End of Year Video

Now that the season is over, I've gone back and set some of the pictures I've taken this year (along with a couple from others) to music. I hope you enjoy the slideshow as much as I've enjoyed putting it together.

Video Test

I decided to try out Blogger's new video posting capability by posting a clip of Smiley's great catch from today's game:

I'll post some more videos after I've finished editing them. In addition, I am almost finished with the 2007 Rockhounds video/slide show. I will bring copies to the fish fry next Sunday. I will also post a copy on the website.

Rockhounds on MyMissourian

After our trip to New York, I was contacted by a staff member at the Columbia Missourian about writing an article for their MyMissourian website. Here is the article:
Rockhounds Article

Thanks to Our Sponsors

Thanks to Melanie, this ad appeared in the Columbia Daily Tribune on September 16, 2007. Without their help, this past season would not have been possible.

Fall Tournament Schedule

The schedule for this weekend's tournament is as follows:

• Thursday 8:00pm Field 1 Bucks
• Friday 5:45pm Field 3 JC Sader Baseball
• Saturday 5:00pm Field 2 Starpath
• Sunday 8:00am Field 3 JC Jaybirds

BC Fall Classic Schedule

Rockhounds Eliminated From Week 10 Tournament

The Columbia Rockhounds were defeated by the Susquehanna River Raiders 22-1 in the 3rd round of the Cooperstown Dreams Park week 10 Tournament. The boys finished the tournament with a 5-4 record and earned a first round bye with a #36 seed.
Good job, 'hounds!!

Rockhounds Win First Game of Tournament

The Rockhounds came from behind in the bottom of the fifth inning to defeat the Ronkonkoma Cardinals, 8-7. The Rockhounds now face the Susquehanna River Raiders at 6:00pm.

Rockhounds Win Game 7

The Rockhounds finished pool play with a 4-3 record, beating the Skokie Indians 13-1 in 4 innings. Robert pitched the entire game for the win and Jake blasted his second home run of the tournament. The Rockhounds will start the single-elimination tournament bracket this afternoon.

Rockhounds Drop 2 on Tuesday

The Rockhounds record fell to 3-3 after two losses on Tuesday. Pool play wraps up Wednesday morning when the 'hounds take on the Skokie Indians at 8:00am.
Day 5 Photos

Rockhounds on Webcam Tuesday

Just a reminder that the Rockhounds play on the web Tuesday at 10:00am central time.

Rockhounds on TV

Rockhounds Win Game 4

The Rockhounds defeated the team from Foxboro, MA, 14-2 in 4 innings. Robert pitched a complete game and Jake smashed the first pitch of his second at-bat over the scoreboard for a 2 run homerun. The Rockhounds' record now stands at 3-1 entering Tuesday.

Rockhounds Drop Game 3

The Rockhounds dropped their third game of the tournament, 5-4.

Behind the Scenes at Cooperstown

Since only players and coaches are allowed in the player village, Coach Teter is taking photos of the areas that the parents and fans can't see. Thanks, Coach Teter!
Baseball Village Pictures

Rockhounds Win Game 2

The Rockhounds outlasted the Merillon Yankees 13-12 in a nailbiter. Despite giving up 2 homeruns, the Rockhounds came back in the bottom of the 6th. Ryan laid down a perfect bunt to score Robert on a sucide squeeze play.

Rockhounds Win Game 1

The Rockhounds downed the Huguenot Havoc 11-1 in their opening game of the week 10 Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament.

Cooperstown Day 3 photos

Opening Ceremony & Skills Competition

The Rockhounds participated in the opening ceremony of the week 10 tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park on Saturday and then competed in the skills competition. Connor represented the 'hounds in the roadrunner competition. Jake swung for the fences in the King of Swat and Stuart threw in the Golden Arm contest. Stuart made it to the finals and ended up finishing 2nd. Great job, Waldo!!
The team then took part in the round-the-horn-plus contest. While the team did not compete as well as they have in practice, it was a great experience and we are pround of the class they exhibited. Good job, 'hounds!!
Cooperstown Day 2 Photos

Rockhounds Arrive in Cooperstown

The cool, gloomy weather couldn't dampen the Rockhounds' spirit as the team arrived at Cooperstown Dreams Park. After checking in and settling in to the bunkhouse, the team went to dinner and had a great time! I'll be posting everyday with the scores and highlights of every Rochounds victory! Here is the link to today's pictures:

Cooperstown Day 1 photos

News From the Kennel

Coach Greaves has sent the following words from the road...

