In what was a great 3 days for playing baseball, the Little Mites convincingly took the championship with a dominating performance. The Big Mites and Midgets squad also came away with a win to secure 3rd place in another successful summer of baseball in Fulda.
Little Mites
The youngsters left no-doubt as to who was the best team in the 10 and under division, by winning 16-0 in the opening game against Okabena, and then taking the championship by a score 13-0. Fulda gave up no hits throughout the day as the pitching was superb. In fact, only Okabena got a runner past first base after they drew two consecutive walks in the 5th inning. But that was as close to scoring as either team got in an impressive performance. The Little Mites came to play as the bats were alive and the defense was sharp. In game one vs Okabena, the young Raiders got off to a slow start only getting 3 runs on the board in the first two innings. However, they exploded for 13 runs in the final 3 frames to come away with the 16-0 victory. It was a total team effort as up and down the line-up the boys hit the ball. Dillon Smith had three great at bats with two singles and a double. Brenton Erdmann also came up with some key at bats, hitting a double, drawing two walks and getting on base via error, while scoring 3 runs.
The boys kept the momentum into the championship game where they scored early and often in a resounding defeat of Lakefield by the score of 13-0. 7 of the first 8 batters in the game reached base which eventually led to a 5 run inning. The Raiders then got back to the top of their order and scored 3 more runs in the 2nd. Offensively, Torrin Clarke was on hit shy of the cycle as he hit a single, double and triple, while scoring twice. Jackson Kramer also had a good game scoring three runs as the lead off hitter while getting two hits. Dillon Smith and Keegan Spittle also had two hits a piece. But once again, it was a total team effort as every player cheered on their teammates and contributed to this championship. Great job Little Mites!
Big Mites
The Raiders received a tough draw in their opening game by playing Lakefield. After getting down early 7-0, the Big Mites looked to respond but were unable to get any keys hits when they needed them. It was a tough way to open the tournament as these Big Mites had a solid season. But the boys couldn’t get anything going offensively and eventually fell by that score, 7-0. Gunnar McNab had two solid singles and Mason Timmerman also had a nice single up to the middle.
The Big Mites responded well in the 3rd place game as they drove in 10 runs to start the game and never looked back, winning by a final score of 12-1. Dylan Kramer, Sam Goedtke, Simon Spittle, Wyatt Meyeraan, Mason Timmerman, Caleb Ethridge, Tavan Mitchell and Dillon Smith all got at least one hit in the game, which shows a great team effort to capture 3rd place. Mason had a terrific game with three hits and 4 RBI’s. Dylan Kramer pitched the entire game, striking out two, but more importantly only giving up the one run. It was a great season for the Big Mites and we are looking forward to the season to come for these young athletes.
Midgets
The Midgets could not answer Heron Lake in the opening round and fell in a high-scoring game 14-8. In a back and forth contest, it was Heron Lake who had the upper hand and consistently scored in each inning. Gunnar McNab started the game off with a walk and quickly stole second base. Tyler Madison then drove him around with an RBI double and put the Raiders up 1-0. This lead was short lasting as Heron Lake put up 3 of their own in the bottom half of the inning. The Raiders again answered as the bottom half of the order helped score 4 runs in the second inning. Heron Lake again had the answer as they score 5 more in the 2nd to hold on to the lead for good. The Raiders rallied for 3 more in the 4th but that was all they got in the 14-8 loss. Zach Thier, Ryder Henning and Tyler Madison all had two hits a piece and every Raider scored at least once with the exception of Logan Erdmann, who was stranded on the bases twice. Tyler Madison got the start and pitched the whole way striking out 6.
The Raiders faired a bit better in the 3rd place game by putting up 18 runs in an offensive outburst. Tyler Madison was a double shy of the cycle as he reached base 4 times and scored all 4 times. Zach Thier also had a great game at the plate going 3-4 with two singles and an inside-the-park home run. Gunnar McNab had a nice time going 4-4 with 4 singles. Ryder Henning also reached base all 4 times with 3 hits and a walk. Abel Piper, Ethan Slaathaug and Logan Erdmann combined to pitch and give up 5 runs. It was a nice way to finish the season for the young Raiders.
Coaches Bennett Appel and Todd Peterson want to thank all the baseball players and their parents for another successful season of Fulda Baseball!
