With two outs and a tie game, the Mudcats, a 10 and under traveling baseball team, held on to win the National Baseball Congress State Tournament last weekend in Dodge City.

“It means a lot to us,” player Chance Gale said of the win. “The coaches started crying because they never won one (state tournament) before and this was our second time going to one.”

He also was excited about the win, saying it was the best part of the season for him.
The Mudcats went into the tournament the number one seed and won their first game 20-1 against the Southwest Hitters from Garden City.

In their second game, they faced the Winfield Sliders, who they had beaten four times this year, but that wasn’t to be again. The Sliders beat the Mudcats 5-2, forcing the Mudcats into the losing bracket.

“We had to come back through the losers bracket,” said Head Coach Lane Bevan.

They had to win seven straight games in two days to take the championship.

Bevan said it was the team’s determination that helped them accomplish that feat.

“Those boys never give up,” he said. “They never gave up all year. They played together and talked to each other and got through it.”

The Mudcats faced the Manhattan Indians Saturday, winning 11-3. Next, they played the Salina Reds, who they beat 10-0.

On Sunday, the Mudcats were back in action, playing the Derby Tigers and winning 11-1. They followed them up by playing the No. 3 seed Hays Rangers. But they were no problem either, with the Mudcats coming away with a 10-4 victory. Next up for the Mudcats was the No. 6 seed Andover Hurricanes, who they beat 9-3.

That win put the Mudcats up against the Wichita Indians, who were undefeated. They would face them twice to win the championship.

In the first game, the Mudcats won 18-7. Chandler Nusz’ pitching, as well as some hot bats, contributed to this win.

Then it was down to the championship. Something they had been waiting for all season.

The Mudcats led 4-0 going into the fifth inning, then the Indians pulled within one on a three-run home run. The Mudcats were held scoreless in the bottom of the fifth.

In the sixth and final inning, a couple of errors and hitting allowed the Indians to score four runs and take a 7-4 lead.

With the Mudcats final at bat, Preston Bevan led off the inning reaching first base on a dropped third strike. Coming up behind him was the Mudcats’ clean-up hitter Gannon Marcotte, who launched a hard hit line-drive over the center field fence to bring the Mudcats within one at 7-6. 

The Mudcats would record an out with the next batter and then Nusz hit a single and stole second base. Kade Koltiska then came up and hit a single, scoring Nusz and bringing the game to 7-7. 

Chase Ellison ran for Koltiska and stole second and third bases.

With John Stiger at the plate the Mudcats decided to try and squeeze the game winning run in. Stiger put down a bunt but the Indians put Ellison out at the plate. 

With two outs and Stiger at first base Gale came to the plate.

“There was a strike on me and two outs and it was a tied ball game,” said Gale, who is playing his second year for the Mudcats. “I just hit it between short and third and the guy on second scored.

“Me hitting the winning run to win the tournament,” he said when asked what he enjoyed most about the tournament.

The Mudcats ended their season with 56 wins and 12 losses, six second place finishes and seven tournament championships. The Mudcats outscored their opponents 663 to 277. They averaged 10 runs per game while allowing just four. 

“It was a great season,” Bevan said. “We had to put a cherry on top.

“We set a goal and we went out and we got it,” he said. “At the beginning of the year, I told them our goal was to win the state championship and at the end, they did.”

He said it took everyone: the players, coaches and parents.

The Mudcats are comprised of young men from around Butler County. They include players from Augusta: Bevan, Nusz, Logan Weakley and Marcotte; from El Dorado: Koltiska and Ellison; from Towanda: Kaden Fowler and Gavin Hutson; and from Leon: Stiger and Gale.