February 6, 2012 - I have been updating information about Ryan on my
Facebook page instead of this site. He has been busy!
He
was just interviewed on WTOC-TV.
May 22, 2011 - I haven't updated this site in a while, but that is not
because Ryan hasn't been busy and productive. He recently started his
own business -
http://www.socialmedianetworkingsolutions.com/ and is doing great!
We are very proud of you, Ryan. Keep up the good work!
His first client is New York City Pizza and Ryan did a
cool video for them.
A more recent photo of Ryan.
December 23, 2010 - Here is more information about Ryan winning the
Spirit award. I also think it is pretty cool that only 2 percent of
Hilton employees worldwide receive this award. Great job, Ryan.
Here is a photo of the Plaque that Ryan received for winning the Spirit
of the Garden award.
November 12, 2010 - I was very proud that Sherry and I got to be
there today when Ryan was recognized for winning the Spirit of the Garden
award. Below are some photos I took of Ryan and the GM (General
Manager) of the Hilton Garden Inn on Hilton Head Island. Great job,
Ryan! We are very proud of you for doing so well on your job while
still making great grades (straight A's) at USCB.
October 12, 2010 - I haven't updated this site in quite a while,
but Ryan continues to do a great job at USCB and at his part time job at the
Hilton Garden Inn. Sherry and I are both very proud of him. A
couple of nice reviews visitors to the Hilton Garden Inn wrote on
TripAdvisor.com are below. In addition to these nice
comments, Ryan has a huge stack of customer comment cards that are very
complimentary. Keep up the great job, Ryan!
June 19, 2010 - I am extra proud of Ryan today. We just got
a letter announcing he made the Chancellor's List at USCB. Great job,
Buddy. We are proud of you and hoping you have a wonderful future
ahead of you.
March 2010 - I haven't updated this web site in quite a while.
Most recent change for Ryan has been trading in his Ford F-150 for a 2010
Honda Civic EX. I think he likes it. See photos below.
January 17, 2010 - Just a recent photo of Ryan and Capone.
Ryan looks happy as he is starting a new semester at University of South
Carolina at Beaufort.
Capone just about needs his own web site now. Click the picture
below of Capone starting the new year (January 2010) after a dip in the pool
to see more photos of Ryan's best friend.
Below is a photo of Ryan and Capone, Christmas 2009.
Ryan's New Best Friend
-
Ryan and Capone are both a little older since the picture above was taken,
but they are still best friends.
Ryan came home to celebrate his birthday a little early. From the
photos below it looks like he liked his presents. Look closer, Ryan,
that stack of bills is not all 20's.
Whenever Ryan and Capone come home to Rincon, Capone has to have a little
swim.
"Throw my toy in the pool again, and I will jump in and "retrieve" it
again. That's what I do, I am a retriever!" says Capone.
Ryan will be turning 20 years old soon, so it seems like a good time to
remember him when he was just a few years
younger..
Some videos - Over the Fence for the SE
Georgia Chain Scorchers in the Championship game in Warner Robins.
RBI Double at the AAU Nationals in Orlando. Short video of Ryan demonstrating
speed to first base at USSSA State Championship at Warner Robins.
This web site is for Ryan's Family and Friends.
Mostly
family, since his grandparents live in Atlanta and don't get to see him often
enough. I am
creating it to track his high school career.
August 1, 2009 - A few more photos.
June 28, 2009 - Ryan and Capone came home today and I got a few photos.
June 18, 2009 - I just found out that Capone likes Chik Filat. I went
to pick up Michael who had stayed with Ryan. Ryan turned his back for a
minute and Capone ate his food. See the picture below. Capone has
grown a lot since Ryan first got him. I will try and add more pictures
soon.
March 16, 2009 - I haven't updated this site in a while. Capone is
growing up fast and is bigger every time Ryan brings him home. Ryan is
still at Georgia Southern, but has just started a new job at a pizza restaurant
in Statesboro, Georgia named the "Mellow
Mushroom". We hope to eat there soon and see Ryan on the job.
Jan 3, 2009 - I have not updated this site in a long, long time. Ryan
had a Merry Christmas in 2008 and just got a new best friend. Some photos
of "Capone" below.
