Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Battle Creek Here We Come!

Eight years ago, a motley group of 9 and 10 year olds started getting serious about baseball. They set goals for themselves, to win the league, to win a tournament, to increase batting averages, but one goal stuck from year to year.... to earn a trip to Battle Creek and win a state championship. That goal seemed so far away, but they worked hard like it was tomorrow.

Eight years later those 9 and 10 year olds are now juniors and seniors playing varsity baseball for the Bath Fighting Bees, joined by a sophomore with an electric arm and a couple other new faces, they are surprising and shocking their opponents, their fans and maybe even themselves.

The Bees have been on a winning rampage, taking down league rivals Pewamo-Westphalia and Portland St. Pats in one day to win the CMAC tournament championship, then Laingsburg and Lansing Catholic to win the State District championship, then Stockbridge and Grandville Calvin Christian to win the State Regional championship and most recently defeating Shelby to take the State Quarterfinal and accomplish half of that eight year old goal, a trip to Battle Creek.

The Bees took on Shelby at Hope College's Boeve Stadium on Tuesday as Nick Stiles took the mound and proved electric as he went the distance and hurled a no-hitter en route to the 2-0 win, striking out 15 Shelby batters. Scoring started in the second inning when Brandon Wahrer singled, Scott Kirkpatrick sacrifice bunted him to second and Brenden Plemmons RBI singled him home. Then in the third, Nick Stiles hit a absolute bomb for a solo home run and the eventual 2-0 win.

The Bees look to continue their winning ways as they travel to Battle Creek on Friday to face Shepard at 1:00pm on Nichols Field for the State Semifinals just two games away from completing that eight year old goal and their destiny.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

2010 CMAC Tournament Champions!!!!

With the sting of losing a 10 inning shootout to Portland St. Pats and getting swept by Pewamo-Westphalia still lingering, redemption never felt so sweet as the Fighting Bees beat both teams in one day to win the first annual CMAC Tournament Championship on Saturday at Michigan State University's McLane Stadium.

Game one pitted the Bees against the number two seed, Pewamo-Westphalia. Nick Stiles took the mound and went the distance, allowing 4 hits, walking one and striking out 9. Scoring started in the second inning when Brenden Plemmons got the first hit of the game and scored on a wild pitch. The score remained 1-0 in favor of the bees until the 4th when the Pirates were able to sneak two unearned runs on a single, an error and a wild pitch. P-W added one more in the 6th as the Bees were held scoreless for 4 innings to make the score 3-1 in favor of the Pirates heading into the 7th and final inning.

The Bath bats came alive in the 7th to rally as Brenden Plemmons started off the inning with a base hit and Austin Townsend with a hit of his own. This brought Nick Stiles to the plate with two outs and the tying run on base in a do-or-die situation. Stiles came through in the clutch with a two-strike double down the third baseline to score both Plemmons and Townsend and tie the score at 3-3. With the winning run on second base, Ian Milligan stepped up to the plate and belted the RBI single that would ultimately seal the win for the Bees 4-3 and earn them a spot in the championship game with the top seeded Portland St. Pats.

The championship game proved to be another dogfight as the Bees outlasted the shamrocks in 9 innings for the second 4-3 win of the day. Brodie Megill took the mound and pitched 7 innings, walked 7, giving up 4 hits and striking out 8. Nick Stiles relieved Megill in the 8th with the score tied and picked up the win, striking out 4 and walking one.

The game remained scoreless until the top of the third when Grant Svendsen started off the inning with a base hit and stole second. Ian Milligan then hit a RBI double to score Svendsen and Kevin Vermillion followed with a single. Scott Kirkpatrick reached on an error by the Shamrock short stop that scored both Milligan and Vermillion to leave the score 3-0 in favor of the Bees before the inning ended.

St. Pats was able to answer in the bottom of the 4th with two runs and added a third in the 5th to knot the score at 3-3. The tie lasted through the 7th and pushed the game to extra innings until the top of the 9th inning when Austin Townsend was hit by a pitch, Grant Svendsen singled and Nick Stiles reached safely on a fielder's choice bunt. With bases loaded and no outs, Ian Milligan stepped up to the plate and hit a would-be sacrifice fly to right field to score Austin Townsend for the go-ahead run, but the Shamrock right fielder made a beautiful throw to get Townsend at the plate. Grant Svendsen was able to move up to third on the throw home and Nick Stiles drew a throw to second base on a delayed steal that allowed Svendsen to score the go-ahead run.

