Tournament Game #3 Mudcats -vs- Bulls

Tournament Game #3 Mudcats -vs- Bulls
ONCE A MUDCAT "ALWAYS" A MUDCAT !
If ever that phrase was special, it held true today ! This was the very last game for some of our MUDCATS on Nowell Field in ALL BLACK !
I guess it did not sink in for me until I realized it was the last game with my BLEACHER buddies too ! I love the support and encouragement we all give each other !
This game is a bit tough to write about ! I'll just touch on the highlights ! The first highlight didn't come from our CATS~ it was those BULLS ! Their bats were "HOT".
By the beginning of the 4th inning the score was Mudcats 1 - Bulls 7 :-(  Their homerun hitter blasted one heck of a shot with bases loaded up !
HOWEVER~~ The 4 inning was our inning ! WE OWNED the 4th INNING ! The Bulls added no runs and we put 4 runs on the scoreboard. Jay, Jackson & Braden would each get singles and Channing stepped up ! It was his moment in time~ The Hammer's 3rd & last homerun at NOWELL Field ! With our bases now emptied Cameron,Will, Trey & Marcus would each get singles. Trey's hit would bring in Cameron & Will. The Cat's would end this inning with 6 runs - Bulls 7 runs.
I can't tell a lie-- I felt some cardiac cat action about to happen ! ( Then again-- it was " HOT" on those bleachers) ! The 6th Inning was Come Back Cats type of excitement ! The Bulls would get two runs quickly bringing the score 6-9.
OK-- here we go, Jackson steps up & gets on 1st, Braden gets on Channing with one more RBI for the Cats and now our score is 7- 9 ! It's looking promising for some Mudcat magic as we had no outs ! BULLS~ BULLS~ BULLS~ just that quick made some amazing defensive plays and our season came to an end.
I don't know what to say now, they were deflated just as we all were ! I sorta wanted to cry- it just had not all sunk in yet! It's fun to watch them play, to catch up in the bleachers, to share facebook stories, pictures and connect in the one way we all know best " WE ARE A MUDCAT FAMILY" ! I think I speak for everyone when I say, deep down, even when "MY MUDCAT" is playing against "YOUR MUDCAT" up on those " BIG " fields-- I will secretly be cheering for "YOUR MUDCAT" to do great~ get that hit or make that catch ( as long as it's not MY MUDCATS hit ~ LOL ) ! I look forward to keeping in contact with each and every Mudcat family, continuing our support and love for West Raleigh Baseball and hopefully one day wearing the same team colors again !
ONCE A MUDCAT ALWAYS A MUDCAT !


In The Land O' Frost Minor League The Mudcats finished with 7 WINS 7 Losses ! Not to SHABBY !

Mudcats

14 games

7 wins

7 losses

0 ties

0.500 average

106 points for

104 points against

Tournament game #2 Mudcats -vs- Bees

Tournament game #2 Mudcats-vs-Bees


WEATHER: BEAUTIFUL
Pre-game PUMP-UP music: AWESOME
Pre-game WARM-UPS: Looking GREAT
WE BELIEVE came out loud and proud from left field !
Pledge of Allegiance ~ always special ~ CLICK HERE :-)https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10203818611576827&set=vb.1565964052&type=2&theater
Bleachers : PACKED-- full of parents, sisters, brothers, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Old Mudcat players and even some Old Mudcat Coaches !
Time to play baseball !!
At the plate : The Mudcats really hit the baseball hard & ran the bases good ! 1st inning we were on fire !! Jay, Jackson, Braden ( RBI ) Cameron ( RBI ) Will & Trey would all get hits to get The Cats 2 runs .
2nd & 3rd inning we would have great hits by Braden, Cameron, Will ( 2 RBI's) to bring our run tally to 4 runs Cats and 3 runs Bees !
GAME SO FAR : LOOKING AWESOME ! Lots of fun, cheering & excitement !
4th Inning takes a turn for the bad for our Mudcats-- it seems that Bees player, you know the one who hits HOMERUNS, well, he hit one and our score took a BIG change. Mudcats 4 Bees 7  :-(
One awesome hit really mattered in this game!
We had some AWESOME Mudcat WEB-GEM defensive plays ! Jackson with important catches in the outfield, Will with solid plays at SS, Lefty at 1st, Nick & Jake in the outfield backing up plays & making catches,Trey in center field, Channing at 2nd, Big Red solid at 3rd, Tino hanging tough at the plate, Jay with smart plays at pitcher,  Marcus, Grey & Sean taking turns in the out field and cheering in the dug-out ! Really, a great team effort.
It was said, "Nerves keep you on your toes" ! I BELIEVE The cats were on their toes ! 