May 30, 2008 - I haven't updated this site in quite a while,
been busy. Since the last update Ryan attended the Senior Prom with
Tiffany (I may add a photo later) and had his High School Graduation - see photo
below. Sherry and I are very proud of Ryan and hope he has had a lot of
happy times growing up, and that as he starts the next stage of life at Georgia
Southern University he will continue to do his best in everything he does
and enjoy life and the blessings God has so richly given. I have enjoyed
using this web site to try and help preserve some memories of my oldest son.
I hope Ryan will look back at it from time to time and realize that even though
Dad wasn't there for all the special moments in high school, I was always his
biggest fan - and will continue to be proud of him for all kinds of reasons.
May 9, 2008 - Tonight was a lot of fun for me. This was the
first double header of the playoffs and Ryan did great! He hit a double in
each of the two games, in one he got an RBI - brought the runner all the way
from first base! He also crossed the plate I think 3 times, was walked
"unintentionally" once. Anyway, my buddy Gilbert Miller sent me so many
good photos I have put them in a little
album. Click here to
see Crucial in action.
April 29, 2008 - Even though Ryan only got up to bat once in the game
against Harlem, he hit one pretty deep to advance a runner from 2nd to 3rd.
It was fun that some of his co-workers from the Westin came to watch "Crucial"
play. Below are some photos of Ryan and a couple of his "fans" from the
place he works.
April 22, 2008 - Here are some photos from Senior Night. Ryan
played great all game and I was glad my buddy
Gilbert Miller took a lot of great
photos. Click smaller images to see larger photo in a new window.
April 9, 2008 - Ryan hasn't had a lot of "photo ops" this season, but
it is nice to have a photographer buddy who is at just about all the games.
Gilbert Miller sent me the recent
photos of Ryan.
April 6, 2008 - I was in Savannah this afternoon and saw one of Ryan's
baseball coaches from many years ago - Dimitri Miltiades. He mentioned
that he checks out Ryan's web site from time to time and that made me realize I
haven't added anything to this site in a while. I was very proud that Ryan
made
"A" Honor roll just recently, good job Ryan. I am adding some photos from
recent baseball games below. Ryan and his pal Cody Leach will be rooming
together when they start school at Georgia Southern University this fall.
Ryan is still working at the Westin, though still in high school and playing
baseball. That's all for now.
He hasn't graduated, yet, but Ryan has his Cap and Gown photo.
March 16, 2008 - Below are from a trip to the Pirate's House in
Savannah. Ryan, Tiffany and a Pirate.
March 15, 2008 - I was glad to get to see Ryan play again today and
got videos as he hit two doubles and came in to score a run. Click the
photos to launch a video.
March 6, 2008 - Ryan played again as the South Effingham beat Toombs
17 - 1. I wasn't there again, but heard he did well and picked up an RBI.
The big news of the day, though, was that Ryan found out today he has been
accepted to Georgia Southern University. Congratulations, buddy.
Only a few months to go and you will be a freshman again. :-)
March 3, 2008 - I didn't get to see Ryan play again Jenkins today, but
my buddy Gilbert Miller of
www.OnTheScenePhotograpy.com took the pictures of Ryan below.
March 1, 2008 - I got to go to Augusta and watch Ryan play baseball
again. I was not able to watch him in an earlier game against Statesboro,
but this picture of him was in the local newspaper.
Below are a couple of photos I took of Ryan in action in Augusta. He
got a couple of good hits, scored a run and broke up what would have been a
double play with a great slide into second base. I hope to get to
see him play again as the season gets underway.
February 16, 2008 - The Annual SEHS 100 Innings Baseball Game is a
fund raiser for the South
Effingham High School Mustangs baseball team, but it also has been a signal
for me that SEHS Baseball is about to start a new season. I was there to
watch a few innings and was glad to be there when Ryan hit one over the fence.
Great job, Ryan. Hope this will be a great season.
December 2007 - I missed watching Ryan play football or
wrestle this season, but looking forward to baseball. Meanwhile, he has
kept working at the Westin and just got his performance review and was
nominated for Employee of the Month. Great Job, Ryan!
