Postcards for Jack

This past Thursday, Jonathan Deutsch of NBC25/Fox66 came out to the Michigan Mudcats' final game to do some interviews for a story on Jack, Brian, the Mudcats, friendship, baseball, and postcards. Check it out.

Another Tournament Title for the Mudcats!

Front row (l-r): Joe Toporek, Easton Edwards, Jason Caine, Kyle Genord, Elijah Forbush & Keagan Titmuss. Back row: Assistant Coach Pete Scribner, Jack Scribner, Tim Hayden, Austin Johnson, Brian Caine, Andrew Morningstar & Head Coach Joe Caine.

The 17u Michigan Mudcats of Grand Blanc won the championship of the FAAST Select Summer Classic this past weekend (July 15-16) at Concordia University in Ann Arbor. The Mudcats won two games in pool play on Saturday to clinch a berth in the tournament semifinals. There they defeated the Macomb Outlaws 8-4, followed by an 11-1 mercy-rule victory over the St. Clair Shores Mariners. Recent Grand Blanc High School graduate Jason Caine recorded the walk-off RBI in the championship game, which was played on his 18^th birthday.

Strong pitching throughout the tournament helped carry the Mudcats. Keegan Titmuss won two games (including the title game), allowing only one run in eight innings pitched, and Brian Caine pitched a seven inning complete game, allowing only two runs for another victory. Austin Johnson was the winning pitcher contributing 5 1/3 strong innings in the semifinal, and the Mudcat bullpen of Tim Hayden and Jack Scribner did not allow a run throughout the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Mudcats averaged over seven runs a game with their bats. Joe Toporek led the way, going 8 for 12 with 9 RBIs, while Andrew Morningstar, Elijah Forbush, Easton Edwards, Titmuss (6 RBIs) and Scribner (.714 OBP) all hit over .400 for the weekend, and Kyle Genord registered an on base percentage of .571. As a team, the Mudcats hit .385 with a .477 on base percentage in the tournament.

Birthday Boy and Elder Statesman Jason Caine Drives Home the Clinching Run

Mudcats Batting Statistics for the FAAST Select Summer Classic

Special thanks to Kim Eaton of Z10 Sports Photos for the pictures!

More Mudcats in the News...Jack Scribner

Mudcat Jack Scribner had a big day on the diamond for Grand Blanc High School in leading the Bobcats to a 6-4 win over Linden. 

Mudcats in the News: Brian Caine & Miracle League

Check out some of the great coverage that the Greater Flint Miracle League has recently received. The League's director is Michigan Mudcat, Brian Caine.

• ABC 12 story of Miracle League field being built
• ABC12 video of Brian as their Person of the Week 
• mLive article

Mudcats in the News: Joe Toporek on the Path to Greatness

Check out this NBC25 story on Mudcat Joe Toporek, recognized for being on the path to greatness not just for what he's done on the field, but also due to the battles he fights off the field.

Season Ending Tournament

Our final tournament of the season was scheduled for Frankenmuth, but ended up getting cancelled at the last minute, so we had to find another place to go. It turned out we picked a pretty good spot, playing in the FAAST Ann Arbor End of Summer Bash. Pool play games on Saturday were rained out, but we were able to make them up Sunday, winning them both to move on to the semifinals as the #1 seed in the single-elimination phase of the tournament. A victory there pushed us into the championship game, where we unfortunately came up short, ending the season with a 2nd place finish.

Click below for information and box scores from iScore:

Game 1 (pool play) vs. Michigan Renegades
Game 2 (pool play) vs. Great Lakes Cyclones
Game 3 (semifinals) vs. Michigan Blue Jays
Game 4 (championship) vs. Great Lakes Cyclones

Great season, guys!

Grand Rapids Tournament Trip

 

The Mudcats had a fun, albeit abbreviated trip to Grand Rapids to play in the GameDay USA National Championships. Despite having a five game guarantee, unfortunately we only got to actually hit the field three times!

We won our first game (Thursday morning at 10am) when the other team failed to show up. So instead of playing, we practiced and then grabbed a bite to eat, before heading back to the hotel for some relaxation!

Game two was on Friday and the Mudcats were dominant in a 12-1 victory over the Lakeshore Storm. Tim Hayden hit a clutch, two-out, bases loaded triple, while Brian Caine went the distance on the mound while going 3-3 at the plate.

The Mudcats had a pair of games scheduled for Saturday. The first one was a very disappointing 11-0 loss to the Livonia Patriots in a game where absolutely nothing went right. The Mudcats showed a lot of resilience later in the day in a contest with Flames O'Dette. Trailing 5-3 in the 7th, the Mudcats rallied to tie the game, capped by a two-out RBI double by Kyle Genord. Flames O'Dette scored in the bottom half to pull out the victory, but the Mudcats still managed to qualify for the gold championship bracket of the tournament.

Unfortunately, Sunday's games were all washed out by rain. It was still a memorable weekend for the team with great baseball, time in the pool, a trip to see the minor league West Michigan Whitecaps host the Peoria Chiefs, go-kart rides, and a whole lot of fun!

Game 1 vs. Team Combat Indiana (forfeit win)

Game 2 vs. Lakeshore Storm

Game 3 vs. Livonia Patriots

Game 4 vs. Flames O'Dette