 " My Motto was to always keep swinging ! Whether I was in a slump, or feeling badly, or having trouble off the field. The ONLY thing to do was KEEP SWINGING !  Quote from the GREAT HANK AARON !
We get another game Mudcats " JUST KEEP SWINGING " !

Tournament Game #1 Mudcats-vs-Lookouts !

First Round Post Season Play Offs – Game 1

 

Mudcats v. Lookouts

 

You couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day to play baseball! The only thing that made it a better day was the awesome Mudcats 10-3 victory over the Lookouts!

 

This was a total team win.  EVERY player wearing a Mudcats jersey contributed to this win!  The Cats got stellar defense from Will, Channing, and Jay in the infield and great outfield support from Nic, Jackson, Trey and Marcus!

 

The Mudcats came out in the top of the first inning knowing they needed to put some big numbers up on the board and they did just that with 5 runs in the first!  Our bats continued to be hot throughout the whole game, connecting with the ball several more times throughout the game to drive in a total of 10 runs.  Gray “G-Mack” has found his rhythm with his walk up song and has been hitting great! 

 

Not much else to say about this game, other than the Mudcats hit great and played better defense than the Lookouts today to put a notch in the win column. 


Thank you Mudcat Mom "JESS" aka-- Trey's Mom for the game summary !

Game #14 Mudcats -vs- Bees

Game #14 Mudcats -VS- Bees


Did I really just put in it was GAME #14 ? This season has gone by way to fast !
We would end Game #14 losing to the Bees 4-9 and complete our regular season 7 "W" - 7 "L" ! This makes the upcoming tournament exciting ! 
We start off 0-0 ready for a brand new "mini" season !


THE BEES ! What can I say-- they are pretty tough! The 1st inning was a tough one for our Cats ! The Bees would quickly put up 4 runs. Will had a great hit but we would end this inning with no runs.
The 2nd Inning had some "HOPE". Will would make a solid defensive play, Jackson & Cameron would combine for the 2nd out and Jackson would get the 3rd out with a nice catch outfield. Our turn to bat-- Trey would get on base with a great hit, Braden would follow up and Jay would get a hit w/ RBI bringing Trey in. Tino stepped up and had a great hit bringing in Braden for an RBI ! We would end this inning 2-5.
The 3rd inning would go QUICKLY ! 3 up & 3 down basically for both teams. Our 4th inning remained scoreless for the Bees as our defense again was very solid. Jackson would make a great catch in the outfield, Tino with a good play at home plate & Will with a great out to end the Bees chance for more runs.  Unfortunately ( insert sad face :-(  ) our Cats would also stay scoreless.
Our 5th inning would have great hits but those Bees just played some tough defense as well ! Jake,Braden, Jay & Nick would all have great at bats but no runs in the books for the inning.
6th inning ~~~~~~
Tino would hit a double, Grey, Sean Jackson would all combine with solid hits to bring in a few runs !
Time to re-focus, re-charge and get ready for the tournament !
Come on Cats-- step on that baseball field like you own it and make the other team step up to play our game ! It's MUDCAT TIME !!