News from the kennel... What are your goals? You know the expectation. The fungo was raised and you guys held on with confidence! We are privileged to be able to "live" the game where and how it was intended. No hype, no commercials, no multi-million dollar salaries. We get to "think" the game through every situation. Soon, we will "play" the game through every pitch, swing, throw and catch. Rockhound Baseball. You guys are the best. Leave some skin in the dirt! Coach Greaves

Rockhounds on TV!

Well, kinda. The Columbia Rockhounds will play their 5th game of the Cooperstown Dreams Park Week 10 tournament on the Field 8 webcam. Starting at 10am central on Tuesday, August 14, 2007, the Rockhounds will take on the Phoenixville Phantoms (PA)as the home team. The game can be viewed here:

Field 8 Webcam

Those using Internet Explorer can right click on the video, select zoom and then Full Screen and the image will fill the screen.

Cooperstown Schedule Released

The schedule for the Columbia Rockhounds is available online at the following link:
Rockhounds Schedule

Cooperstown Teams

The list of teams that will be in Cooperstown next week has been released.

Cooperstown Teams

As soon as the schedule is released, I will post it here.

The Psychology of Baseball

Now that the dog days of summer are upon us, I thought I would pass along the title of a very interesting book I read this summer. The Psychology of Baseball, by University of Missouri Associate Professor Mike Stadler is a look at various aspects of the game through the eyes of researchers in different disciplines. For a nice synopsis, this article explains some of the research described in the book. It really makes you appreciate how easy some players make the game look.

Cooperstown Weather

As I watch the games at Cooperstown Dreams Park on the webcams, I can't help but ask, "I wonder what the temperature is there?" As I'm sure you wish to know also, I've added a weather widget at the bottom of the page. I'll also include it here for now.

Weather Forecast Weather Maps Weather Radar

And Now For Something Completely Different...

Now seems to be a perfect time to look ahead to Cooperstown and what better way than to watch some of the goings-on around Dreams Park. Here is a link to Field 3's game cam. It provides the opening ceremonies on Saturdays at 4:00 followed by the skills competition.
Field 3 Webcam
Here is a link to a schedule of the broadcast games. What a great way for friends and family back home to watch the Rockhounds compete in Cooperstown!
Weekly Gamecam Schedule
And finally, here is a link to the gamecams for fields 7-10:
Gamecams 7-10

Tournament Scores Updated

Here is a link to the scores of the MO State 12AA Championship. It seems to be updated every couple of hours.

Tournament Scores

State Tournament Schedule Posted

The schedule for the Missouri State 12AA Tournament is posted here:
Tournament Schedule

Information on the other teams in our pool can be found at the following links:
KC Giants
Bolivar Baseball
Mid-America Blue Devils

Mid-Missouri Grand Slam

The schedule for the Mid-Missouri Grand Slam tournament is available here:

Tournament Schedule

State Tournament Information

Here is the website for the 2007 Missouri State 12 AA Championships in Joplin.
State Tournament
As more information becomes available, I will post it on this website. Directions to the facility can be obtained by clicking on the tournament in the schedule below, or by clicking here:
Map & Directions

Mid-Missouri Grand Slam Lineup

I will post the schedule for the tournament as soon as it is posted. In the meantime, here is a list of the teams entered for this weekend's tournament:
The Surge
Chesterfield Chiefs
Junior Mustangs
Fenton Bandits
Phelps County Heat
Pond All-Stars
Metamora Redbirds
Starpath
Mexico Select
Mid-America Blue Devils
JCBI
Southern Boone Bandits
Canons

Rockhounds Reclassified

The USSSA has granted the Rockhounds appeal to return to AA. Looks like the 'hounds will be playing in Joplin afterall!

