Wednesday, August 22, 2001
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Wednesday, August 22, 2001 |
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Mudcats finish third in state
By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
The 13-14-year-old Fayette County Mudcats rebounded from a 3-7-2 start to finish this season with a stellar 50-19-2 record, outscoring their opponents 546-259. Seven of their losses were by a single run. The Mudcats, led by Coach Sammy Wilkes, came on strong after that slow start and finished the regular season 38-17-2. They produced a 13-game win streak during that time and kicked off an 11-game win streak in the postseason that ended with a loss to the Old National Mets, the eventual state champs, in the Georgia Amateur Baseball Association state tournament. The Mudcats then lost to the Redan Expos before beating the South Clayton Braves 8-1 to finish the state tournament with a 3-2 record, good enough for a third-place finish. The Mudcats went 12-0 in their league play in Fayetteville and outscored their opponents 136-19. In the USSSA league in Fairburn the team went 5-2 and finished in second place. To get to the state tournament, the Mudcats went 5-0 in the district tournament, outscoring their opponents 62-10. In the sub-state tournament,the Mudcats went 4-0 and outscored their opponents 35-4. The team batting average during their stellar final season was .338 and they had a team ERA of 3.09. The three main pitchers for the Mudacts were Austin Wilkes (15-1, 3.11 ERA), Joey Arnold (13-4, 1.80), and Phillip Robinson (11-7, eight saves, 2.18). They had a combined ERA of 2.37. All three pitchers are freshmen at Fayette County High School this year. Wilkes and Arnold also bring bats with them. Wilkes hit cleanup for the Mudcats, had a .389 batting average and 16 doubles on the season, while Arnold led the team in hitting in their games in Fayetteville and had a streak of 12 hits in a row during the season. Also heading to Fayette County High School this year are outfielder Hunter Rozakos, who batted .424 with 16 doubles and 70 hits, and Jordan Windisch, who saw time at third base and in the outfield and knocked out several home runs. Craig Bowles, the top reliever for the Mudcats, will attend East Coweta High School, while Sam Hogan, who led the team in home runs with 12, is heading to McIntosh. Hogan also had 56 RBI on the season and a .743 slugging percentage. Starr's Mill will be getting a big influx of Mudcats as well, as Ryan Lockett, Kipp Ramsey and Sean O'Brien will all be playing ball in the spring for the Panthers. Lockett is a solid hitting catcher who also plays well defensively, while Ramsey led the team in stolen bases and O'Brien scored 60 runs. The team could not have accomplished what they did, though, without a top-notch coaching staff. Wilkes coached third base while managing the team, and Scott Lockett coached first base. Kearney Robinson was the dugout coach and Kevin Arnold was the pitching coach and team statistician. It will certainly be fun to watch the Mudcats develop with their high schools over the next four years. |