September 24, 2007 - Ryan turned 18 years old. His mom and I
think he has turned into a fine young man and we are proud of him. Hope he
has a good rest of his Senior year at High School. Below are a couple of his
senior photos.
September 17, 2007 - Just a recent photo of Ryan and one of his
buddies, Cody, taken in our kitchen. This beard is called the "chinstrap",
not sure why.
September 7, 2007 - Ryan is not playing football this year, but still
supporting the SEHS Mustangs by showing his school pride. Below are a
couple of pictures I took of Ryan at the game as the South Effingham High School
Mustangs beat the Effingham County High School Rebels 20 - 6.
July 20, 2007 - Ryan is still working at the Westin, even though
school will be starting soon. When he got to work today he was pleasantly
surprised to find out he had been named "EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH" - and he got
some other awards, too. I think one of the awards was for "Wowing the Guests"
- I guess with great customer service. Way to go, Ryan. Mom and I
think this summer has been a great work experience for Ryan. He has
learned a lot about work, customer service, and the tourism industry. He met a lot of people from different countries and cultures,
and had some fun times, too. Oh yeah, he also got paid. Ryan, "lemme
get a dolla" - j/k Dad.
June 22, 2007 - Well, Ryan has been out of school for the summer for a
while now, still enjoying his job at the Westin. During his Junior year of
High School, Ryan got varsity letters in 3 sports - Football,
Wrestling and Baseball. It doesn't look like he will be playing football
or wrestling his Senior year, but Dad is still hoping to get to watch Ryan play
baseball again next year. Still when you think about all the time each
sport required for practicing, playing and traveling it is a pretty good
accomplishment for a young man to still make the Honor Roll - but Ryan
did and Dad is proud of him. Looking forward to his Senior year, I wish
the best for Ryan, as I always do.
May 28, 2007 - Memorial Day. Below is the last picture of Ryan
in his SEHS Baseball uniform from his Junior year. He had worked at his
new job Friday, Saturday and Sunday but got the day off on Monday and got to
dress out and sit in the dugout and watch as the Mustangs, unfortunately, lost
both games to Columbus to end their season. Ryan didn't get in for either
of those games. In fact, I haven't posted Ryan's stats this year - Ryan
only had a total of 16 at bats spread out over 8 games this season, but he did
his best every chance he got. I was proud to see him playing again, and
hope I will get to see him play baseball again his Senior year. Meantime,
I am glad he is working this summer and learning about the "real world".
High school sports can teach a young man a lot of things about life, people,
doing the right thing, trying your hardest and so on. But I think working
is also a good thing to do - especially in the summer while a lot of other kids
may be playing video games, going to movies and the beach and things like that.
Hopefully, Ryan will have some time for those things this summer, too. I
just hope he continues to enjoy his summer job - and do his best at every thing
he gets the chance to do. Dad is proud of you, Ryan!
May 11, 2007 - Ryan only got in to pinch run one time during two games
against Shaw, no at bats or time in the field, but he was glad to see his buddy
Matt Zettler close both games for wins. In the photo below Ryan is lifting
Matt after the final out of the second game. Great job, Matt!
May 7, 2007 - Ryan got to play starting in the 5th inning against
Calvary and I was there to see him. He got two singles and two RBIs to
include the game winning RBI in the bottom of the 7th inning. He brought
in the winning run (15 - 14) with the bases loaded and one out. When it
was "Crucial" so was Ryan!
April 30, 2007 - While this hasn't been the best baseball season for
Ryan, very few playing opportunities, this summer looks like it will be a
memorable one for him. Back in February Ryan had the opportunity to
job "shadow" at the Westin Savannah
Harbor Golf Resort and Spa in Savannah. It looks like they liked him, and
Ryan liked them since he now has a summer job working at the Westin. This
will be quite a change from past summer jobs. Ryan has worked at a car
wash and for a local developer helping with small housing development projects.
Not that easy of a job. This summer he may have a lot of fun working at
the Westin, but his Mom and I will be worrying about him every day as he will have to drive over the Savannah River to and from work.
If you happen to be staying at the Westin this summer, and see Ryan, give him
a tip. I am sure he will appreciate it and give you a big smile.
