Wow! World Series Champions!  Who would have thought this would be the way our season ended?  We struggled through the middle months to be competitive but remained positive.  Once league was over we decided it was time to work hard and the result was a lot of fun.  Congratulations, not only did these young men become better players but they matured with the game of baseball.

I am very proud of all of them for their dedication!

Coach Wes

The final season of Muckdog baseball will begin in December 2007.  We have two roster players and one World Series player leaving the team for their respective high school teams.  Tony Sandifer, Allen Hoyt and Garrett Sandifer will be playing for Greenwood High School next summer.  It will be fun to see them contribute to their programs and apply what they have learned as Muckdogs to their high school careers.  It has been my privelege to be around these young men and I will enjoy watching their future's unfold.

 We must now add 2-3 players to our roster to bring us back to 10-11 players for the 2008 season.  We will need to work hard to maintain our ability to compete and I know we will do "whatever it takes" to get the job done.  I am ready for the challenge and I will put forward my best effort for you guys.

 See you at practice,

Coach Wes

Please welcome Jesse Nichols to the Muckdog Family.  Jesse will bring some very good speed and good defensive skills.  He is very coachable and has the ability to be a very good baseball player.   He will help us in as a utility player and pitching during the season.  I look forward to seeing Jesse improve every practice.  Please welcome his parents Randy and Tina to the Muckdog family.

 Coach Wes

Jordan Gall has announced that he will be a Muckdog for the 2008 season.  We look forward to Jordan contributing on the hill and at the plate immediately.  He has a very strong desire to learn and get better.  This will make him equally effective with his defensive skills.  Please welcome Jordan and his family, Chris &Yolanda Simpkins, his sister Skyler and Paul Gall to the Muckdog family.

Coach Wes

I would like to welcome Blake Estep and Garrett Hope to the 2008 Muckdog roster.  These two guys are very familiar with our program and they should mesh very quickly.  Blake and Garrett bring a great attitudes, knowledge of the game and a desire to win that will fit right in with everyone.  Mike Estep will help with pitchers and catchers when he is available.

Our outfield is set, our infield is set, our pitching staff is set, and our offense will speak for itself.  Our team speed is impressive and all of these guys are ready to compete!

 Coach Wes

Well, the win/loss column did not reflect what we accomplished this weekend.  It was obvious the other teams were ahead of us on the mound and I did not have us prepared for the velocity at 54'.  I did see several nice plays and players in the right position to make the correct plays.  We also had some errors that will be corrected.  We will focus on bullpens and hitting at the correct velocity over the next two weeks to prepare for our next tournament.

Our overall talent level is extremely good and we will get a lot better very quickly.  We started to show signs of how tough we will be in the last game on Sunday.  I'm looking forward to spending the spring/summer with these guys to see how good they can be.

 Coach Wes

Well, second tournament and we showed improvement in every aspect of the game.  Our hitting, defense and pitching improved from the first tournament.  We must continue to improve each weekend and not settle for average.  I am confident we will be where we need to be when the time is right.

Game 1 Muckdogs v Athletics, we started a little sluggish and gave up a few too many walks.  Our hitting and defense helped us through this game and we won 10-3.  Game 2 Muckdogs v Buffaloes, this was a pretty good team that is well coached.  We struggled a little at the plate and then allowed them to tie the game.  Finally we put more runs up and held them to end the game.  We won 7-3 and received the 2 seed in our pool.  Bracket game 1 Muckdogs v Diamond Dawgs and we threw a no-hit shut-out in four innings.  Final score 8-0.  Bracket game 2 Muckdogs v Dirtbags who have improved considerably.  We scored first and pitched well until the coach (me) called the wrong pitch with the game tied to give up a 2 run dinger.  I waited to long to make a pitching change and didn't have or next pitcher ready so we gave up 2 more runs to make the score 2-6 and we did not answer.  That loss is on me!  Good job by everyone!

 Coach Wes

What a showing this past weekend!  We scored 60 runs and only gave up 1 run the entire weekend.  Our pitching is continueing to improve and our bats are starting to show what we will be capable of by the middle of summer.  Great job by everyone and I look forward seeing these guys play again.  Game 1 Muckdogs v Diamond Dawgs - we had a great performance on the mound and we hit the ball well for a 14-0 win.  Game 2 Muckdogs v Riverhawks - our hitting supported the pitching in this game and we gave up one run late on a walk for the only run of the weekend, we won 16-1.  Game 3 Bracket Muckdogs v Conway Cardinals - another stellar performance on the mound and our bats are continueing to improve for a 15-0 win.  Game 4 Championship Muckdogs v Rockhounds - this has been a very competitive game in the past.  Our pitching dominated this game and two double plays allowed our offense to make this game a run-rule 15-0.  We played very well and we are a much better team than a month ago.  Just imagine how much better we will be with another 10 games under our belt.  I am proud of our effort this weekend and let's continue to improve.

 Coach Wes

What a weekend!  We started off a little sluggish and made a few errors against a pretty good AR Stealth team and held off a late game rally to win the game 7-6.  Our next game was against the Bentonville Tigers 15U team.  This game got a little mouthy and after some questionable comments we responded.  The Tigers won the game 4-2 but we showed some great chemistry and proved we would not be intimidated.  Sunday was bracket play and we beat the AR Diamond Dawgs 12-3 which set up the final game with the Tigers 15U again.  We were focused and ready to play and we turned it up a notch to intimdate a pretty good 15U team.  We threw a no-hitter and achieved a rewarding victory 6-1.  We learned some things about ourselves this weekend which will prove to be very helpful later in the season.  We are close to being ready for OKC so let's keep working hard.

