Hereford Baseball Posts Winning Record

The Hereford High School baseball team has a record of 6-3 heading into Monday's game at Baltimore County rival Franklin High School.

The Bulls' batting leaders are senior shortstop Kevin Class, sophomore catcher Zack Walsh, senior second baseman Greg Fultz and senior right fielder Steve Eagan.

Class is hitting .533 with team highs of 12 RBIs, 16 runs scored, two triples and two doubles. Walsh is batting .471 with six RBIs, two doubles and eight runs scored. Fultz is at .448, ranks second on the team with 10 runs scored, has six RBIs and a triple. Eagan is batting .419, ranks first on the team with seven doubles, second with 11 RBIs, third with nine runs scored and has tripled. 

On the mound, the Bulls are guided by sophomore Eli Ginsburg and senior Tyler Young, who are 2-0 and 1-0, respectively. 

Ginsburg has struck out 11 batters and walked five, while Young has eight strikeouts against no walks. 

Hereford Softball Wins Twice

Hereford's freshman pitcher LeAnne Collins and junior pitcher Becca Smith earned respective wins over Kenwood, 7-2 and Parkville, 12-2, on Thursday and Saturday. The Bulls softball team improved to 8-2 heading into this Thursday's game at Catonsville High School. 

Smith improved to 3-0 by striking out two batters and scattering seven hits against the Parkville Knights. She also went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored twice for the Bulls, whose lone defeats were against Franklin and Perry Hall. 

Junior Hannah Thomas went 2-for-4, with a double, four RBIs and scored twice. Junior Rachael Shaeffer was 2-for-3, with a triple, sophomore Jen Cope contributed three RBIs, and Collins had a sacrifice fly ball, two RBIs and scored twice against the Knights.

The Bulls also turned in a nice defensive effort against the Knights. During the third-inning of the game junior center fielder Sydney Ledford turned what could've been a home run into an out at the plate. She made a cutoff throw to senior Kelly Brown, who then made the relay throw to junior catcher Rachel Shaeffer for the out.

The Bulls' also turned a double play in the fourth-inning when Smith scooped a ground ball, threw out a runner at home and then Shaeffer completed the play with the throw to Collins at first base. 

Against the Kenwood Bluebirds, junior shortstop Hannah Thomas went 3-for-4, with two doubles and three RBIs, and Collins was 3-for-3 with three runs scored.

Collins went the distance for the win, striking out 10 batters, yielding just two hits, and raising her mark on the year to 5-2. Collins' ERA is 1.75.

Thomas is batting .429 with a slugging percentage of .619. Collins is hitting .435.

Wrestling Weight Class Changes

The National Federation of State High School Associations Wrestling Rules Committee has approved an upward shift in the weight classes for the 2011-12 season, resulting in new weights for 10 of the 14 categories.

Instead of 103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, 215 and 285, the new weights will be 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220 and 285.

Three of the middle weight classes – 145, 152 and 160 – remained the same, although they are seventh, eighth and ninth in the order as opposed to eighth, ninth and 10th. The last weight class, 285, also remained unchanged.

"The change in weight classes resulted from a three-to-four year process utilizing data from the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Optimal Performance Calculator," said Dale Pleimann, chairman of the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee.

"The rules committee was able to analyze data from almost 200,000 wrestlers across the country with the goal to create weight classes that have approximately seven percent of the wrestlers in each weight class," Pleiman said.

"Throughout the process, each state association was kept completely informed and was provided multiple opportunities for input," Pleiman said. "The results of the last survey of each state association indicated that the majority of states favored a change, and the committee listened and acted accordingly."

The last wholesale shift in weight classes was in 1988, when the lowest weight class was increased from 98 to 103 pounds.

The only other changes since then were in 2002 and 2006. In 2002, the number of classes went from 13 to 14 and the 215-pound weight class became mandatory. In 2006, the 275-pound class was increased to 285.