Rockhounds Place 3rd in May Madness Tournament

The Rockhounds opened the May Madness tournament on Saturday morning with a win over the Ballwin Hurricanes. Despite perfect weather for baseball, the Rockhounds were unable to mount much of a challenge in the next two games. On Sunday, the 'hounds came out looking much sharper in their 11-0 win over the Ladue Rams. In the semi-final, the Rockhounds were unable to overcome an eight-run 2nd inning and dropped the game to Team Combat, 11-1. Playing their third game in a row, the Rockhounds avenged a loss the previous day and beat the St. Louis Hawks 11-2.

May Madness Schedule Posted

The schedule for this weekend's May Madness tournament in St. Louis is available here.

May Madness Tournament Line-up

The line-up of teams for the May Madness tournament has been released and can be viewed here.
Ballwin Hurricanes
St. Louis Outlaws
St. Louis Hawks
Team Combat

BC Schedule Finally Complete

BC Baseball has released the
schedule for the remainder of the year. The Rockhound calendar at the bottom of the home page has been updated and is correct to the best of my knowledge!

Rockhounds in Training

I'm not sure if this is what coach had in mind when he told the team to stretch out, but here is a photo from the team's upcoming video, "Rockhound Yoga."

Our Sponsors

The post containing our sponsors has been bumped off the front page, so from time to time I will post a reminder to check out our sponsors and please give them your consideration:

Rockhounds sponsors

Rockhounds Capture Frozen Rope Title

The Rockhounds held off a sixth inning rally by the Mid-America Blue Devils to win the championship game 5-4. The Rockhounds finished the tournament 4-1.

Frozen Rope Schedule Online

BC Baseball has posted the schedule for this weekends tournament:

Frozen Rope Schedule

The games have been added to the Rockhounds schedule at the bottom of the page along with the league games through week 5.

News Item From Jeff City

From the April 11, 2007 Jefferson City News Tribune:

"In the second game, the Columbia Rockhounds posted an 8-2 win over JCBI.Corey Beard took the loss, giving up seven runs on seven hits.Dan Haynes had two hits and an RBI for JCBI, while Alex Johnson drove in the other run. "

Rockhounds Go International

www.columbiarockhounds.com has logged its first international visits! We've had visitors from England, Colombia, and India. There also appears to be a visit from the Atlantic Ocean, but I assume that is in error. Four continents down, three to go!

Using the Google Calendar

As the BC league schedule dribbles out, I will add games to the Rockhounds calendar as they become available. If you click on the game, you will see additional information (field #, opponent, etc.) You will also have the option of adding the game to your own Google calendar. If you do not have a Google calendar and wish to create one, just click this link.

League Schedule Online

The Rockhounds BC league schedule is online at:

http://bcbaseball.org/2007LeagueSked.htm

For now, only the first week is posted, more to follow.

First Scrimmage a Hit!

The Rockhounds awoke Saturday morning to a disheartening sight: snow! While initially it appeared the scrimmage would have to be cancelled, the team made the trip and the games were held. While the temperature never rose out of the low 40's, the Rockhounds warmed up nicely and handled the Braves 10-3 in the first game and came from behind in the 2nd to win 7-4. As soon as the BC schedule is available, I will post it on our schedule at the bottom of the page. In the meantime, please check out the pictures from the scrimmage in the photo album.

Check Out Our Sponsors!

The Rockhounds would like to thank the following sponsors, without whom we could not begin to achieve our goals. Please give them your consideration.











Forevergreen Nursery, Inc.

First Practice at Highlands Field

On Sunday, the entire team pitched in and helped renovate the practice field. While much work remains to be done, it will have to wait for the arrival of more rock. The team then put the new field to good use by holding infield practice. The scrimmage on Saturday can't come soon enough for the Rockhounds!

Workday Cancelled

Please note that the workday originally scheduled for Saturday, March 10, has been cancelled due to wet field conditions. I will update the calendar when I have more information.

Team Braves Weather

The weather was cold, windy and yes, a little snowy on Saturday as the Rockhounds braved the elements to deliver doormail to 5000 door knobs! As Coach Joe told the guys, "remember this in July when the temperature is over 100". Thanks to the parents who drove and thanks to the players for pounding the pavement for the team!

Welcome to the Columbia Rockhounds Web Page!