The right move: Hart provides LHS with structure
A move four hours to the north some seven years ago turned out to be a great decision for Lafayette head football coach Anthony Hart.
It may have seemed strange for him to have left a job where he led a team to a 12-2 record and a spot in the semifinals of the Class 3A playoffs, not to mention the comfort of the area where he grew up, but Hart felt like leaving Franklin County for Lafayette was the move he needed to make. (more…) (November 23, 2011, Page 6A)
BLOG: Bridges tagged to lead WVHS baseball program
WATER VALLEY — Earlier today it was confirmed that former Ole Miss baseball standout and Oak Grove head coach Kary Bridges has been named Doug Robbins’ successor as Water Valley’s next baseball coach. (more…) (January 6, 2011)
Robbins leaves WVHS to take government position in Dallas
Today will officially be the last day for Doug Robbins at Water Valley High School. (more…) (December 3, 2010, Page 8A)
CSBL more about the future than the now
NEW ALBANY — With back-to-back strikeouts looking delivered by starter Jordan Moore, the Tallahatchie Rascals held on to claim the Cotton States Baseball League championship with a 2-0 win over the North Delta Dealers Saturday.
Players from the Rascals dugout didn’t pour onto the field, dogpile or pop a celebratory champagne bottle (in part because alcoholic beverages are prohibited from the New Albany Sportsplex’s grounds).
Likewise, Dealers players didn’t pout, smash bats or fall to the diamond in anguish. Both teams simply shook hands and then immediately set their sights on what’s next — their respective fall and spring seasons.
Nobody likes to lose, but the CSBL isn’t just about immediate success.
While all the players in the wooden bat summer league would have loved to hoist the CSBL’s trophy on Saturday, what they’re really hoping for is that the hard work they put in over the hot summer months will pay off in the future. (August 2, 2010, Page 6)
Hervey dealing for North Delta
Monday night’s gusty weather at the New Albany Sportsplex could be attributed to the thunderstorms that rolled in. Or it could be attributed to the amount of swings and misses that took place during the North Delta Dealers’ showdown with the Tallahatchie Rascals.
To say Tank Hervey was dialed in on Monday night would not do his performance justice.
Not even close.
Of the 17 Rascals outs that the right-hander collected during the rain-suspended Cotton States Baseball League game, which was called after 5.2 innings with the Dealers ahead 3-0, 12 were strikeouts. (June 29, 2010, Page 8)
Johnson’s passion propels him to Player of the Year award
When the 2011 baseball season gets underway next spring, it won’t be surprising if Water Valley Blue Devils head coach Doug Robbins has to make two lineup cards at the season opener. While standout shortstop/pitcher Josh Johnson will be in Senatobia playing for the Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers, having his name in the lineup won’t be easy thing for Robbins to erase.
Johnson has been a regular in the Blue Devils’ starting nine since he was in middle school and the impact he’s made in the program, starting with the 2006 season, has been huge. (June 23, 2010, Page 1B)
North Delta squanders lead
You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you field the ball. Do those three basic fundamentals of baseball correctly and you’ll give yourself a good chance to win.
On Sunday, the Cotton States Baseball League’s North Delta Dealers struggled in all three facets of the game, falling to the Tippah County Tribe 8-7.
“You better play two out of the three aspects of the game pretty good to give yourself a chance to win and we haven’t done that,” said Dealers coach Doug Robbins after his team collected just five hits while also committing two errors. (June 21, 2010, Page 7)
Wood bat stories bring back memories
“Coach, do you remember wood bats?” “Did they have wooden bats when you played?” Those questions came regularly back during Editor Don Whitten’s days coaching youth baseball and he was reminded of some of those memories and of his days playing with wood bats after reading a couple of recent stories in the sports section. (June 21, 2010, Page 4)
Finding the barrel imperative for hitters
Hall of Famer Ted Williams was once quoted as saying, “the hardest thing to do in baseball is to hit a round baseball with a round bat, squarely.”
Players in the Cotton States Baseball League, a wood bat summer league based out of New Albany, are finding that out the hard way this summer.
Used to the enormous sweet spot on aluminum bats used in the high school and college ranks, players are having to adjust in a major way. (June 14, 2010, Page 6)
Water Valley baseball has solid foundation
COLUMN – Sports Editor John Davis takes a look back at this past season for the Water Valley Blue Devil baseball program and also a glance ahead after a runner-up finish in the Class 3A state championship. Davis talks with coach Doug Robbins and two graduating seniors about where the program is headed. (May 28, 2010, Page 7A)