April 21, 2007 - Ryan finally got a chance to play again and tried to
make the best of it. He drew a walk, struck out (bad call, blue) and
singled with 2 RBIs. My buddy Gilbert got several good shots of Ryan from
the game today. Mustangs won 11 - 0.
Below is a photo one of the "Mustang Paparazzi" took of Ryan. Thanks Lisa!
April 13, 2007 - WooHoo! Way to go, Ryan! Although Ryan is
a Junior in High School we found out today that he has passed the High School
Graduation Requirements Test - exceeding what was needed in all areas.
Great job, buddy! That is one less thing to worry about next year as a
Senior. High School students in Georgia are given, I think 5 chances to
pass that test - looks like Ryan won't be needing the other 4 chances. Mom
and Dad are very proud of you, Ryan. Great Job!
April 1, 2007 - Ryan has played in a couple of games recently, and
although I haven't been able to be there, my photographer buddy -
Gilbert Miller
- was at the SEHS game against Liberty County. The photos below are good
examples of the great sports photographs at
http://www.onthescenephotography.com
March 19, 2007 - There hasn't been much for me to write about with
Ryan and baseball this season - he hasn't seen much action. Tonight was
pretty special, though, since it was the Wrestling Banquet. I have been
glad to see Ryan play baseball for many years, and football for a couple of
years. However, this was the first year Ryan wrestled - and he did great.
I (Ryan's Dad) never played on a high school football team, didn't play on the
high school baseball team and never wrestled - so I guess I don't much know much about any
of these sports. In my opinion, wrestling is kind of special. With
Baseball or Football, If a boy spends most of his time sitting in the dugout or
standing on the sidelines it may be for any number of reasons - reasons known
only to the coach. Those decisions to me seem to be mostly
subjective, not objective.
Wrestling, I have learned, is different. In wrestling, the boys have to
compete with others in their weight class on the team to get the chance to
wrestle in a match. Then, win or lose, it is all the boy's doing.
Yes, the coach has taught him and "coached" him, but it is the individual
wrestler "on the mat". I am glad that in his first season wrestling Ryan
got pinned and also pinned others. He won and he lost. Either way he
earned his right to wrestle - and Dad was very proud of him!!
So to Coach Tom Onorato and Joe Mesmer, Ryan's Dad says: Thanks!
March 13, 2007 - Ryan got his 5th official at bat of the season
tonight. He flied out off submarine style pitcher Marshall Edwards. My
buddy, Gilbert Miller, from
OnTheScenePhotograpy.com , sent me these photos of Ryan.
March 10, 2007 - Ryan only got in this game as a pinch runner for one
play, thanks again to Gilbert here are a couple shots of him from that game.
March 6, 2007 - Ryan went 1 - for 3 tonight, but got one of the 3
Mustang hits, and scored to account for 1 of the Mustangs 3 runs. The
Mustangs lost 3 - 10, but Sherry and I were to glad to see Ryan in action and on
the bases. Go Crucial! - I didn't bring my camera to the game, but our pal
Gilbert Miller sent me the photos below of Ryan. Visit
On The Scene
Photography - Gilbert's new web site.
March 4, 2007 - I have updated the
http://www.sehsbaseball.com web site
but have been busy and not done much on this or Michael's page. Still,
here is a shot of Ryan "on deck" at the game on 3/2/2007 - his only official at
bat so far this season. He did not get in the game at all on 2/27/2007.
February 23, 2007 - The SEHS Mustangs had their 100 innings of
Baseball Game and they have had a scrimmage game against ECHS so the baseball
season is pretty much underway here in Rincon, Georgia. A few photos of my
favorite baseball player below.
February 19, 2007 - I have been busy and haven't updated this site in
a while, but good news - Ryan made the SEHS Baseball team. His number this
year will be 14. I will add to the site as the season gets underway.
Go Mustangs!
February 2, 2007 - Well, today is Groundhog Day and Ryan is getting to
job "shadow" at the Westin Savannah
Harbor Golf Resort and Spa in Savannah. This will be a good day for him to
learn about jobs in the hospitality industry.
