9/10 STARS DEFEAT S.PORTAGE 13-8 TO CLAIM D2 CHAMPIONSHIP! 

Wow! What a tournament for a great group of 9 and 10 year old boys! After letting the title slip away the previous night in a 7-6 loss to this same South Portage(N) team, the Milwood All-Stars stormed back to win the District crown, 13-8. It's now on to the Michigan 9/10 State Tournament in Techumseh this weekend. Congratulations to all the players and coaches Brad Parlato, Mike Mason and manager John Mitchell. To the credit of the staff and parents, this team always plays the game with class and has shown great character in the face of adversity. Milwood will be sending sparkling ambassadors for baseball and our league to play in the State Tournamnt. We wish you much success boys, you have certainly earned this opportunity.

District 2's championship aspirations came to an end Thursday night with a 4-3 loss to the Philippines. D2 is now 4-1 and wraps up the tournament with a 1:30 game on Friday against the West Champs from Antelope Valley, California. District 2 defeated them in their first game 1-0 in 11 innings on Monday night. Central Champion Michigan District 9 defeated the West Champs on Thursday 3-2 to earn their spot in the title game against the Philippines on Saturday.

Thursday, August 14
DISTRICT 2 UNDEFEATED  AFTER 7-3 WIN 

District 2 advances to the Championship Round of the Big League Softball World Series with a 4-0 record after a come from behind victory over Latin American Champion Puerto Rico. D2 overcame a 3-2 deficit with 5 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure the 7-3 win. They will face the Asia-Pacific representative from the Philippines on Wilson Field, Thursday at 6:00.

District 2 defeated the EMEA Champs from Poland 9-1 in the early game on Tuesday and beat the South entry from Tampa 6-1 in the evening game. The D2 girls are undefeated in this year's BLSBWS and move even closer to the championship game this Saturday. District 2's next challenge is Puerto Rico on Wednesday night at 6:00. 

District 2 battled West Champion Antelope Valley, California to a 1-0, 11-inning victory in their first round game of the Big League Softball World Series on Monday night. District 2 plays two games Tuesday. At 1:00 they play EMEA Champion Brzeg, Poland and the South Region Champs, Citrus Park from Tampa, Florida, at six.

Milwood's Little Major Baseball team ran their tournament record to 3-0 on Tuesday with an 11-2 victory over Parchment. The boys continue to hit the ball well and have had some outstanding pitching performances this week. The win earns the team a couple of days off to prepare for a hot Eastwood team. They meet Friday night on Wilson Field. A win puts Milwood in the Championship Game!

After fighting back to win 4 straight in this year's tournament, Milwood's 10/11 boys finally fell to West Portage in the Championship Round. The four victories are the most ever by any Milwood 10/11 tournament team. Congratulations to all the players and coaches Rick Bular and Russ Meyer on a great run!

Never say die! After a loss in their first tournament game, Milwood's 10/11 All-Stars have fought their way back to face undefeated West Portage for this year's championship. Milwood defeated Alamo 12-7 Monday night, in a rematch of game one in the tourney. Now they must defeat West Portage at Gull Lake to advance to the 10/11 Championship Game tomorrow. Good luck guys!

The combined JSB girls team fell 9-5 to Champion South Portage on Tuesday, ending their 2008 tournament. Congratulations to the Westwood and Milwood players and coaches on a fine tournament showing, losing only to eventual champ, South Portage.

After a 6-5 loss to South Portage on Friday, the Westwood JSB All-Stars bounced back with a 5-4 win over Delton-Kellogg, Monday. The combined tournament team advances to play South Portage once again in the Championship Round, tonight in Parchment. In Friday's loss, Milwood's Alex Elwell pitched three strong innings and hit a home run over the left field fence in Parchment. Great game, Alex! Good luck to all the JSB All-Stars against South Portage.  

Westwood's JSB All-Stars defeated Northwood-Plainwell 11-1, Thursday, to bring their record to 2-0 in this year's tournament. Milwood combined with Westwood this season and has four girls on the tournament team. 

