By Jim Lisk, Editor
Sunday, July 5, 2009 — There’s lots of beef wearing the Post 76 uniform this year, and as a result, there is home run punch from the top of the order all the way through to the No.-9 hole.
While Ryan Poplin, Justin Culp, Jordan Sells or Jared Aman would never be mistaken for a football linebacker, the rest of the lineup certainly have the physiques to lead one to that conclusion.
And despite not approaching 200 pounds, the aforementioned foursome have all left the yard and have the potential to do so again.
But the meat of the order - Corey Dick, Colten Burris, Alex Robichaud, Tyler Eudy, Bradley Love and Brett Brinson - are all above that 200-pound mark and consistently drive the baseball.
Dick, Burris, Robichaud and Eudy have all also donned the pads and cleats in the fall, and of the four, only Eudy has graduated. Both Burris and Robichaud will be seniors this fall and Dick will be a junior.
Dick, Burris and Robichaud all bat from the left side, and in Friday night’s 12-8 win over Lexington, the three hit right-hand pitching hard, but two Lexington left-handers held them in check, including striking out all three in the eighth inning.
But as I’ve noted in the past couple years, all three make good adjustments against pitchers, including left-handers, over the course of a game. Doing so effectively against the Lexington lefties will have a lot to say about who takes the series.
On the defensive side, Adrian Shepherd was over-powering on Friday night with his fast ball and sharp curve both working well. When his control is good, Shepherd has a shot at beating anyone... his stuff is that good.
Jacob Beck was effective in middle relief by throwing strikes and letting his defense work for him... and that they did. Third baseman Brett Brinson made a diving backhand stop and threw a runner out a first while second baseman Jared Aman fielded a wicked one-hopper to get a key first out in the seventh inning after a lead-off double.
Then, to close out the game, Bradley Love came in the bases-loaded, one-out situation and did what all good closers do... he threw strikes and challenged the Lexington hitters and closed the door.
This Post 76 team has a chance to make some noise... and they appear to really want it.
