Mudcats take title in tourney
The Middle Tennessee Mudcats, a traveling team made up of members of last season’s Warren County Middle School baseball squad, rolled to a tournament victory over the weekend in Murray, Ky.
The Mudcats ended most of their games via the mercy rule, and hung a five-run third inning on the board on their way to a 9-1 win in Sunday’s championship game against the hometown favorites, the Murray 14-year-old All-stars.
After a scoreless first, Jordan Powers singled to lead off the Mudcat second inning. Josh Bratcher and Steven Ehrhardt followed with back-to-back singles, and Warren County’s squad took a 3-0 lead out of the frame.
With two out in the third, Jordan Underhill and Powers reached on back-to-back walks, and Josh Bratcher, Ehrhardt and Joshua Paz came through with three straight hits to highlight a five-run inning which put the Mudcats up 8-0.
Murray countered with a run in the top of the fourth, but the Mudcats answered that score when Brooks Majors led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, stole second, and scored on an Underhill RBI.
Ehrhardt and Josh Bratcher had two hits apiece in the championship win, while Colby Killian, Underhill, Powers and Paz also came through with base knocks. Killian picked up the victory on the mound, allowing just one hit and striking out four.
Earlier Sunday, the Mudcats romped over the Benton Bulldogs, scoring eight runs in the first on the way to a 14-2 semifinals win.
Underhill and Killian both finished 3-for-3 in the victory, which saw the Mudcats send 11 batters to the plate in the first inning and pound out eight runs on eight hits, including doubles from Jacob and Josh Bratcher and a triple from Powers.
Nick Cantrell, Jacob Bratcher and Powers all had two hits in the victory, while Coty Grissom, Majors and Josh Bratcher had a base hit each. Paz picked up the victory on the pitcher’s mound, fanning seven Benton batters.
The championship win over Murray’s 14-year-olds was the second Mudcat rout of a hometown squad in as many days, as the McMinnville squad fired at will against the Murray 13’s, known as the Racers, in a 21-0 quarterfinals win.
The Mudcats scored 10 runs on six hits and five walks in the first, and put the Racers away with an 11 run second which was capped by back-to-back homers from Ehrhardt and Paz.
Powers and Paz finished 3-for-3, while Majors, Jacob Bratcher, Killian, Josh Bratcher, and Cantrell had two hits apiece.
In the five games of the tournament, Jacob Bratcher, Underhill, Paz, Killian and Ehrhardt each came through with a home run.
The Mudcats are scheduled to leave today for Ohio, where they’ll compete in the CABA World Series.