With losses to Illinois and Ohio on Sunday, Michigan's District 2 was eliminated from the BLBB Regional Tournament. In winning 2 of 3 games Friday and Saturday, District 2 advanced to the Championship Round. Friday, MD2 defeated Ohio District 3 8-5. On Saturday MD2 defeated Kentucky District 4 8-1 and lost the nightcap 5-3 to Illinois District 15. Congratulations to all the D2 players and coaches on a great tournament! 

Michigan's District 2 will once again represent the state in the Big League Baseball Regional Championships in Grand Rapids. D2 completed the State Tournament on July 13th in Niles with a 9-6 victory over District 5 to claim the title. D2 had previously beaten D5, 3-1 and District 15, 5-3, to advance to the championship game. Congratulations guys and good luck in the tournament!

West Portage defeated Parchment 9-6 on Monday to take the District 2 title and advance to the state tournament. Milwood's Wilson Field was the site of this great tournament finale. Congratulations to the West Portage players, coaches and fans. Good Luck in the state tourney!

Over 75 Milwood baseball and softball players participated in our hitting clinic on February 9th. Many kids picked up a bat for the first time in months to learn and refresh their hitting skills. Thanks to Craig Stull for running a vigorous two sessions, Buzz Powell for coordinating the event and the entire Player Development Committee for helping to make the clinic informative and fun. A special thanks to the WMU Softball Team for helping out at all the various hitting stations. On March 1st, 50 more players came out for our pitching clinic at Milwood Elementary. Russ Meyer coordinated the event with the assistance of the PDC. Dave Verduzco did a great job with our softball pitchers as Russ led the baseball program. On March 15th, over 60 more attended our third and final indoor clinic of the season. Buzz Powell hosted this clinic on fielding with the assistance of Steve Verduzco and many other Milwood coaches. Thanks to them and all of our other volunteers, these kids will have a jump start on the new season and be more anxious than ever to play ball!  

Thanks, Milwood families! We had a great turnout at all of our work days and completed most of our preseason tasks. Without the hard work and dedication of so many good people, we would fall far short of doing all we need to do to get this fine facility ready for the season. Let's continue to do all we can to make 2008 a season to remember!

There's nothing like an Opening Day at Milwood Little League! After our traditional neighborhood parade and opening ceremony on Wilson Field, the players and their families braved the blustery cold with a full slate of baseball, softball and t-ball games. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of so many, we're ready for another great season in 2008! Play ball!

A great time was had by all at Homer Stryker field Friday night as many Milwood families attended the Kalamazoo Kings game and helped raise funds for our league! A portion of all proceeds from tickets sold in this year's fundraiser stay with our league. A big thanks goes out to Susan Gaunt for coordinating this year's ticket sales. Susan was presented with a check during the game. Nearly $1500.00 was raised for our league this year! Thanks, Milwood families!

Fans were treated to an exciting game. Unfortunately, a King's late rally came up a bit short and they lost to the Midwest Sliders, 7-6. A fun night was capped off with kids running the bases, players signing autographs and fireworks! Can't wait until next year! 

Most parents and coaches had very positive feedback about the rule changes and skill development in this year's version of MLL T-ball. The league and coaches wanted to better prepare these 5 and 6 year olds for Minor Baseball and Minor Softball. They instituted more rigid requirements for players and coaches and modified rules to get closer to conventional baseball. By the end of the year, baserunners could take extra bases, catchers were actually catching the ball and batters were hitting more pitching and less off the tee! The players rose to the challenge, having fun all along the way. We're excited about this program for next year and we are confident that the advancing 6 year olds will be better prepared for the Minors.

Milwood's NRC Major Baseball team won the District 2 Special Games Tournament hosted by South Portage on June 1st! Coaches Russ Meyer, Andy Wenzel and Pat Crocker guided the team to a 12-9 victory in the Championship Game on Sunday. Milwood earned the right to play in the championship by beating Lakeview 13-3, Gull Lake 2-1 and Eastwood 14-1. Good job guys!

