeast Missouri. I'm not saying this because I am from Bernie. Bernie has won their share of 1-0 and 2-0 games with Stevens on the mound. Stevens has never lost a district tournament game. The last two seasons Bernie won the district tournament games he pitched in by one run. Stevens has signed with a major junior college program in Florida.

  We should also discuss the lineups. I think Bernie has a stronger lineup. Nevertheless, if Morris is really good Bernie's hitters may not hit. You have to score to win. I don't know what to expect from Morris if he is on the mound. But I'm confident Bernie has the hitting and the pitching needed to compete with Clearwater.

  -- Posted by drawmules on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 12:54 PM

• Bottom line . . . I think this game has the potential of being one of the best games of the season for both teams. I think it would be hard to present an argument that Bernie and Clearwater are not among the very best small school baseball teams in Southeast Missouri.

  I hope everyone . . . the fans and the media . . . show interest in the game. It's a long drive for Bernie fans to Clearwater. Nevertheless, the game is on a Friday afternoon. It should be worth the drive if you like baseball. Take an hour or two of vacation time so you can watch the big game on Friday.

  -- Posted by drawmules on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 1:07 PM

• I agree, Bernie will compete with Clearwater, it should be a very interesting game to watch.

  For anyone that has not seen Logan Morris pitch:

  His fastball is anywhere from 84-86, good curveball.

  From what I have seen with the Stevens kid I am assuming that he can get up to around 87-88 on his fastball.

  My reasoning for giving the slight edge to Morris is because pitching is not just about throwing the ball hard. Obviously it always helps to be able to throw hard. But in my opinion, location is more important. Plus having a good curveball will make a pitcher's fastball even tougher to hit.

  -- Posted by baseballfan2010 on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 1:42 PM

• Also, I do believe that Bernie does have the best hitter out of the both teams (Jake Welch). However, from what I saw from Bernie last fall, their lineup seems to have a significant drop off after the #4 or #5 hitter. Clearwater has hitters that are pretty consistent from #1 to #9 in their lineup.

  -- Posted by baseballfan2010 on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 1:47 PM

• I have to agree with drawmules, seen him throw since last fall and has gained 5-6 mph on his fastball, developed off-speed pitches and looks like he has gained alot of confidence. Read where he was selected to Pro Day Baseball All-American 1st team in Orange Beach, Al this past January clocking in at 92 mph. Watched him play last Friday went 2-3 with 5 RBI's. Bernie is going to be very strong with the bat this year also.

  -- Posted by scoutone on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 2:37 PM

• baseballfan2010

  I think if we compared the number of runs Bernie and Clearwater scored against common opponents in the fall Bernie would have more total runs scored. That doesn't necessarily mean Bernie has a better lineup. Nevertheless, I think it is a good statistic to examine.

  -- Posted by drawmules on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 2:42 PM

• I am not going against Bernie by any means, they are a great team. They are fundamentally sound defensively, they have some good hitters, and a strong ace that they can possibly ride through state playoffs in class 1. I just think Clearwater will pull out a close win against them, I could be wrong. I think it will depend on which teams defense shows up, because both teams can put the bat on the ball. It will be tough to strike out a lot of Bernie or Clearwater batters.

  -- Posted by baseballfan2010 on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 2:55 PM

• I agree, draw don't get your hopes up that Stevens will be on the mound against Clearwater with Cooter in the picture on the following Monday.

  -- Posted by scoutone on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 3:18 PM

• scoutone

  You make a valid point. There is no guarantee Stevens or Morris will pitch on Friday. Nevertheless, I think it would make more sense to pitch Stevens against Clearwater than Cooter. The Bernie / Cooter game the following Monday doesn't have a great deal of meaning. I believe there is a good chance Bernie will meet Cooter in the state sectionals. This is the game that will count. Bernie may also play Cooter in the Malden Tournament. Bernie will have multiple opportunities to pitch their ace against Cooter in upcoming weeks. The most important Bernie / Cooter game will be played in May, not April.

  -- Posted by drawmules on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 4:02 PM

• I don't have a copy of Bernie/Cooter's schedule so you may be very right draw. I might add that if a kid throws 7 innings against a team Monday night, in my own opinion 3 days rest (depending on pitch count) is not enough rest for a Friday game. I can't really comment on Clearwater and how much of a match up it will be since I have only seen them once. (last year at Malden,I believe) Is the Morris kid a senior and if so does he have any college choices that you know of?

  -- Posted by scoutone on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 4:23 PM

• Logan Morris is only a junior. However, Clearwater does have a senior lefty, Chris Kirkpatrick, who is also pretty tough. I have been told that Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas has made him an offer. I am uncertain on whether or not Kirkpatrick has accepted it though.

  -- Posted by baseballfan2010 on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 4:38 PM

• scoutone

  Bernie plays Clearwater this Friday. They would then play Cooter the following Monday. But it might rain on Monday. In my opinion, if the weather is clear on Friday you have to put your ace on the mound. I anticipate Bernie's ace may get an inning or two before Friday. Bernie has Advance and Chaffee on Monday. I wouldn't be surprised to see Stevens give Bernie a few innings in the Chaffee game. But I doubt if he pitches the entire game if there is a plan to start him against Clearwater. Bernie has enough pitching depth to win all of their game this week. But Chaffee and Woodland could both be tough games.

