Cow Pie Kid

**Cow Pie Kid** is the ninth episode (tenth in production order) of the fifth series, and the two-hundred-eighth episode of *The Loud House*.

## Plot

Lynn pushes Liam to his limits when he becomes the star pitcher for the middle school baseball team.

## Synopsis

At a baseball game, the Royal Woods Kangaroos are playing against the Hazeltucky Hockers. It's the top of the ninth inning, and the kangaroos are losing 8-1. When Lynn orders Margo to pitch the ball, she accidentally throws it out of batting range, with the umpire calling out "ball". After calling a time out, Lynn tells Margo to bench and calls for Paula to the mound. After (slowly) getting to the pitcher's mound, Paula pitches the ball, and the batter manages to get the ball over the fence, solidifying Hazeltucky's win.

In Vanzilla, as a disgruntled Lynn rides with Lynn Sr., Lynn tells her father that her team hasn't won a game all season, and says that she can't be a pitcher for the team, as she's prohibited from doing so after throwing a baseball at the mascot of a rival team called the Bruinstown Billygoats. At that moment, Lynn Sr. discovers farm fresh eggs being sold, and decides to stop by and get some. When a farmer asks Liam, who's running the farm stand, for a dozen cow pies so that he can get his tractor running again, Liam obliges and proceeds to hurl the cow pies at the tractor, revealing his incredible pitching ability. Amazed at Liam's throwing, Lynn asks him if he would like to play baseball, and he agrees. The next day, Lynn attempts to train Liam into throwing a baseball. At first, Liam struggles, saying that a baseball doesn't feel the same as a cow pie, but Lynn tells him that he just needs to practice more. After some trial and error, Lynn tells Liam to not think about where he wants the ball to go, and when Liam does as instructed, he successfully gets the ball into the mitt of one of his pigs being the catcher. With his skills perfected, Liam is officially on the team.

During the next baseball game, Liam is ready to be the team's pitcher. When the umpire starts the game, Liam's pitching skills result in the Kangaroos winning their first game of the season 9-0. As the other teammates congratulate Liam for leading them to victory, Lynn arrives and says that they need to practice if they want to keep on winning, and tells Liam that he'll be pitching in all of their games. As the games progress, Liam continues to lead the Kangaroos to victory, but realizes that his pitching arm is starting to become more and more sore after every game. After winning a game puts the Kangaroos in a tie with Hazeltucky for the most wins, Lynn tells her team that they need to practice if they want to the win the next game, which would declare them champions of their division. As they practice, Liam's arm gives out and can't pitch anymore. When Liam says that the championship game is tomorrow, and his injury would require days of rest, Lynn says that she knows who can help.

At the Loud House, Lisa attempts to help realign Liam's arm muscles so that he can pitch again. After being zapped by her machine, Liam doesn't feel much pain, but when he tosses a ball to test his arm out, he gets a cramp and ends up hitting Lola, who is bouncing on a pogo stick while listening to music. Suddenly, Lucy appears and says she knows how to help. At the cemetery, Lucy is preparing a potion, and after saying a chant, she drops a dollop of her potion onto Liam's arm, and it successfully heals, as he can pitch like he used to.

The next day, the Kangaroos are playing against the Hockers in the championship game. During the first eight innings, the two teams are neck and neck with each other. On the bottom of the ninth inning, the score is 3-2 with the Kangaroos in the lead. The Hockers have the bases loaded, and the batter has two strikes, where getting one more would result in an out and declare the Kangaroos the champions. Unfortunately, when Liam pitches the ball, his arm pops and the umpire declares "ball". When Lynn asks for Lucy and Lisa, Lisa points out that his muscle tissues are injured and states that there's a 30% he can still pitch, but a 70% that his arm will be permanently injured. Despite this imbalance in odds, Liam decides to stick with the team. As Liam gets himself ready, Lynn discovers just how much Liam is in pain, and realizing she's letting him risk his health just for a victory, Lynn tells Liam to go to the bench so he can relax, and calls for Paula. After Paula reaches the mound, she pitches the ball, and the batter ends up hitting the ball over the fence, giving the Hockers enough points to beat out the Kangaroos and receive the championship title of their division. Despite losing, Lynn encourages Paula that she can help her with her pitching, and Liam says that even though they lost, he still had fun.

