2001 Season Summary

The Muskegon ChannelCats 2000 edition produced a team record 29 wins for the season in just their 3rd year of play. The ChannelCats posted an over all record of 29-8 for a .784 winning percentage. The Cats finished atop the Muskegon Connie Mack League with an 10-1 first place showing which qualified them for AABC district tournament action in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Manager Roberto Patino in his second season at the helm blended the talented ChannelCats roster into “ It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” high-spirited baseball team. These Diamonds in the Rough came together from 9 different area high schools to form one of Muskegon’s most exciting baseball teams.

Chris TerVree led the Cats hitting attack with a team high .448 batting average while Scott Smith finished second with a .438-batting clip.

Scott also scorched the base path for a team record 27 stolen bases. Jason Fuller was the leading RBI man with 34 runs batted in. Eric Posthemus finished 1st on the team by belting 4 round trippers on the season. Posthumus also ripped 9 doubles for a team high. Jason Fuller led the team with games played at 35, At Bats 114 and 3 base hits at 3.

The ChannelCats top pitchers were Jared Belmarez (7-0) with an ERA of 1.58. Justin Kennert (6-0) and an ERA of 0.66. Jesse Thompson posted the most stikeouts on the staff with 34 k’s in 31.1 innings pitched.

Jared Belmarez earned iron man honors by throwing 40 innings, tops on the ChannelCats staff in 10 game appearances. Jared also led the team with 2 saves.

The Cats showed well in the Connie Mack district tournament play this year in Grand Rapids. The ChannelCats made it to the fifth round of play finishing at 3-2 in the double elimination tournament. They had wins against GR Frozen Ropes(5-2), Kalamazoo Maroons (3-2), and Morgans Hitting Club (10-2).

Morgans Hitting Club came away as the District Champ by defeating Elite Baseball I in the District Championship game (4-2).

This year’s ChannelCats team truly brought baseball excitement back to the lakeshore. Especially when you think back to the exciting 8-7 come from behind win over the Kalamazoo Maroons at Marsh Field. “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over”.