03.12.07

Triple Crown Spring Fling Championships Tempe, AZ

The Arizona Mud Hens took 2nd Place in a very strong field against some of the top teams from Nevada, Washington, California and Oregon in the Triple Crown Spring Fling Championships in Tempe, Arizona. The Mud Hens competed in Division 1 (highest) and rolled through this tournament without facing much competition until it faced a strong team from Southern California who held the Mud Hens a few scattered hits over 6 innings. Unfortunately, The Mud Hens lost this well played contest by one run. However, at the end of pool play the Mud Hens still had not used much of their top pitchers and we’re in good shape to make a run for the championship on Sunday. On Sunday morning we played the top team from Nevada and beat them soundly (5-2). The game was never as close as the score as the Mud Hens held this talented group from Las Vegas in check with another solid pitching performance from Jordan Claypool, Brandon Koon and Alec Zeidler. With this victory under our belt we then moved into the Championship game against the Arizona Blaze. The Mud Hens jumped out to an early lead and were up 5 urns half-way through this contest but the Blaze bats rallied to take the lead late to win the ballgame.

“We simply didn’t stay with them offensively and our pitching just wasn’t as sharp as it had been all tournament long, say Ted Schuman Manager.

“I’m very proud of our boys. We have played roughly 70 games so far this year and our winning percentage is well above .700. Every tournament we play in we are always contending for the championship. Our pitchers have done an outstanding job all year and the team is averaging 8 runs per game and batting .394 so far. If we continue to improve on those numbers we’ll be tough to beat”, say Schuman.