January 25, 2007 - Ryan won his wrestling match tonight, Dad didn't
get to see it or take pictures but Mom was there and said he did "Super".
January 23, 2007 - If you spend any time at all on this web site you
may notice that I mostly have posted pictures and videos of Ryan participating
in sports. (He wrestled again tonight and I may add some pictures later.)
There is a reason most of the photos and movies are of Ryan playing sports: they won't let me take my camera to his Algebra, Science, History,
Spanish or other classes. Isn't that a shame? Well, I was
very proud today that Ryan got his high school transcript and his GpA is right
now about 3.4 and he is ranked 93rd out of 330+ in the
Junior class. Awesome!
Ryan is in his Junior year of high school and his mom and I are very proud of
him! You are Crucial! and Dad thinks you are an exceptional young man!
Here is a link to some photos from January 23rd. I
think one of the great things about high school sports is some of the
friendships kids make. I know so far Ryan has made quite a few friends
playing the different sports he has played. His mother and I have gotten
to know several of Ryan's friends and they are great guys -most
of them anyway :-) .
I have not updated the site lately but should mention that Ryan made
Honor Roll this past semester - Yeah! Ryan.
Ryan's Mom had some pictures made of Ryan and brother
Michael recently.
Below is one of Ryan.
November 10th - SEHS Beat Liberty County to win the Region Championship 27 -
7. Ryan got in a couple of plays, and his grandparents were in the stands
to see him.
October 6th - SEHS Lost to Washington County 3 - 44. Ryan had been
wearing number 40 but in this game he was number 65. That was OK since I
knew what number to watch and Mom was listening on the radio. But then
when Ryan made a great tackle on the Punt Team, the announcer called the right
number - but the wrong name. Oh well, at least we knew who was wearing
number 65 for that game.
September 15th - SEHS Beat Bryan County 52 - 13. Ryan got in to play in
the fourth quarter and made the most of the opportunity. Here are a few
video clips I got of number 40 in action. Video 1Video 2Video 3
and
Video 4
September 8th - SEHS lost to ECHS 3 - 41. Ryan was hardly on the field
at all Friday night so no pictures to add. Maybe next week..
September 1st - SEHS lost a close game to Groves, 10 - 14. Here are are
a few pictures of Ryan and here is a
video of him about to assist in
a tackle.
August 3rd was Picture Day so here are a few of Ryan and some of his friends.
July 1, 2006 - Summer baseball
season is over, some photos of Ryan from the Augusta tournament below.
Ryan will have about 1 week off and then goes to a football camp with the SEHS
Football team. I am looking forward to seeing Ryan play football this
year. SEHS has a new head football coach and there should not be any reason for
him not to play this year. Check the site periodically.
June 2006 - Although it has
been a busy summer for Ryan, working, traveling with the SEHS Baseball team, and
so on, the highlight of the summer for Ryan was getting a new truck.
I have enjoyed watching Ryan play baseball this summer, well, except for when he
was getting hit by a pitch - which happened several times -"Dirt!". Below
are are a few photos. I also enjoyed seeing Ryan make a few "crucial"
catches in the outfield, including a couple for the third out. Next
weekend is the last tournament, in Augusta.
May 12, 2006 - Ryan has been
practicing spring football with the SEHS Mustangs. They had a Cardinal vs.
Silver Scrimmage game last night. The football site for the school is at
http://www.sehsfootball.com, here are
some photos of Ryan from that game,
and here is a short video as he came
off the field. He is number 36 right now, don't know if he will have
the same number when school starts. This was the number of one of Ryan's
pals, Chris Holt.
April 10, 2006 - The Mustangs
beat Calvary 5 - 1 in the last game of the JV season. Ryan struck out his
first at bat, grounded out, walked and got hit by a pitch. I think Ryan
had a great season and I enjoyed watching him play.
April 8, 2006 - The Mustangs beat
South East Bulloch 13 - 7 in the first game of a double header - second game
was called due to weather. Similar to the last game, Ryan struck out his
first at bat, but then walked and was scored for a run, hit a 2 RBI single and
also scored that at bat. He also reached on error, but was left stranded.
Here are some photos of Ryan from
that game.