The Bees then took the field in the bottom of the ninth with a 4-3 lead needing three outs to win the championship. The first batter was out on a ground ball to Brodie Megill at third base, the second batter struck out and the third reached first base on a walk. In a desperation move, the Shamrocks pinch ran and attempted to steal second to move the tying run into scoring position but catcher Brenden Plemmons fired a shot to second and threw him out to seal the win as the Fighting Bees stormed the field and celebrated their championship victory!

Bath's next action is a non-league double header on Wednesday May 26th at Morrice High School at 4:00pm as the Bees prepare for the District Tournament at Laingsburg High School on June 5th. Go Bees!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

5 Wins In 4 Days! CMAC Semi-Finals!

It was a great 4 days for the Fighting Bees as they pounded out 5 wins to earn a Webberville tournament championship, a number three seed in the CMAC Tournament and finally a birth in the CMAC Tournament semifinals at Michigan State University this weekend!

Things were kicked off with a tournament championship in Webberville where Chris Fry started in game one vs Webberville and came away with a 10-4 win. Nick Stiles pitched in the championship game vs Maple Valley and picked up the win 5-0.

The Bees brought home the hardware and traveled to Fulton on Monday for it's last league double header and swept the Pirates with Brodie Megill picking up the win in game one 14-8 and Brenden Plemmons improving his record with a score of 8-6. Chris Fry earned the save. The sweep of Fulton earned Bath a tie for the regular season in second place with Pewamo-Westphalia and a three seed in the CMAC Tournament.

The first annual CMAC tournament started on Tuesday as the Bees faced the 6th seeded Wolfpack of Laingsburg. Nick Stiles pitched and the Bees defeated the Wolfpack for the third time this season 11-1 in a 6 inning mercy.

With the CMAC tournament semi-finals on Saturday the Bees find themselves with a chance at redemption as they face the Pirates of Pewamo-Westphalia, the only team to take two wins from the Bees all season. Come on out and support the Bees at a great venue as they battle for an exciting first year CMAC Tournament championship!!!

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Thursday, May 13, 2010

Game Cancellation

Tonight's double header with Fulton has been canceled due to inclement weather. It has been rescheduled for Monday at Fulton at 4:00pm.

The boys will be hitting in the indoor cage after school today.

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Webberville Tournament

Info for the Webberville Tournament has been added to the schedule.  Click here for more info on departure time and game schedule or just click on the tournament in the schedule.

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Friday, May 7, 2010

Defensive Domination

Bath's defensive domination continued Thursday as the Bees traveled to Potterville and held the Vikings scoreless for the double header.  Game one was a pitchers dual as Nick Stiles faced off with Denten Johnson and continued to do what he does best, striking out 15 en route to a no hitter on the mound.  Johnson held Bath to three hits, one from senior Kevin Vermillion and two from freshman Grant Svendsen, as the Bees held out for a 2-0 win.

Nate Kushion took the mound for the Vikings in game two and walked 5 batters in the first inning as Bath was able to go through their order and take an early 6-0 lead.  Brodie Megill picked up the win, pitching 5 innings, striking out 8 and allowing 5 hits.  Scott Kirkpatrick closed out the 6th giving up a hit and striking out one to hold on to the 9-0 lead. Kyle Coryell came in to pinch hit in the bottom of the sixth and hit a walk-off single RBI to seal the 10-0 mercy.  Kevin Vermillion continued to pound the ball going 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's, joined by Brandon Wahrer going 1 for 1, scoring three times and a towering home run, and Brenden Plemmons going 1 for 2 with 2 runs a triple and an RBI.