Game # 13 Mudcats-vs-Scrappers

Game #13 Mudcats -vs- Scrappers
Baseball on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, with lots of fun, food, bounce houses, dunk tanks, fundraising, bald headed West Raleigh buddies running around is ALL fun BUT WINNING on top of it all makes this Baseballl Saturday even sweeter !
Truly this baseball Saturday was electrifying because the spirit of raising money for West Raleigh Baseball VS- Cancer ! It appears this may become an annual event here at our "home away from home" !
Our "CATS" sported Mo Hawks, Jay Hawks, Jack Hawks & Big Red Hawks, Lefty Hawks, Hammer Hawks, Nitro Hawks , Jake Hawks, Tin0 Hawks , Trey Hawks & Thrill Hawks! The pre-game photo session was intimidating ! They looked "FEIRCE" !
The Scrappers did not come on to the field at all intimidated! The Scrappers owned the first 3 innings! Jay Hawk got our first RBI of the game bringing in Braden in the 2nd inning. Scrappers were leading this rumble 1-4 at the bottom of the 3rd inning! 
The Mudcat "SISTERS" were playing the walk up music, fans cheering but our Cardiac Cats needed to get warmed up before the excitement started for them on the baseball field !
4th Inning ~~~~Will the " DRILL" drilled the ball to the outfield, Cameron singled, Channing put up 2 RBI's-- he actually HIT the EDWARD JONES sign on the fence ! Trey singled moving Channing to 2nd base and Jake added to the excitement with 2 MORE RBI's ! Trey got in our FIRST PICKLE and made it home. Nick got a single and Tino completed this inning with a RBI !
At some point there was so much excitement running the bases, hitting fences, challenging the Scrapper infield-- I just could not write down all the excitement this at bat had !
Tino held tough at catcher to get a pop-up out, Will & Cameron both took care of outs 2 & 3 to end this inning 6-4!
5th &6th inning ~~~ Sean started us off with a single followed by Marcus ! Action Jackson stepped up to the plate ( giving his Mom a -- your going to go bald too when I hit this homerun --look )! Thankfully today was NOT Jacksons day for a homerun but he did get a RBI bringing in Sean. Will would follow up bringing in Marcus & Jackson adding up a 2 RBI hit !
Our "CATS" all followed up innings 5 & 6 with some solid defense and we would end this battle MUDCATS 9- SCRAPPERS 4 !
SO much fun ! Web gems went to Will, Cameron & Tino for Defense and all Cats got a sticker for a big " TEAM WIN" team effort and team commitment to success on & off the baseball field !
One more regular season game to go ! Those Bee's better be ready for a Wednesday night battle with the Cats !

Game#12 Mudcats -vs- The Thunder

Game # 12 Mudcats -vs- The Thunder


I LOVE writing about a WIN ! Did I just give away the ending ? Well guess what I also get to write about ?? Our FIRST GRAND SLAM :-)


Yes, these days are so exciting ! Hard sometimes to look over at the other fields and imagine our Mudcats -- "OVER THERE" ! All grown up, getting their own Gatorade with their own money ( ok, that was dreaming ~ LOL ) and becoming Young Men ! Gezzz-- where did all that come from ! YES-- "REFLECTION" as the season winds down and tournament time approaches. I realize, it is VERY important to stay in the moment, stay grounded and focus ONLY on the very next game BUT I'm no longer the " PLAYER" , I'm the "Mom" !  I get to dream a little :-)


These boy's are so much fun! Seeing the rewards of practice, discipline, winning & loosing all pay off with a great hit, the walk up to the plate with confidence, a "web-gem" play or GRANDSLAM ! I LOVED seeing " Serious Sean" walk up to the plate with some swagger & confidence ! That was my favorite moment because the littlest Cats have really come into their own the past few weeks ! I hear, our Grey has started a new way to raise money for "VS- Cancer" -- to have money donated to NOT get shaved ! That's super creative :-) Oh & Marcus-- I love your walk up song !! "Every day I'm  Hustling"  ! LOL-- gotta love a good walk up song :-)


I bet you all would like some highlights from the game about now :-) Here you go !!