Saturday, June 28th was the date of Milwood's first Minor Baseball Tournament Championship Game. In this single elimination, random draw league tournament, Portage Kiwanis defeated Steemsma's to claim the tourney crown. These boys were thrilled to get their first taste of tournament play. Adding to the experience was holding the game on Wilson Field. The champs received their medals from Manager Steve Ashby after the game. What a great memory for these young men!

MILWOOD'S 2008 TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Major Baseball

7/1  Westwood 12, Milwood 5 @ Westwood 

7/8  Lakeview 11, Milwood 10 @ Milwood

Senior Baseball

7/10  Parchment 13, Milwood 2 @ Gull Lake

7/12  Delton-Kellogg 13, Milwood 7 @ South Portage

Little Major Baseball

7/12  Milwood 18, Westwood 16 @ Milwood

7/14  Milwood 4, Gull Lake 2 @ Eastwood 

7/15  Milwood 11, Parchment 2 @ Northwood-Plainwell  

7/18  Milwood 9, Eastwood 5 @ Milwood

7/21  South Portage (N) 7, Milwood 6 @ Milwood 

7/22  Milwood 13, South Portage (N) 8 @ Milwood 2008 District 2 Champions

7/26  Petoskey (D13) 14, Milwood 9 @ Tecumseh State Tournament

7/27  Flat Rock (D5) 8, Milwood 0 @ Tecumseh State Tournament 

7/28  Roosevelt Park (D12) 2, Milwood 0 @ Tecumseh State Tournament

10/11 Baseball

7/16  Alamo 4, Milwood 3 (5) @ Alamo 

7/17  Milwood 19, Parchment 0 @ Westwood

7/18  Milwood 7, Westwood 6 @ South Portage

7/20  Milwood 5, Gull Lake 0 @ Gull Lake

7/21  Milwood 12, Alamo 7 @ Eastwood 

7/22  West Portage 17, Milwood 2 @ Gull Lake

Major Softball 

7/7  West Portage 17, Milwood 7 @ Eastwood

7/8  Alamo 10, Milwood 0 @ Eastwood

Little Major Softball

7/11  South Portage 7, Milwood 5 @ Milwood

7/12  Eastwood 21, Milwood 20 @ Milwood 

Carson Straube, 11, is headed off on an all expenses paid trip to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for a week of Liitle League Camp! Carson played for Coach Buzz Powell's MBB team this season. Last season, Carson won the Robert H. Stirrat Baseball Camp Scholarship. He will be in WIlliamsport through July 11th. The scholarship was awarded based on a 100 word or less essay about a Little Leaguer's impressions and what he thought were the benefits of playing in Little League.

"In the three years I've been in Little League, my main impression is that it is fun! I also learned about teamwork, trying my best and respecting my coach. One of the best benefits each year is making new friends and seeing old ones. I know that my skills have improved in many areas, especially my fielding. Being outdoors and getting exercise at games is really good for me. Little League gives my family and me special times together. I like their cheering and encouragement! Learning to be a good sport, even in a loss, has benefitted my character most."  -Carson Straube, age 10.

Carson was the sole winner in this national contest. Congratulations, Carson! We are very proud to have you represent Milwood Little League in Williamsport. We hope that all of the kids who play here at Milwood will have the same positive experience that you speak of in your fine essay.

Milwood's Little Major Softball division took a big step forward this year with the addition of Smiley and Janet Verduzco as regular season coaches. They brought their experince and knowledge to this year's LMSB All-Star team as well. Although the outcome wasn't what was hoped for, these girls learned a lot, played hard and gained the kind of experience that will serve them well next season. After a tough 7-5 loss on Friday, the Milwood girls went back and forth with Eastwood on Saturday, before falling 21-20. Thanks, players and coaches, for all the excitement you brought to Milwood in this tournament.