The Bees improve to 16-5 overall and 11-3 in league play, and sit alone in second place only one game out.  The Bees travel to Durand on Saturday for a tournament and will face off against a strong St. Claire team at 11:30am.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Fowler Earns Split in Nightcap

The Bees hosted the Fowler Eagles on Monday in a double header with league implications.  The night started off right as the Bees outhit the Eagles 10-1 en route to a 7-0 win against the Eagles' ace pitcher.  Nick Stiles got the win, pitching all 7 innings, striking out 11 and held the Eagles hitless for 6 straight innings after a lead off hit in the first inning.  The Bees offensive leaders were Nick Stiles going 3 for 4 with a double and 3 runs, Kevin Vermillion going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI's and a run and Brandon Wahrer going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's and a run.

Brodie Megill took the mound in game two giving up only 3 hits in 5 innings, but it was not enough as the Bees made some uncharacteristic mistakes on defense that hurt them in a 6-1 loss.  The lack of hitting sealed their fate as the Bees could only muster 2 hits, both by Kevin Vermillion who went 2 for 3.

The split with Fowler drops Bath to one game out of first place in the league.   The Bees will go back to work this week and hope to bounce back as they travel to Potterville for a double header on Thursday.

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Sunday, May 2, 2010

Blackhawk Down!

The Fighting Bees traveled to Leslie on Saturday for a 4 team tournament and went hawk hunting, defeating the Jayhawks of Vandercook Lake 8-3 in game one and the Blackhawks of Leslie 21-5 in the finale to bring home their first championship of the year.

Brenden Plemmons battled through a rainy morning on the mound to get the win, going the distance, giving up 4 hits, striking out 8 and allowing 2 earned runs.  Offensively, the Bees broke it open with a 5 run 3rd inning lead by Brandon Wahrer going 2 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's and Ian Milligan going 1 for 2 with 2 RBI's.

The championship game featured an onslaught of offense by the Bees starting with the 1st inning as the Bees went through their order scoring 8 runs and chasing the Blackhawks ace pitcher.  Then in the 6th, the Bees scored another 8 spot to seal the deal.  The Bees offense was again lead by Brandon Wahrer going 4 for 4 with 3 runs, 2 RBI's and a double, Taylor Kelser going 3 for 3 with 5 runs, Nick Stiles going 2 for 3 with two runs, Scotty Kirkpatrick going 3 for 5 with a double and 5 RBI's, Brodie Megill going 2 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's and Kyle Coryell going 1 for 3 with a double and 3 RBI's.  Kevin Vermillion got the win on the mound giving up 8 hits and 3 earned runs in 5 innings.  Chris Fry closed the 6th inning giving up 0 hits and striking out 2.

The Bees next action will be Monday at home for an important match up with the league leading Fowler Eagles.  Fighting Bee fans come out in force!!!

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Friday, April 30, 2010

Wolfpack of one....

The Bees traveled to rival Laingsburg and took both games of a double header.  The Wolfpack was only able to produce one run the entire night as Nick Stiles took the mound in game one and picked up a 3-0 win giving up one hit, striking out 16 and walking none.  The Bees picked up 6 hits in the game lead by Brandon Wahrer going 2 for 4 and Nick Stiles with a triple.

Brodie Megill pitched a 4 hitter in game two for the 11-1 mercy in 5 innings.  The Bee's bats continued to heat up as they out hit the Wolfpack 11-4 lead by Kevin Vermillion going 3 for 4 with 3 RBI's.

The Bees travel to Leslie for a tournament on Saturday playing their first game at 12:30pm against Vandercook Lake.  See you there!

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Stats & Photos

Photos for 5 of our double headers have been added to the photos page.  Go check them out.  Many thanks to Marc Wahrer for supplying photos for the website.

Also, some of you may have noticed that there is a stats page.  You will find the league standings there as well as box scores and season stats as they become available.  If you would like access to the stats page, please e-mail Coach Orr for the userid and password.

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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Eagle Has Landed

The Eagles of Carson City were in town for a league battle with the Bees coming out on top.  Nick Stiles took the mound in game one and went the distance giving up one hit and striking out 16 for the 3-1 win.  The Bees out-hit the Eagles 10-1 lead by Brodie Megill going 2 for 3 with 2 doubles and 2 runs, Brenden Plemmons going 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, and Nick Stiles helping his cause going 2 for 4 with a double and a run.

