Marathon Men: Oakland Bulldogs go the distance to win CABA World Series
COMING TOGETHER: The Oakland Bulldogs were forced toplay 17 games in 11 days but managed to cap the marathon by winning the CABA World Series in Youngstown, Ohio. Courtesy Photo | Oakland Bulldogs.
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Talk about redefining the terms working overtime, going the extra mile and leaving it all out on the field.
The Oakland Bulldogs did just that to cap the 2011 summer baseball season.
Featuring some of the state’s top graduating seniors and juniors, along with players that recently finished their freshmen collegiate seasons, the Bulldogs played a grueling 17 games in 11 days and won the 18U Continental American Baseball Association World Series at Youngstown State University’s Bob Scene Park on the final weekend of the season.
“It was a long couple of weeks, and it was some of the hottest days of the year, but we found a way to win it,” said outfielder-pitcher Zach Zott of Lake Orion. “It was 100-plus out there a couple of the days. We just came together at the right time, pulling for one another.”
The Bulldogs (35-7) defeated top-seeded Youngstown Astro Falcons in two games to capture the championship. Oakland finished 9-1 at the six-day tournament, including 9-5 and 11-5 victories over the Astro Falcons for the title. The second game against Astro featured a 2.5-hour rain delay.
“Most of us are going off to play college baseball in a few weeks, so this was a great way to finish up,” said pitcher-infielder Nick Bradley, a recent Rochester High graduate who is headed for Western Michigan University to further his career. “We were on the brink of being eliminated, then we rallied to reach the finals and we were able to win both games to win the tournament.”
In bracket play at the CABA tournament, which featured teams from more than a dozen states, the Bulldogs had to come back to finish a game against the Summit County (Ohio) Vipers, postponed from the previous day. The two teams played out the final three innings on Sunday morning and Oakland prevailed 10-9 to advance to the finals after trailing the Vipers 9-1 through three innings on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs had to defeat Astro in two games in the finals and were able to pull off the feat. When members of the team finally hoisted the trophy, it was after 10:30 p.m. on a Sunday night and the Bulldogs wrapped up 2.5 games in one day under extreme heat to its marathon period of 17 games in 11 days — that’s nearly 1.6 games a day.
Oakland had finished with two runner-up finishes and two other semifinals appearances in tournaments this summer, but saved its best for last. In fact, there was little break during the month of July.
After finishing second at the Central Michigan University-hosted Triple Crown Tournament on a Sunday afternoon, the Bulldogs drove home from Mount Pleasant back to Metro Detroit, made a quick change, and made the five-hour trek over to Youngstown to begin play in the CABA World Series, one of the nation’s top amateur baseball tournaments each summer.
“There wasn’t much time between the final two tournaments,” said Zott. “As soon as we got back from CMU, we had to pack and head over to Youngstown. That’s kind of like playing in the majors. Those guys get to play almost every day. I think we got a taste of that.
“It was worth it,” continued Zott, who will play at the University of Michgian. “To finish up the summer this way, what an experience.”
Chuck VanRobays, a former standout at Rochester Adams and Oakland University, is the Bulldogs’ head coach with Scott Nestor, Dylan Putnam, Jeff Hall and Mike Bennion serving as assistants.
Individually, Zott, Chris Busa (Rochester Adams) and Devan Ahart (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) were named to the all-tournament team, while Ahart earned Tournament MVP honors. Pitcher Dane Davis (Romeo) had three saves and a win on the mound to pace Oakland’s pitching staff.
Tom Wyza (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep), Mike McKinley (Rochester Stoney Creek), Ian Mercer (Rochester Adams), Weston Lee (Romeo), Matt Williams, Bryan Mitzer (Warren DeLaSalle), Matt Chema, Matt Rodgers (Clarkston), Ira Land (Troy Athens), Steve Morse (Clarkston), Ryan Strum (Rochester Adams), Matt Nestor (Rochester Adams), Vince Siwicki (Clarkston), Kyle MacKenzie (Royal Oak) and Blaise Salter (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) were also part of the championship squad. All but two of the team members will play collegiately in 2011-12.
Oakland finished 4-1 in pool play, losing only to Astro Falcons, 12-2. The Bulldogs were sent to the opposite side of the bracket and did not face their nemesis until the finals.
“We knew once we made it to the finals that we would have to beat them twice,” said Bradley.”I thought we played some really good baseball in the finals. They had beat us pretty good (in pool play), but we beat them when it mattered most.”
IN THE END: The Oakland Bulldogs 18U finished 9-1 at the recent CABA World Series, taking the title with three wins in the final day. CourtesyPhoto | Oakland Bulldogs.
To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com. To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com . Follow us on Twitter @LocalSportsFans and more than a dozen other social media networks.
Category: Uncategorized
