Archive for the ‘Doug Shields’ Tag
Here is my second “Season Highlights” cards for the Mustangs. Adam Maddox tossed a great, exciting no-hitter to win the MINK League championship. If you would like to read more about this game check here: https://ahairoffsquare.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/2011-mustangs-mink-league-champions-adam-maddox/
The Mustangs lost yesterday at the NBC World Series, they fell 4-3 in 10 innings. Adam Maddox had another good start throwing 7 innings and only giving up one run. The bullpen let him down though as normally air-tight Doug Shields gave up 2 runs in 2 innings and Josh Parrish gave up the winning run in the 10th.
The tournament is double elimination so the Mustangs are still in it. They take on the Derby Twins (KS) on Friday at 1pm. They need to win from here on out or they will be eliminated.
Brent Seifert was a slam dunk for Player of the Year. He batted .353 in league games this year with 2 homers, 3 triples, an eye-popping 23 doubles and drove in 35 runs in just 43 games. Seifert was also great in the field, he consistently made good plays at both third base and second base for the team. If it weren’t for Peter Barrows’ huge year for the Nevada Griffons I think Seifert would have been the player of the year for the entire MINK League.
Jayson Huett had a very good season. He started 6 games and went 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA. In my mind he had some stiff competition for the Pitcher of the Year award. I have narrowed it down to 4 major candidates. They are Jayson Huett, Adam Maddox, Cody Cunningham and Doug Shields. The first three players are starting pitchers and Doug Shields served as the team’s closer. Maddox had slightly better numbers than Huett but was padded by his no-hitter late in the year that happened after the Pitcher of the Year award was announced. Cunningham had a slightly higher ERA than Maddox and Huett and also had a no-hitter to propel his stats into contention. Of the three starters, I think Huett was the correct choice for the award given that Maddox’s no-hitter came after the award was given so it really didn’t count in this case.
Then there is Doug Shields. Shields came in for the Mustangs and closed out many tight affairs without being hit much at all. His sidearm delivery and great breaking pitches made him extremely hard to hit late in the game. His stats were 3-1 record, 0.62 ERA with 9 saves. The ERA is almost invisible and the 3 wins are a big number for a reliever who pitched in only 20 games. All things considered, I think Shields would be my pick for pitcher of the year for the 2011 Mustangs. Huett pitched great and deserved the award but when the game was on the line in the late innnings the Mustangs constantly called on Shields, and he came through in a big way.
I have made no secrets of how much Brent Seifert has impressed me as a baseball player. Tonight he was named the teams most valuable player for the year which was really a given. His performance this year has only been surpassed by the Nevada Griffons’ Peter Barrows. The Mustangs defeated Nevada 3-1 in a great pitching duo between the leagues ERA champion for 2011 Steve Kuligowski of Nevada and the Mustangs’ Adam Maddox. Kuligowski entered the game with a 0.97 ERA and would give up two runs to see it balloon to 1.11. Barrows did not play and I’m not sure why. Seifert did play and once again was a big contributor for St. Joe. On a side note it was General Manager Rick Muntean’s birthday so a big happy birthday to him.
Seifert went a pedestrian 1-4 but that doesn’t tell the whole story. I remember two of Seifert’s outs being hammered, one very deep into the left center gap but was run down by the Griffons center fielder. Seifert’s one hit was a triple with no runners on, he would score on a wild pitch soon after to make the game 3-1 as Doug Sheilds once again closed the game out.
Speaking of closing the game out; Brent Seifert recorded the putout on the final play. It was no average 5-3 ground ball. The ball was hammered down the third base line by the potential tying run. Seifert ranged to his right and made a diving stop, gathered himself and threw a strike to first base to end the game and regular season.Win to Maddox, loss to Kuligowski.
Forget Johnny Coy St. Joe; Brent Seifert is the best player to ever put on a Mustangs uniform.
The Mustangs are officially the 2011 MINK North division champions! They clinched that status tonight with a 6-2 win over the Clarinda A’s. The Mustangs have won just under 75% of their games this year and currently hold a 7 game lead as they have the division clinched.
The game featured a looming storm that threatened the game most of the night but never delayed it. It wasn’t 10 after the game before the skies broke open and started to pour, but the Mustangs had already taken care of business. The game itself was largely uneventful. The Mustangs took a 6-0 lead to the 9th inning behind a brilliant start by Cody Cunningham. After a rough start to the 9th the Mustangs closed things out with Doug Shields. Shields only faced 2 batters but had a key part in the game.
Shields faced the tying run twice in his 2/3 of an inning, getting a strikeout and popout to end the game. With Clarinda having the momentum in their favor with one out shield struck out a pinch hitter with an absolutely nasty breaking ball. The Mustangs took all the momentum away with that pitch.
Adam Maddox get the card tonight because everybody who had a large part in tonight’s game has already had a card posted. Maddox will play a huge roll in the postseason for the team as he did so well last year.
Walks lose games. When the bullpen allows walks it is hard to win. The Mustangs fell to the Sedalia Bombers 9-6 and the Mustangs pitchers, including starter Adam Maddox gave out 8 free passes to first base. The Clarinda A’s also fell on Sunday so the Mustangs 6.5 game lead remains intact.
Here is my second “Season Highlights” cards for the Mustangs. Adam Maddox tossed a great, exciting no-hitter to win the MINK League championship. If you would like to read more about this game check here: https://ahairoffsquare.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/2011-mustangs-mink-league-champions-adam-maddox/
A Hair Off Square 