## Cast

* Cristina Pucelli as Umpire / Teddy
* Jessica DiCicco as Lynn / Lucy
* Grey Griffin as Lola / Goat Wrangler Kid
* Lara Jill Miller as Lisa / Liam
* Brian Stepanek as Lynn Sr. / Farmer
* John DiMaggio as Flip / Goat
* Jamie Kaler as Announcer
* Cree Summer as Paula

Pep, Boy Jordan and Margo have no lines in the episode.

## Trivia

* This is the first episode to premiere in 2021.
* This is the only episode directed by Jared Morgan.
* "Cow pie" is another name for cow manure.
* Lincoln appears on the title card as one of the cow pies on the ground.
* Liam and Paula's full names are revealed to be Liam Hunnicutt and Paula Price, respectively.
* The title of this episode refers to Liam himself, as the name comes from Lynn witnessing him toss a cow pie.
* This episode reveals that Liam has an incredible pitching arm, but it comes with the downside of injuring his muscles if done one too many times.
* One of the attendees in the first baseball game is former *Loud House* storyboard artist Darin McGowan.
* In Lynn's flashback of her throwing a baseball at the Bruinstown Billygoat's mascot, one of the boys standing next to the mascot is former *Loud House* storyboard artist Jordan Koch.
* The goat wrangler kid is the same boy who took part in the dog contest in "A Mutt Above".
* This is the third episode where one of Lincoln’s friends and one of Lincoln’s sisters appear but Lincoln himself doesn't, after "Purrfect Gig" and "Senior Moment".
	+ This is also the second episode in which Liam appears without Lincoln after "Senior Moment".
* In the Croatian dub, the old title card reader since Season 1 returns, although only for this episode and the next one and the first episode in which Cvita Pastuović voices Lynn.
* This episode reveals that Liam's cow, who was seen in "Antiqued Off" and "Tough Cookies", is named Bessie.
* Paula is revealed to have a cousin, who once strained his arm but recovered after several days.
* **Cartoon physics**:
	+ Virginia, a pig, helped Liam in his training by using the baseball glove.
	+ Lucy used her ghost magic to heal Liam's arm.
	+ Liam's wounded arm would not be so visibly deformed in real life.

## References

* ***Cow Pie Kid*** - The title of this episode is most likely based on the 1980 romantic-sports film *The Comeback Kid*.

## Errors

* Through the whole episode, Liam's freckles appear and disappear.
* When Lynn is training Liam on his farm, Liam is missing the freckles on his right cheek, but still has the freckles on his left cheek.
* After Liam accidentally hits Lola, Lynn's sleeves are short, but seconds later, they are long.
* When Lynn arrived at the farm, she doesn't have her baseball cap on. Then, when she sees Liam pitching a cow pie, she's wearing her cap.
* When Liam is waving to Lynn, he is missing the gap between his teeth.
* When Lynn and Paula see that Liam's arm is hurt during baseball practice, Paula has her cast on her left leg instead of her right leg.
* When Flip gets hit by his own Flippees, a man is shown standing on the side of the bleacher step.
* **Plot holes**:
	+ Like in "Net Gains" and "Hero Today, Gone Tomorrow" everyone let Paula play with leg in a cast, even though nobody would in real life.
	+ "Royal Woods Kangaroos" is the name of Lynn's soccer team in "Hero Today, Gone Tomorrow", but in this episode, it's the name of Lynn's baseball team instead of "Royal Woods Squirrels".
	+ In "The Loudest Yard" and "Dance, Dance Resolution" Liam is shown to be a basketball player, but in this episode, Liam says the only sport he's ever played was hog-wrestling (as was even shown in "Pasture Bedtime").
	+ Paula still has a cast on, even though a broken leg takes less than a year to recover.
* When Lisa was about to electrocute Liam's arm, Lynn's mouth opens and close slightly

## Videos

Lynn CAN'T Win A Baseball Game! 'Cow Pie Kid" - The Loud HouseThe Loud House - Cow Pie Kid - YTVThe Loud House - Bad Pitcher - Nickelodeon UKThe Loud House - Science - Nickelodeon UK