  -- Posted by drawmules on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 5:16 PM

• drawmules

  Your synopsis may be the right rotation for the upcoming games or I wouldn't be surprised to see him start against Chaffee (3 innings) and close against Clearwater if needed. Again I am in the dark about Clearwater except for the 1 game I saw last year. My observations of Bernie's game against Bell City (1st game of the season) was the defense looked really good, base running was excellent, hitting was tremendous, and pitching can go deep this year if needed. I thought the sophomore who started really done a very good job, Stevens was lights out with a breaking ball like I have never seen.

  -- Posted by scoutone on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 7:34 PM

• scoutone

  Clearwater may be the most talented team Bernie will play in the regular season. Cooter is also very talented. Nevertheless, the most important games Bernie will play against Cooter will be later this season. If Bernie starts their ace against Clearwater on Friday they will likely have to use another pitcher against Cooter on Monday. But I don't think it is a good idea to give Cooter two opportunities to face Bernie's ace before the state playoffs anyways. There is a good chance Bernie will play Cooter twice before the state sectionals. I wouldn't think Bernie would elect to pitch the same pitcher against Cooter twice in the regular season and then again in the state sectionals. They might have a better chance of winning all three games if they pitched their ace in all three games. But it's not about giving yourself the best chance to win all three games against Cooter. It's about giving yourself the best chance to win the only game that counts (the state playoff game at the end of the season).

  Bernie and Clearwater are currently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in drawmules small school baseball rankings. See link

  http://semoball.com/forums/highschoolbaseball/thread/1230

  -- Posted by drawmules on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 8:33 PM

• On a more relaxed note . . . I always enjoy eating at restaurants when I visit new places. During basketball season, I visited several outstanding restaurants including the Freeze Queen in Lilbourn, Kinsey's in New Madrid, Strawberry's in Holcomb, the Mustang in Wardell, the Sugar Shack in Campbell, Park-Et Fine Foods in Perryville, and the Branding Iron in Farmington.

  I would like to add to the list of restaurants I have visited this year on Friday when I drive to Piedmont. Does anyone have a restaurant recommendation?

  -- Posted by drawmules on Sun, Apr 4, 2010, at 9:22 PM

• I may be mistaken, have been a lot during 34 years, but Clearwater will probably be the best, certainly one of the best teams that Bernie or Cooter will see. The senior leadership up and down the lineup makes them all tough outs. Morris and Kirkpatrick are both very solid, as is Stevens, but those older/experienced players from Clearwater give them a pretty good shot at meeting up with Valle down the road.

  I watched the Tigers sectional game last year vs Senath-Hornersville and Horvath did keep them in check, but most of them are back which gives them a huge advantage against most teams.

  -- Posted by mac baseball on Mon, Apr 5, 2010, at 8:09 PM

• mac baseball

  I agree Clearwater is very good. I watched the Clearwater / Senath-Hornersville last year.

  Valle might be in a class by themselves.

  -- Posted by drawmules on Mon, Apr 5, 2010, at 9:09 PM

• The most talented small school baseball teams Southeast Missouri will play each other on Friday at Clearwater.

  The Bernie / Clearwater game begins at 4:15 p.m.

  Bernie is currently 5-0 and ranked No. 4 in Class 1. The last report I received on Clearwater is they have a record of 7-0 and they are ranked No. 4 in Class 2.

  Drawmules latest small school baseball rankings has Bernie ranked No. 1 in SEMO and Clearwater ranked No. 2 in SEMO. Nevertheless, I really like Clearwater's chances in Friday's game. Bernie has played four games this week. Bernie used three pitchers on Monday and Thursday this week. Bernie also has a big game against Cooter at home Monday. As a result, Bernie may be entering Friday's game against Clearwater with a limited number of available/fresh arms. Nevertheless, you only need one fresh arm if everything goes right. And we must not forget if you score enough runs you can beat anybody.

  -- Posted by drawmules on Thu, Apr 8, 2010, at 10:32 PM

• I encourage baseball fans from all of the schools in Southeast Missouri to attend this game. It just doesn't get any better than this in April.

  Live updates for the Bernie / Clearwater game will be provided on the baseball scores forum thread if I have cell phone service on Friday. However, I recall someone was unable to provide live updates on their cell phone when they visited the Clearwater gymnasium during the state volleyball playoffs in October. I am hopeful cell phone service will exist outside the gymnasium (AKA where the baseball field is located). Time will tell. Regardless, a final score for the game will be posted on the baseball scores thread as soon as a get to a location with cell phone service.

  The baseball scores thread is located here http://semoball.com/forums/highschoolbaseball/thread/1250

  -- Posted by drawmules on Fri, Apr 9, 2010, at 1:57 AM