The Thunder have come a long way baby ! WOW-- I predict they will be a team to be reckoned with very soon !
1st Inning ~~ I wish you could see my notes, they start off with Jackson getting a lead off double. Braden, Will & Channing loading up the bases Jake with a solid hit and somewhere in there a GRAND SLAM BY " Big Red" CAMERON !!!!! WoooHooo The Cats loaded up the bases and Cameron cleaned them off !! DEFENSE-- 1~2~3 OUT !!! Ending this amazing inning 4-0
2nd Inning ~~ This one went "PDQ" -- Pretty darn quick ! Free advertising for special Mudcat's  family :-) Jay played some solid defense-- cat like reflexes and we were all done ready for the 3rd Inning !
3rd & 4th Innings ~~~~ Sometimes it's just earlier to blend a few innings. These two went PDQ as well. Braden came home to bring the score 5-0. Channing had a RBI double 6-0. Jay, Tino & Grey had solid hits. TIME FOR SOME DEFENSE and "WOW" then those Thunder boomers came alive ending the 4 thinning 6-5 ! Yes, you read this correct-- Mudcats 6- The Thunder 5 !
5th Inning ~~~~~ #34 got us started, Braden moved Action Jackson to 3rd with a great hit. WILL the "THRILL" put a RBI in the books. We ended this at bat run count to 7 ! Defense held the Thunder scoreless :-) Just the way we like it.
6th Inning ~~~~~~ Jake starts off with a double~ Jay RBI double, Tino a single and G-Mack all teamed up to give the Cats 9 total runs !
GAME OVER MUDCATS WIN 9-6 ! STICKERS ALL AROUND ! Will , Jay & Sean would get an extra Mudcat sticker for solid defense and
Cameron would get a Web-gem sticker for ummmm-- oh yeah-- a GRANDSLAM :-)
See you " CATS" Saturday for some fun in the sun, a 1:30 baseball game, some new haircuts ~ LOL ~ dunking a few Coaches in the dunking tank ( I might take a throw or two ) some food, fellowship and most of all~~ SOME SERIOUS FUNDRAISING and support for , The Vs. Cancer Foundation !
P.S.S-- Channing, I missed BOTH your homerun's-- Miss Amanda needs a THREE PEET please :-)
Action Jackson~~ if you hit your first homerun Saturday-- Mommy will go bald with you :-)
Anyone else up for the challenge ??

Game#11 Mudcats -vs- Bats

Game #11 Mudcats -vs-Bats


Below is Mudcat Mom " Jessica" break down of the game ! THANK you Jess ! My favorite part of being apart of the MUDCAT team is the way we all pitch-in ( do you like the reference--" PITCH-IN ) and pinch hit for one another !

First, let me start of by saying that the Mudcat family is the best! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for my dad and for helping with Trey after the game. 

Secondly, what a game! Way to not give up Mudcats!

Mudcats batted first, but the Bats defense put them out three quick.  The Bats came to the plate next and put eight runs on the board.  The Cats played good defense, but the Bats were hitting into all the right gaps.  8-0.

 
Channing started the Cats off right in the second inning with a double to the fence. Just feet from another homerun!  Cameron stepped up with a RBI double and the Cats started hitting.  Jay drove Cameron home and Nic logged an RBI double brining Jay in to end the Mudcats at bat 8-3.  The Bats keep hitting well and scored two quick runs bringing the score 10-3.  Cameron, Trey, and Channing all played solid defense grabbing some hard hits for the three Mudcat outs in the second inning.

 
The Mudcats got some hits in the top of the third inning, but just couldn’t close the deal and bring any runners in.  Again, the Mudcats played great defense with Channing, Brayden, and Trey taking the Bats out 3 up, 3 out.  Still 12-3.

The fourth inning found the Mudcats bats coming alive! Channing, Cameron, Trey, and Nic all drove in runners and Jake made a great slide into home plate bringing the score 12-7.  Jake and Jay also had huge singles to keep the Cats alive.  Bottom of the fourth and the Bats scored two more runs, but again, the Mudcats played good defense with Jackson and Trey making good catches for some key outs.  

Gray and Marcus started off the fifth inning with some smashes into outfield to get on base.  Action Jackson logged an RBI brining Marcus in making it 14-8.  The magic number for the Bats must have been “2” because they drove in two more runners making it 16-8 before Will’s defense closed out the inning. 

Top of the sixth and Channing started it off with a bang! Literally, a smash over the scoreboard for a HOMERUN!! 16-9.  Unfortunately, I had to leave after this, but I heard that we had some more great hits, got some runners on and finished the inning with two more runs.  Final score Bats 16, Mudcats 11.

I must note that Tino did a great job catching and Jackson was all over the place on defense! 

Way to go guys!! Excellent work.  

 

 

Game # 10 Mudcats -vs-Bulls

Game #10
Mudcats -vs-Bulls
Way to go MUDCATS !


I was not in town this weekend for the game~~ I was SO SO excited to hear all about our MUDCAT win AND our FIRST MUDCAT HOMERUN !!!
Way to go Mudcats & Channing !
Mudcat's 6- Bulls 3 !! I love the " W" !


