You never know who you might meet at the ball diamond 💎, today presented 10 good minutes with Mr Tyler Rakes from The Hill !

What a great conversation with this impressive young man 👨 and I will need to circle 🔵 back to write the story as we are just moments away from first pitch.

Rakes and his Bluefield Rams 🐏 are our opponents today, and it led to a brief interaction with the former Cavalier..

Baseball ⚾️ is a family thing, and it turns out that Tyler is related to a number of folks back home and we will start the list with his little brother, Chanson, who is the Varsity catcher for Head Coach Casey Burcham.

We are both HUGE fans of Coach Burcham and the things that the Burcham Bunch is getting done on The Hill !

Both equally proud of The Castle 🏰 and Tyler uses it to throw during the summer.

There is plenty more to come here, but it is time for me to start announcing the game.

When he played at Bill Worrell Field he did so under the guidance of current Athletic Director and former head coach, Kevin DeHaven.

” Tyler was a great young man and still is, said Mr DeHaven. “He was a competitor who gave you everything each time he stepped up to the plate or on the mound. I’m very proud of his continued work ethic, which has led him to be the young man he is today.”

Back on March 3rd, Rakes pitched against our Golden Bears 🐻 at the Rams 🐏 home park, an incredibly beautiful and historic place down on the State Line. The Golden Bears prevailed in a shootout that day, 10 – 8.

Bowen Field

Looking back at his time on The Hill, Tyler was quick to point 👉 out his favorite memories are the teammates and the camaraderie, especially on the road trips.

Bluefield picked up three runs in the top of the second and now lead, 4-1. I’m really hoping 🙏 that Tyler might make a relief appearance later in the game.

Today’s workplace has an uplifting 🙏 effect when you walk through the gates ! Welcome to Linda K Epling Stadium, home of the Bible Verses…

When I first had the opportunity to ask Mr Doug Epling how he got away with having Bible Verses all over the outside walls 🧱, I loved his response.

” When you build something with your own money 💰, you don’t have to hide from your beliefs.”

In a world 🌎 engulfed with political correctness, it’s a breath of fresh air to see someone who is able to stand for what he or she believes in !

Bluefield University has arrived, so its time to go over and read their roster with  their Head Coach.

The first pitch is set for 1pm, and it’s a beautiful day for a baseball ⚾️ game!

Just the latest reason ♥️ for feeling blessed to know the young lady I proudly call our 3rd daughter….

Yesterday afternoon, our Lady Cavaliers were hosting a softball game, which meant that both Velvet Leonard and I had things to do, but Coach McGuire was hosting Grayson County in a tennis match in the same parking lot.

I had stopped by on my way in and visited and promised to do the same on the way out if we finished up first.

To quote Eddie Walls, ” We are all in this together.”

Velvet Leonard does her heavenly work with a camera while I do mine with a microphone 🎤 and writing ✍️.

The fact that Kiddo saw 👀 a group of Cavaliers playing for our school 🏫 and couldn’t just walk past them either brings joy to my heart !

   Cavs tennis 🎾 playing on a court near you !

We say goodbye to March with 🎬 action in both Tazewell and Beckley as the JV Softball team gets center stage for the Cavaliers with a doubleheader against the Bulldogs !

Morning 🌄 Brew

Travis Osborne and his Bible Verse of the Day :

Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

Howard Mayo and his Motovational Nugget will appear here shortly.

It will be time to start the drive 🚗 up to Beckley here in a minute, so we will close up with the thought that ends the Morning Brew each day – Have a Blessed Day 🙌!

Let’s close the night 🌙 out by talking 👄 about gaps now that we know who is going to Phoenix in the Final Four.

Michigan, TCU , Notre Dame, and Duke University all have very, very talented teams. They now can claim that they unofficially finished up in a tie 👔 for fifth place as the Big Four head to the desert 🏜.

12,18, 26, and 36 points margin of victories over the last two nights show you that as good as the quartet was this season, there is still a sizable gap between the first four and the second four.

Michigan steamrolled both NC State and Louisville on their way to the Elite Eight, yet they simply had no chance against Texas.

TCU received a gift 🎁 from the University of Virginia when the Hoos removed Iowa from its path, and for three quarters tonight, it stayed on the court with South Carolina. But the game lasts 40 minutes, and Dawn Staley is excellent at pushing buttons.

That leaves the two ACC schools, both of which managed to stay within 20 points against two #1 seeds. Duke actually led UCLA by 10 points in the first half before their short rotation wore out against a powerful Bruins team. Hannah Hidalgo once again put on a show, enough that Coach Geno took the time to praise the Notre Dame guard in his post game presser.

For just the second time in the history of the women’s tournament, we have the same four teams returning to the Promise Land. There was never any real doubt about it playing out this way, and the Hoops next weekend should be electrifying.

92 points ÷ 4 = 23 points was the average margin of victory over four teams that made it to the edge of the Final Four.

The game is healthy right now and getting stronger by the day. Two from the SEC, two others with one being undefeated and a second one with just one loss against a fellow #1.

Texas is 34 – 3, with the setbacks coming at the hands of South Carolina, LSU, and Vanderbilt. The same Vandy team that our Alyssa Ervin dropped 16 points on back in November.

South Carolina is 34 – 3 with losses versus Texas (twice ) and Oklahoma.

UCLA (35-1) with the lone loss against Texas in the Las Vegas event on Thanksgiving weekend.

Geno and UConn is 38 – 0, making the fearsome foursome a combined 141-7 with four of the seven setbacks coming against each other !

LSU, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt University were the only three teams to best this group in 144 games.

The tournament has been fun, but the true challenge begins on Friday night in Phoenix.

Being that Duke University fell by the smallest margin,  can we say, “Fifth place, ?”

On a serious note 📝, the biggest winner up to this point has to be Virginia. After being on the bubble 🫧 and one of the last teams in, the Cavaliers went to Iowa and won three straight games, with the third one disappointing 15,000 fans.

Did I mention that Carroll County graduate 🎓, Alyssa Ervin played at Vanderbilt and scored 16 points that night 🌙 ?