Post 206 Tryouts to be Held This Sunday, May 20, at Cotuit

COTUIT (May 20, 2012) - VIP, the field and time has changed for this Sunday's practice/tryout. This will be the last tryout and registration day for Post 206 American Legion Baseball and it will be held from 5:30-7:00 pm at Lowell Park in Cotuit due to a scheduling conflict at McKeon Field.

Coach Roberts to Host Base-Stealing Clinic at Cotuit Sunday

COTUIT - (May 20, 2012) - There’s an old saying in baseball, that you don’t steal on the catcher, you steal on the pitcher.

     The phrase was first coined during the old Connie Mack, Philadelphia Athletics days in the 1930s when Bridgewater’s Mickey Cochrane would take it personally that opposing baserunners would swipe bases seemingly at will against certain pitchers on the A’s squad.

    Well, it may seem ironic then that a once professional baseball catcher is held in the highest esteem by the baseball world today when it comes to the fine art of stealing bases and next Sunday at Elizabeth Lowell Park he’ll be on hand to unveil some of his secrets, techniques and tips to anyone who wants to learn them.

     Cotuit Kettleers field manager Mike Roberts, for 22 years the head coach at the University of North Carolina and a former catcher in the Kansas City Royals’ farm system, will share his expertise next Sunday, May 20, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Lowell Park (10 Lowell Avenue, Cotuit) to any and all high school-aged baseball players who’d like to learn the ins and outs of base stealing.

    It is doubtful that anyone in the baseball world today knows more about how to steal bases than Roberts, who two years ago published “You Can’t Steal Second Base with Your Foot on First!” along with his son, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts.

  In fact, when Coach Roberts was managing the 2000 Wareham Gatemen, his team tied the Cape Cod Baseball League record for most steals in a season with 134 in 44 games. And whenever someone on the Cape – or anywhere in the country, for that matter – is looking for advice or ways to improve their base-running, then it’s the former Tar Heels’ helmsman they turn to.

     “Before I had the privilege of playing for Coach Roberts, I felt that stealing bases was simply about speed and reaction time, a mistake that many runners make,” says United States Naval Academy assistant coach Jason Ronai, one of Roberts’ former players at North Carolina-Asheville. “Coach Roberts taught us that base stealers use not only their athletic gifts, but their minds and systematic calculations to steal bases. As a runner converted into a true base stealer, I went from relying solely on athleticism to knowing the situation, understanding the mind-set of a pitcher, calculating my leads, improving my jumps and systematically stealing bases. His system teaches runners to simply know when you do or do not have the base stolen, as opposed to just outrunning the baseball. That type of knowledge is a powerful offensive tool.”

     Roberts’ clinic this coming Sunday does come with a small fee, however, of $60.00, which, in today’s world of $400 metal bats and $150 cleats and $400 mitts seems a pittance in terms of the value gained. The bottom line: if you take baseball seriously and want to take your game to the next level, you must attend this clinic.

     You can register and pay for the clinic online at www.kettleers.org and click on the web site’s “clinics” section or contact clinics director Stacy Wardwell at swardwell3@aol.com. The cost of the clinic includes a free copy of Coach Roberts’ DVD of the same title as his book, “You Can’t Steal Second Base With Your Foot on First!”

Barnstable High Picks Up Big OCL Win Versus Dartmouth

HYANNIS (May 1, 2012) - Post 206's Mark Brodd and Everett Walsh provided the offense while Red Raider senior righty George Bent turned in a brilliant nine-inning complete-game gem on the mound to pace Barnstable High School to a 6-1 win over the visiting Dartmouth High Indians. Bent struck out 12 batters and walked none while scattering six hits. The one run he allowed was unearned.

     Brodd went 3-4 at the plate while Walsh went 2-4 (RBI, 2B) and former Post 206 player D.J. Crook went 3-4 with two RBI. Post 206's Dylan Morris and Danny Walsh also picked up key hits for the Red Raiders.

Post 206 Sends Two to District 10 2011 All-District Team

BRIDGEWATER - District 10 American Legion Baseball named its 2011 All-District Team yesterday, with two players from Barnstable Post 206 earning First Team honors and three players getting the nod for Second Team honors.

     First Team players were shortstop Will Toffey and outfielder/pitcher Everett Walsh. Toffey batted .411 this season with 16 RBI, 7 doubles and 13 stolen bases, including a team-high 31 hits. Walsh batted .353 with two home runs, seven doubles and 17 RBI and was also 5-1 on the mound with a 2.43 earned run average.

     Second team honors went to outfielder Alex Pernick, catcher Denny Beynor and first baseman Dylan Morris. Pernick batted .318 and belted four home runs and also had 17 RBI on the season. Beynor finished with a .357 average as well as 10 RBI while Morris ended his Rookie of the Year campaign with a .344 average.

Click here to download press release.

Barnstable Bows to Easton Post 7 in State South Sectionals

BRAINTREE - Barnstable Post 206 got a fine performance on the mound from righty Pete Liimatainen but "Liimo's" offense was snakebit as Post 206 gathered just six hits on the day even though it belted nine line drives straight at Easton's defense and to all corners of the Braintree High School ballpark.

     Liimatainen went eight innings and struck out six. He walked three and allowed four runs on eight hits. Dan Holzman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth in relief, with one strikeout.

     Ryan Litchman nailed a two-out, pinch-hit triple, then came home on a Denny Beynor double in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little, too late. Alex Pernick went 2-4, as did Beynor.