The 13-14-year-old

Fayette County Mudcats rebounded from a 3-7-2 start to finish this season

with a stellar 50-19-2 record, outscoring their opponents 546-259. Seven

of their losses were by a single run.

The Mudcats,

led by Coach Sammy Wilkes, came on strong after that slow start and finished

the regular season 38-17-2. They produced a 13-game win streak during

that time and kicked off an 11-game win streak in the postseason that

ended with a loss to the Old National Mets, the eventual state champs,

in the Georgia Amateur Baseball Association state tournament. The Mudcats

then lost to the Redan Expos before beating the South Clayton Braves 8-1

to finish the state tournament with a 3-2 record, good enough for a third-place

finish.

The Mudcats

went 12-0 in their league play in Fayetteville and outscored their opponents

136-19. In the USSSA league in Fairburn the team went 5-2 and finished

in second place. To get to the state tournament, the Mudcats went 5-0

in the district tournament, outscoring their opponents 62-10. In the sub-state

tournament,the Mudcats went 4-0 and outscored their opponents 35-4.

The team batting

average during their stellar final season was .338 and they had a team

ERA of 3.09. The three main pitchers for the Mudacts were Austin Wilkes

(15-1, 3.11 ERA), Joey Arnold (13-4, 1.80), and Phillip Robinson (11-7,

eight saves, 2.18). They had a combined ERA of 2.37. All three pitchers

are freshmen at Fayette County High School this year.

Wilkes and

Arnold also bring bats with them. Wilkes hit cleanup for the Mudcats,

had a .389 batting average and 16 doubles on the season, while Arnold

led the team in hitting in their games in Fayetteville and had a streak

of 12 hits in a row during the season.

Also heading

to Fayette County High School this year are outfielder Hunter Rozakos,

who batted .424 with 16 doubles and 70 hits, and Jordan Windisch, who

saw time at third base and in the outfield and knocked out several home

runs.

Craig Bowles,

the top reliever for the Mudcats, will attend East Coweta High School,

while Sam Hogan, who led the team in home runs with 12, is heading to

McIntosh. Hogan also had 56 RBI on the season and a .743 slugging percentage.

Starr's Mill

will be getting a big influx of Mudcats as well, as Ryan Lockett, Kipp

Ramsey and Sean O'Brien will all be playing ball in the spring for the

Panthers. Lockett is a solid hitting catcher who also plays well defensively,

while Ramsey led the team in stolen bases and O'Brien scored 60 runs.

The team could

not have accomplished what they did, though, without a top-notch coaching

staff. Wilkes coached third base while managing the team, and Scott Lockett

coached first base. Kearney Robinson was the dugout coach and Kevin Arnold

was the pitching coach and team statistician.

It will certainly

be fun to watch the Mudcats develop with their high schools over the next

four years.

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