Kendall's Game day breakdown !
For the first time in Mudcat history the boys each choose a walk up song to play when they went to the plate. It seemed like the boys had a lot of fun. It pumped them up !Since we were home we fielded first. Will started us out with a throw from second to first. That got the first out of the inning and earned him a WEBGEM. Jay & Cameron came together and got a 2nd out at 3rd base. Then Nick shut the Bulls down when he caught a nice fly ball. Then the Cats were ready to bat. Bottom of the 1st, Braden hit the ball right to the first baseman. The Bulls first baseman struggled to get the ball and Brayden got on first. Channing stepped up to the plate and hit a double. Braden went home. Next our 3rd out came and the Bulls stepped up their game a little.
Our 2nd inning was a quick 1-2-3 with plays by Jay then Will then Brayden. Bottom of the 2nd a couple runs came to the scoreboard. Will hit a single, Jake got a single and Jay too. Nick stepped up to the plate and hit a triple. He also got Jay home then Tino got a single and sent Nick home.
In our 3rd inning , like I said earlier, the Bulls stepped up on their game but the Cats shut them down. Solid D. First Channing caught a flyball. Then Will made a nice catch at second. For the 3rd out the Bulls hit a hard fly ball. Channing called, "I got it" so his team mates let him catch it. The ball flew past the infield hardly then Channing dove backwards and did somethingkind of like a backwards dive and got the Bulls out. In the bottom of the 3rd the Bulls got a quick 1-2-3 out on the Cats.
4th inning came and we only made 2 outs. The Bulls did the rest. Time to bat. Up was Channing . He only had two more pitches left and SMACK he hit a HOMERUN !!! While he is running the bases the team waits for him at the plate to congratulate him. Everyone in the stands were cheering! MEANWHILE-- after that we got two quick outs. Jake hit a single, Jay a double, Tino hit a single too to bring Jay home. This inning was without a doubt the best inning so far for the MUDCATS.
In the 5th & 6th inning we got a quick 1-2-3 for both the Cats and the Bulls.
So we all can say that the Cats won 6-3 and the team did a little dancing all together ! This game was a lot of fun ! GO MUDCATS !
THANK YOU MUDCAT REPORTER , Kendall :-)

Game #9 Mudcats-vs- Riverdogs

Riverdogs vs. Mudcats – April 26, 2014

                               Coach always says, "defense wins games"!

The Mudcats proved that today!  Excellent defense by the Cats to hold the Riverdogs off with a 4-2 win.

The first inning went by pretty quick for both dugouts with great defense by both teams.  Jackson made a great grab out left field to log the third out and bring the Cats up to bat.   The Riverdogs only scored one run in the first inning.  Brayden smashed out a double, but the Cats couldn’t bring him in and closed out the inning 1-0 Riverdogs.

 The Mudcats demonstrated their rock solid defense in the second inning with Cameron, Brayden and Jay all making great plays sending the Riverdogs up and out three.  The Mudcats started making some contact with the bat and ball, got a few runners on base, and Nic drove in the first Cats run and tying up the game 1-1.

Will sent the first two Riverdog batters back to the bench with two great grabs and then Channing and Brayden connected for the third out.  The Cats started getting some good hits in the third inning, but a good double play by the Riverdogs closed out the inning.

Top of the fourth inning and the Mudcats got three quick outs to retire the Riverdogs.  The Cats got a couple of runners on base and then Cameron drove the ball to deep centerfield for a two run RBI putting the Cats on top 3-1.  Jake stepped up big and drove in another run making the score at the end of the fourth 4-1, Cats on top.

Riverdogs came out strong in the fifth, scoring a run, but the Mudcats played good defense and held the Dogs to only one run.  The Cats didn’t score any in the fifth, but they knew they only had to play one more inning of good defense and they would come out with the victory.

And, they did just that! Channing and Brayden played solid defense and between the two, logged all three outs in the sixth inning to secure the Mudcats win!

 

Overall, all the boys hit well and played great defense to collect a great Mudcats team win! Go Cats!!!

Thank you Mudcat Mom , "JESSICA" ~ AKA, " Trey's MOM " , for the game day breakdown !

Looking forward to a weekend of WEST RALEIGH ~~ MUDCAT baseball ! Two games to play this weekend. Time to hunker down, win some games and get on a roll for the end of the season and TOURNAMENT TIME !

I feel a "RALLY " coming ! See you cat's on the field Saturday !