April 5, 2006 - The Mustangs beat
Statesboro 12 - 11, Ryan was scored from third for the winning run. He
struck out his first at bat, but got on base 3 out of the 4 times without
getting a hit: walked, hit by a pitch, and reached on an error (line drive
that must have hurt the fielder's hand because he dropped it like a hot potato.
Here are some pictures from
tonight's game.
April 4, 2006 - The Mustangs beat
Bluffton 18 - 0. Ryan
hit a 2 RBI single his first at bat, then was scored for a run. He
fouled out his next at bat, but singled again
his third at bat demonstrating some great speed to first, but he did not get
scored that at bat.
March 30, 2006 - The Mustangs
split a double header again Effingham, winning the first 4 - 2 but losing the
second 2 - 3. In the first game, Ryan grounded out, walked and
hit a single and came across the
plate for one of the runs. The second game he walked and flied out twice.
Here are a few photos.
March 29, 2006 - The Mustangs
beat Savannah Christian 9 - 8. Ryan contributed 3 runs. He walked his
first at bat then came across the plate. He grounded out his next at bat,
but then hit a 2 RBI Triple his last
at bat - video here.. Here are
some photos from the game.
March 28, 2006 - The Mustangs
beat Bluffton 20 - 6. Ryan did not get in to the game until the Sixth (and
last) inning, but it was worth the wait as he smashed a double to right field
and collected two RBIs. A couple of photos, but no video, on
this page.
March 22, 2006 - Ryan played well
tonight getting a double his first at
bat and an RBI bringing the runner all the way from first. He made a
couple of good catches in the outfield, struck out twice (bad
calls), then singled his last at bat and got his second RBI of the
night. He also stole second base and came across the plate for a run.
As Ryan stole second base, a bad throw allowed the runner on 3rd to come home.
Mustangs won 9 - 2.
March 20, 2006 - Ryan was sick
and stayed home from school today, and missed the ball game.
March 16, 2006 - JV beat
Benedictine 11 - 2. Ryan flied out his first two at bats, then got
hit by a pitch (yes, again) his final
at bat.
March 13, 2006 - JV beat Richmond
Hill 11 - 6. In Ryan's fourth game this season, he grounded out his first
at bat, then got a single his next at bat (no video), and
singled his next at bat.
He then stole second for his
third game in a row with a stolen base. He walked his last at bat. I
think Ryan crossed home plate two or three times this game. Here is a
page with some pictures from that game.
March 9, 2006 - JV beat
Benedictine 11 - 1. In Ryan's third game this year, he started off with a
single,
stole second, got third on a
passed ball. He then got hit
by a pitch, got second on a passed ball. Then another
single his third at bat. No RBIs this
game, but I think he crossed the plate twice and had a pretty good game.
Photos and videos from this game
are here.
March 4, 2006 - JV split a double
header against Effingham losing the first game 3 - 7 but winning the next
16 - 2. Ryan got hit by a pitch his first at bat, but retaliated by stealing
second. He was stranded at third. Later, Ryan got his second RBI of
the season with a sacrifice fly that brought the runner in from third.
Another sacrifice fly advanced a runner from 2nd to third.
This page has some photos
from Saturdays' games.
March 1, 2006 - JV beat Savannah
Christian 12 - 1. Ryan contributed 2 of the 12 runs.
He flied out his first at bat,
walked his second and scored. Then his third at bat grounded out but brought the
runner in from third for an RBI.
February 15, 2006 - Ryan made the
SEHS High School team,
again. This is his sophomore year at SEHS and we are looking forward to
the new season. I will be updating the site as the season progresses.
Yeahhhh, Ryan!
November 5, 2005 - Double header
against Richmond Hill. Chain Scorchers lost both games, but Ryan did
pretty well. Read about it here and watch
a video of Ryan stealing 2nd here and getting third base as a bonus on a bad
throw that went to the outfield. NOTE: This will probably be the last fall
baseball game for Ryan in 2005. I will be out of town next weekend and may
not be any baseball updates for quite a while. You may want to book mark
an unofficial fan site for the South
Effingham High School Baseball team.