I guess the best explanation is 3 steps forward and one step back.  We embarassed ourselves this weekend and did not compete at the level needed to be ready for a Super NIT.  We will have to focus this week during practice to regain our edge.  Challenge yourselves to prepare mentally, that is the only reason we did not perform this weekend.

 Coach Wes

What a weekend in OKC!  We started out exactly how I had hoped, then we stumbled and then we played a good game but just not quite enough.  Friday evening we played well against the OKC Astros and won 9-0.  Our next game was against a TX Hurricanes team that came out hot and we did not have an answer.  The beat us 14-6 in a game that our coach (me) cost us a very good seed.  We ended up with the 10 seed playing a 7 seed which would be the Dirtbags.  We jumped on them early and were about three plays from winning the ball game and just couldn't get it done.  We got beat 5-3 and both teams played well. 

We are showing signs of gelling very well and the team concept is clicking.  We are right on track to be exactly where we want to be in July.  Let's keep working hard and improving our skills, mentally and physically.

Coach Wes

It's the middle of the season and it is time to regain focus for the next 8 weeks of baseball.  There are a lot of distractions at the moment and we will just have to do our best with spring football practice.  Eight teams in this weekends tournament; Muckdogs, Team RBI, Tulsa Bats, D-Backs, OK Dirtbags, AR Select, Fayetteville Sluggers, Springdale Titans

Saturday Uniforms: The Original    Coaches: Red

10:00AM  Muckdogs v Team RBI(Rogers)

2:00PM   Muckdogs v Tulsa Bats

6:00PM  Seed 4 v Seed 5

8:00PM  Seed 3 v Seed 6

Sunday Uniforms: Cool White    Coaches: Black

10:00AM  Seed 1 v Seed 8

12:00PM  Seed 2 v Seed 7

We will leave at 7:30AM from Logans Steakhouse.

Coach Wes

We want to say thank you to all of the teams that participated this year in the 9th Annual Hum' Baby.  There were some great games and I got the privilege to watch several.  Please contact me if you have any questions about the tournament and I hope everyone made it home safely.  Good Luck with the rest of your summer season and we hope to see you next year at the 10th Annual Hum' Baby.  The rings were such a hit we may have to consider that again!

 Wes Young, The Arkansas Muckdogs and The Ft. Smith Church Baseball League

8U Division (8 teams-BRACKETS POSTED)  Oklahoma Storm(paid), Oklahoma Elite(paid-need roster), DQ Crushers(paid), OKC Sooners(paid), MidSouth Ducks(paid-need roster), Moore Red Sox(paid), Nighthawks(paid), Oklahoma Thunder(paid)

9U Division (4 teams-BRACKETS POSTED) Arkansas Ducks(paid), Oklahoma Blue Sox(paid), Tulsa Cardinals(paid), Oklahoma Travelers(paid-need roster)

10U Division (6 teams-BRACKETS POSTED) Edmond Astros(paid), Nighthawks(paid), Oklahoma Rebels(paid), Cleveland County Indians(confirmed-need roster), Arkansas Express(paid-need roster), Jenks Black Sox(confirmed-need roster)

11U Division (8 teams-BRACKETS POSTED) Ft. Smith Outlaws(need roster), DQ Busters(paid), Fayetteville Cardinals(paid), Arkansas Scorpions(paid-need roster), Edmond Tigers (paid), Ft. Smith Titans(confirmed-need roster), Oklahoma Bearcats(confirmed-need roster), Arkansas Express(paid-need roster)

12U Division (9 teams-BRACKETS POSTED) OK Renegades(paid), Alma Shock(paid-need roster), Oklahoma Elite(paid),  The Pack(paid), Arkansas Bandits(paid), Arkansas Stealers(confirmed-need roster), Oklahoma Bearcats(paid), Piranha Baseball(confirmed-need roster), The Heat(confirmed-need roster)

13U Division 54/85 (9 teams-BRACKETS POSTED) Edmond Yankees(paid), Oklahoma Travelers(paid), Wichita Shox(paid), Edmond Roughriders(paid), Oklahoma Pirates(paid), Fayetteville Padres(paid), AR Diamond Dawgs(need roster), Cobra Baseball(need roster), Oklahoma Cardinals(need roster) 

The 14/15 division will be playing at Crowder Field, Univirsity of Arkansas Ft. Smith facilities.  This is the nicest JUCO/D2 complex in AR/OK and will be a treat for these guys.

14U/15U Division 60/90 (6 teams-BRACKETS POSTED) Arkansas Muckdogs 14, Sallisaw Diamonds 15(need roster), Oklahoma Spikes 14(need roster), Arkansas Rockhounds 14(need roster), Kingsford Flames 15(need roster), Team RBI 15(need roster) 

Wow!  What a display of Muckdog baseball this weekend.  Congratulations Muckdogs!  YOU are the Arkansas State Champions 14U National Division.  This is a great accomplishment and we are continuing to improve.  Everyone contributed this weekend and I had a great time watching you guys compete.  Let's get ready for the World Series.

 Coach Wes