CANTON — Hitters from Motor City Hit Dogs Yates 13U team finished the season as the 2024 Global World Series 13U AA Champions on July 21.
The team, which includes players from Clarkston, Lake Orion and Oxford, won the championship with a 15-14 win over Novi Heat Black 13U with a walk off hit, finishing the tournament with a 6-0 record.
The game was tied at 14 in the bottom of the eighth when Tommy Kelley hit a double, scoring one run. Motor City Hit Dogs Yates 13U collected 10 hits and Novi Heat Black 13U had 12 in the high-scoring game.
Novi got on the board in the top of the first inning with five runs.
Motor City then scored five runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth inning. Briggs Brzustewicz hit a single, scoring one run. Ryan Preston hit a triple, scoring two runs. Aaron Buckley hit a triple, scoring one run. Gianni Nori grounded out, scoring one run.
The Hit Dogs tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning from a ground out by Brock Uhlig and a dropped third strike by Novi.
Novi took the lead in the top of the eighth with one run off a single, putting the score at 14-13.
Motor City jumped back into the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning after Austin Wrobel grounded out and Tommy Kelley doubled, each scoring one run.
The Hit Dogs opened the tournament with a shutout and a mercy on the first day. In their first game they had 8-0 win over Top Tier Americans 13U on July 18. During their second game of the day, they mercied Michigan Bulls-Rosenberg 12U, 15-3.
They outscored Bloomfield Sting 13U the next day to take the win, 11-1.
The Hit Dogs had a closer game on Saturday as they went against State Line Stars 13U in their 13-11 win.
The Hit Dogs were trailing 7-2 after the top of the second inning, but battled for the lead as the Stars scored two runs in the fifth inning and the Hit Dogs came back with three runs in the inning to give the Hit Dogs a 12-11 lead.
The Hit Dogs defeated Oakland Reds 13U Sykes on the last day of the championship, 8-7.
The Motor City Hit Dogs 13U Yates team is: Aaron Buckley, Austin Wrobel, Bennett Kazak, Briggs Brzustewicz, Brock Uhlig, Connor Kraft, Emmet Mitchell II, Gianni Nori, Javi Hernandez, Matthew Jones, Ryan Preston, Tommy Kelley, and Vincent Mirjah. They are led by coaches Chris Yates, Brandon Wrobel and Emmet Mitchell.
— Wendi Price