September 24, 2005 - Ryan's Birthday -
16 Years old. Just one game today. They won, but Ryan got hit by a
pitch. Still, he did steal a base or two so had a little fun. Read
about it here.
September 17, 2005 - Chain Fall
Baseball started. I will try and post some pictures and videos.
Today was a double header at Jenkins High School. Read
about it here.
July 16 - 23, 2005 - AAU 16U
Division II National Championship. The Scorchers finished fourth in this
tournament, but Ryan got a lot of playing time made some terrific catches in the
outfield, and hit well throughout the tournament. During the Semifinals at
Cracker Jack Stadium, where the Atlanta Braves take spring baseball practice,
Ryan hit two singles, got an RBI and stole 2nd base.
July 18, 2005 - Making
hard decisions and tough choices is part of life and becoming an adult. On
Monday, July 18th Ryan had to make one of those hard decisions. He chose
"Baseball" and I am glad he did. We may all miss getting the
chance to see Ryan play football with SEHS this year, and Ryan will miss the
chance to play on the "other side" of the line, since he played
defense his freshman year. But Ryan has played baseball since he was 6
years old and he had the opportunity to play in a National Championship this
year. He also did not want to leave the baseball team to practice football -
even if it meant he would not get to play this coming football season.
Ryan has made his mother and me proud of him for a lot of reasons, not only for
athletics or academics, but for being the type of son any parent would be proud
of - we support his decision.
Ryan hit a 3 run homerun in the Championship game, and was also scored on a
homerun by another former Chain Seminole,
Cody Padgett. I will be uploading some photos from the Firecracker Tournament
where they won 2nd Place and from their First Place win at the USSSA 16U State
Championship. Visit the photo
gallery here.
June 24, 2005 - Ryan hit an RBI
single and a double in the first game against the Predators Friday night.
Grounded out his other at bat. The win against the Predators (I forgot the
final score) meant the Scorchers played the Savannah Raiders in the championship
game. Ryan walked twice and got hit by a pitch in that game which was tied
several times but the final score was Raiders 15 Scorchers 10. Ryan tried
to steal third twice but didn't make it either attempt. Ryan got called to
the mound in the top of the 7th with one out and two men on base and the score
13 - 9 . He didn't walk anyone or hit a batter, seeming to me to have good
control. However, the needed outs were not made while he was pitching so they
tried another pitcher and got out of the inning with the final score 15 -
10.
June 22, 2005 - Ryan got the
second game of the Firecracker Tournament started with a two out triple his
first at bat. Then came home when the next batter reached on an error to
make the score 1 - 0. He made two good catches in Center field including a
sliding catch. Ryan got out his next two at bats, and walked his last at
bat with two men on. They walked the next batter as well so the winning
run came in and the Scorchers won 3 - 2. Some shots of him from Wednesday
night's game below:
June 21, 2005 - Ryan got to play
in his first game with the SE Georgia Chain Scorchers tonight. He did not
get to go in until late in the game, and only got one at bat. A solid hit
to the outfield, but still an out. The Scorchers lost 8 -6. They
were down 8 - 2 until the 7th when one of the
other Scorchers hit a grand slam homerun. Ryan was on deck with at
least one man on base but third out was made by the player before Ryan got
up. He played Center field in the couple of innings he was in the
game. Next game for this tournament is tomorrow night.
<- First at bat
< Contact! but caught
< Ryan pointing at me, why?
June 9 - 12, 2005 - Ryan attended
football camp at Georgia Southern University. He says he learned a lot,
but was not crazy about the food at Landrum Center. The boys were not
allowed to leave campus at night, but could order pizza. By the time Ryan
came home he was ready for hamburger, chicken, just about anything but
Pizza. Sherry and I attended college there many, many years ago.
Coach Herndon from South Effingham High School drove Ryan and some other boys to
the camp and stayed and watched them a good part of the time.
