Sports Today: Scooter Gennett’s 4 HRs part of memorable season building in Cincinnati

Topping Scooter Gennett’s unbelievable four-home run game against the Cardinals last night is going to be nearly impossible, but it fits in with the type of year the Reds are having.

WATCH: Gennett makes MLB history

RELATED: Scooter calls 4-homer feat "a little short of a miracle" 

Just in the past week they have come off the mat twice when trailing late and won games in which they looked like they were going to be shut out.

Billy Hamilton ran the Reds to an improbable victory in Cleveland last month, and the speedy center fielder has a walk-off hit against the Pirates under his belt this season.

Of course, Hamilton’s ability to wreak havoc on the base paths adds at least a little (and usually more) juice every night. It complements quite well the power bats of Joey Votto, Adam Duval and Scott Schebler.

Oh yeah, and advanced stats say Zack Cozart has been the best player (not just shortstop) in the National League so far.

The rotation has been a disaster, but they’ve got a reliable bullpen again, including another Cuban closer who does the job with some pizzazz.

I’m not printing up postseason tickets any time soon, but this is the type of team I was hoping the Reds could be last year with some new faces in the lineup. It is a sight for sore eyes after even the last team that made the postseason was fairly listless and unexciting.

It could all fall apart tomorrow (although there’s no indication anyone is going to pick up and run away with the division), so enjoy it while it lasts.

And how about Gennett? 

I guess every 11 years the Reds are just destined to find a 20-something infielder whose old team doesn’t want him.

I’m always a sucker for a great homecoming story, so it is great to see the southwest Ohio native have such an impact on a team sorely needing some positive vibes after the last few seasons.

I have to admit as I heard him tell that story on Opening Day in the Reds clubhouse I was thinking,”This is cool. Too bad he probably won’t make much of an impact.”

Welp…

Now we just need to give him a nickname.

Oh, sure, Scooter is not his real name, but does it really count? Nobody is supposed to give themselves a nickname, so I am going to say no.

I’m partial to the Lebanon Launcher, but I’m open to other suggestions.

I would also like to see a section at Great American Ball Park set aside for a group to be called, “Scooter’s Rooters.”

So, what else is going on? 

As Ohio State began its search for a new men’s basketball coach, another recruit jumped ship. 

Versailles guard/forward Justin Ahrens’ decision to re-open his recruitment is certainly understanding upon the end of the Thad Matta era.

It’s also intriguing to see him pick up an offer from Anthony Grant’s Dayton Flyers.

Ahrens is the reigning Ohio Division II Co-Player of the Year.

READ MORE: Flyers offer former OSU commit Ahrens

Who will replace Matta?

Well-connected national basketball analyst Brian Snow of scout.com says we can rule out three names while Ben Axelrod of landof10.com reports hearing some chatter about Grant's former boss at Florida and Oklahoma City, Billy Donovan.

I’m skeptical of Ohio State’s ability to lure an active NBA coach back to college, particularly one Urban Meyer could probably connect to OSU AD Gene Smith easily if there were any mutual interest at all.

The more I read about potential candidates, the more I think the best (realistic) one still out there is probably Chris Holtmann of Butler.

That is not based on any inside information or knowledge of whether or not he might actually be interested, just my observation…

On the football recruiting front, Meyer keeps adding highly regarded national prospects to the 2018 Ohio State class, Penn State lost five-star quarterback Justin Fields.

He is the second five-star to defect from the Nittany Lions in this recruiting cycle.

On the local scene, our latest recruiting roundup covered a local running back checking out UC while adding a couple of Big Ten offers, a visit by a pair of rising juniors and new lists of finalists for two Dunbar standouts.