Brodie Megill took the mound in game two and made short work of the Eagles in a 5 inning mercy 10-0, giving up 5 hits and striking out 10.  The Bees bats continued to heat up as they out-hit the Eagles 14-5 lead by Brenden Plemmons going 3 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI's, Ian Milligan going 2 for 3 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, and Grant Svendsen going 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs.

The next Bees action is on Thursday as they travel to Laingsburg to face the Wolfpack.  Come on out and cheer us on!

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Shamrock Split

Nick Stiles started the night off right for the Bees with a first pitch triple then battled an iron man pitchers dual which lasted 10 innings before it was all over and the Shamrocks outlasted the Bees 4-2.  It was a good game for the Bees statistically as Stiles amassed an amazing 18 strikeouts and the Bees out hit the Shamrocks 10-4.  Brodie Megill started the scoring with a 2 rbi single in the bottom of the 5th.  The Shamrocks answered with two runs in the top of the 6th and the score stayed knotted at 2-2 until the 10th inning when the Shamrocks were able to score two runs and hold on for the win.

The Bees fared better in game two as Brodie Megill took the mound and held the Shamrocks to two hits and handed the Shamrocks their first loss 7-2.  The bees pounded out 11 hits lead by Kevin Vermillion who went 3-4 with 3 rbi's and Brenden Plemmons who went 2-3 with 2 doubles, 2 rbi's and 2 runs.

The Bees travel to Dansville for their next action on Thursday for a double header starting at 4:00pm.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Morley-Stanwood Tournament

Bath traveled to Morley-Stanwood on Saturday and battled some cold weather to finish 3rd out of 6 teams.  Brenden Plemmons went the distance in game one to get the 10-1 win with 11 strikeouts, 4 walks, and only three hits against White Cloud.  Brodie Megill was 4-4 at the plate and scored twice.

Bath plays at home tonight in a very important match up against Portland St. Pats.  Come out and cheer us on!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Saranac Sweep!

The weather was great and so was the baseball as Bath started the league season off right by taking two from Saranac in front of a great home crowd.  Game one was a close one at 2-1 with Nick Stiles getting the win on the mound.  Brodie Megill got the win in game two with Chris Fry and Brenden Plemmons in relief for a 10-0 win.

The next Bees action will be on Saturday as we travel to Morley Stanwood for a six team tournament.  The team will be leaving from the High School at 9:00am, and our first scheduled game will start at 12:00.  Look forward to seeing you there!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Tournament Schedules Announced!

The tournament schedules for Morley-Stanwood and Grass Lake have been announced.  You can see detailed information by clicking on the respective tournament on the schedule page.  Information for the remaining tournaments will be added as it becomes available.

The Bees had a bittersweet start to the regular season last night winning game one in a 5 inning mercy, but dropping a close one in game two.  Congratulations to Nick Stiles for pitching a no hitter in game one!

The league schedule starts on Thursday with Saranac at home.   We look forward to seeing all of you there!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Waverly scrimmage canceled

Today's scrimmage with Waverly has been canceled due to inclement weather.

Our next practice will be Sunday the 11th at 5:00pm.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Additional Scrimmage!

We have added an additional scrimmage over spring break.  It will be at Waverly High School from 2:00pm until approximately 5:00pm.  This change is posted on the schedule.

We had incredible weather for our first scrimmage with Haslett and were able to get 13 full innings in.  This allowed us to get through our entire pitching staff and get a lot of different looks on defense. 

Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed the scrimmage!  It was great to see such a nice crowd.  Keep it up baseball fans!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Schedule Changes

What an incredible first 2 weeks of practice!

Just wanted to point out a couple of changes to the Varsity schedule.  Our 4/1 game against Lansing Christian has been canceled, but we have added two scrimmages.  The first is 3/25 at home vs Vandercook Lake with a 4:00 start time.  The second is at home vs Haslett on 3/30.  That scrimmage will start shortly after 3:00.  Also, the 4/12 game against Vestaburg has been scheduled at Vestaburg, NOT at home as was originally planned.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Welcome!

Welcome to the Bath Baseball web site.

JV and Varsity baseball will start practice on Monday, March 15th from 2:50-5:30 PM.  Both teams will practice together in the old high school gym.  Players, please bring appropriate clothing for inside and outside practice.  We will get outside as soon as weather and field conditions allow.