May 30, 2005 - Ryan made the 16u
Chain team. The Scorchers are now part of Chain Baseball. Their
web site. The Southeast Georgia Chain Scorchers plan on playing at
these tournaments this summer:
Dates
Tournament
Location
6/10/2005
- 6/12/2005
AAU
U16 II GA State
Cherokee
County, GA
6/20/2005
- 6/25/2005
Fire
Cracker U17
MILL
CREEK STATESBORO
6/30/2005
- 7/3/2005
USSSA
U16 GA State
Warner
Robbins, GA
7/15/2005
- 7/23/2005
AAU
U16 II National Tournament
Disney
Wide World of Sports Orlando, FL
May 28, 2005 - Ryan tried out for
the 16 and under Chain Baseball team today at Chain field. He walked
twice, stole second base each time off left handed pitchers, and also stole
third base (twice) and stole home on a passed ball. He also made a great
throw from right field to home plate to get a runner out coming from third. Ryan was the last of the kids to
pitch after playing left field and right field all day, but did a good job
pitching as well. Now we will be waiting to see if he made the team - or
not.
May 20, 2005 - Last day of school!
Ryan completed his Freshman year of high school with a 3.25 GPA.
April 16, 2005 - Ryan participated in the
Iron Man competition at Effingham High School. He weighed 175 and his
total for the three lifts (Bench, Clean, and Squat)
was 810.
February 16, 2005 - Yeah!! Just
found out Ryan made the school team! I will be posting updates as the
season gets started for family and friends.
March 2, 2005 - Ryan got his first hit, a
solid single, in his first at bat with his high school team. Later, after
reaching first on an error, he stole second base for his first stolen base as a
high school player. The Mustangs won 17
- 11.
March 4, 2005 - Ryan hit his first over
the fence homerun (and first RBI) as a high school player, as the Mustangs tied
the Calvary Cavs 5 -5 (officially, this game was forfeited so the Varsity guys
could play their game, which they lost. Ben
Cole, one of the Chain
Baseball instructors that has worked with Ryan since he was 12 was on hand to
see the Homerun.
March 5, 2005 - Another first for Ryan's
high school baseball career - hit by a pitch. The first pitch of the first
inning. Still, he did get scored, and in another inning as well when he
was walked on 4 pitches and the bases were loaded so this gave him an RBI. Still this wasn't a fun game as the Mustangs lost
18 - 8. So Ryan contributed to 3 of the 8 runs.
March 8, 2005 - The Mustangs lost to
Statesboro 5 - 6.
March 9, 2005 - Mustangs beat Effingham
County 7 - 4. Ryan lead off the first inning with a single and was brought
in for the first run. Much better game than the last time they played ECHS.
March 10, 2005 - Mustangs
beat Statesboro 9 - 4 and Ryan made his high school pitching debut. Ryan
was not in the lineup until the 6th inning and never did get up to bat. However,
in the top of the 7th inning, after an 8 - 0 lead had dwindled to 9 - 4 with a
runner on base and two outs Ryan was called in from the outfield to take the
mound. He walked the first batter he faced but settled down as the next
batter came up. He got two the first two strikes on weak foul balls then got him
swinging on the third strike to get the third out. Crucial!
March 14, 2005 - Mustangs
run-ruled Calvary 13 - 0 in five. Ryan walked and got a single, but was
left stranded both times.
March 15, 2005 - Mustangs
beat Richmond Hill 6 -4. Ryan singled, then stole second base, and scored
to contribute one of the 6 runs.
March 16, 2005 -
Tiebreaker with ECHS cancelled due to rain.
March 21, 2005 - Mustangs
run-ruled Benedictine in the first game of the DH 17 -2. Ryan did not play at
all that game. Mustangs also won game 2 by a score of 5 - 0. Ryan
walked his first at bat and scored for the first run of the game. His only
other at bat he singled but was left stranded.
March 26, 2005 - Mustangs
won the first game 7 - 6. Ryan only got in the game twice, each time as a
pinch runner. The first time he was scored. Mustangs won the 2nd
game 5 -3. Ryan made a good catch in the outfield but went 0 for 3, two
well hit balls happened to be right to the fielder.
April 4, 2005 - Mustangs
beat the Richmond Hill Wildcats 4 - 2. Ryan was DH and went 2 for 3. He
singled (may have been scored an error but looked like a hit to me) with the bases loaded his first at bat collecting an RBI and bringing in
the first run of the day. No doubt about the double his
last at bat but he was left stranded on third base.
