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Since the last weekend in May when a Friday night tie and a Sunday loss had them at a 3W-1L-T2 record, the Hens have reeled off six consecutive wins. The balance of pitching, consistent defense and a batting order that can produce runs have resulted in the MudHens pushing 63 runs across the plate while allowing only 22 against. Solid at bats from top to bottom make every inning a potential big one. So the mid-season report card looks solid as the Hens sit alone in first place with a 9-1-2 record however nothing has EVER been won in June, this league has too many good teams that have more than one way to win ball games. See you at the park.

Friday night’s game against the Cubs started off on the right foot as Hen’s newcomer OF Rocco Spano deposited the first pitch he swung at in the BVB over the leftfield fence to stake the Hen’s to a 1-0 lead. The lead was given back in the 2 inning when the Cubs cashed in two of their own to take an early 2-1 lead. It took a 6th inning sac fly by Selwyn Everts to cash in Craig Clements to tie the game 2-2. With solid pitching and defense on both sides of the ball that would become the final. The Cubs played a very clean defensive game and threatened many times to take the lead, so it was a hard fought point.

Hens beaten by Sox and Errors.

Sunday night may not have technically been a full moon but don’t tell that to the Hen’s gloves. A usually sound defense had challenge after challenge last night as the booted ball proved to be very democratic by including almost every Mud Hen at one point or another. Put that up against a team that can hit like the Sox and it is no wonder the final was 13-6. The game was not without hi-lights for the Hens as it saw the return of Ken Collett from injury contributing with a two run RBI single. Mike Blaney’s two run double and Jason McKay’s two hit two RBI night provided what would normally be sufficient offence. Alas the Hen’s will look to put this game behind them and come out swinging against the expansion Yankees this Friday night at Ireland Park, game time 6pm.

Wins over the Giants, Cardinals and Marauders and a hard fought 3-3 tie against the always game Brewers place the Hens at 3-0-1 thus far in the season.

May 7th Season Opener: In less than ideal conditions the Hens were able to blank the Giants 5-0 off the strength of Brian Ferguson’s 3 run home run in the bottom of the first inning and the scoreless pitching of Will Elliot and new comer Matt Lareau. The skies opened up with a mixture of lightning, rain and hail to shut things down early.

May 14th: When playing the Brewers you have to be prepared for two things, crazy speed from the top of their order, and left handed batter after left handed batter. Since entering the league the Brewers have shown they are among the elite teams. The Hens fell behind 1-0 but pitched out of a jam in the second and third inning to keep the score where it was. The Hens then put up a 3 spot in the 5th taking a 3-1 lead but a game Brew crew tied it up in the 6th and a scoreless 7th ended in an unsatisfying tie.

May 18th: The late game got off to a bad start when the lights failed to come on until 9pm. This isn’t the first time this has happened; sadly it probably won’t be the last. Once they fired up the game got underway and solid pitching by Steve Pepi and Brian Ferguson kept one of the most potent offenses in the BVB at bay. A three run home-run by Colin Cummins put the Hens up 4-2. Entering the top of the 7th the bats came alive for the Cardinals as they rattled off 7 consecutive hits to put up 4 runs and take a 6-4 lead. But the late start meant the curfew and a roll-back to the last completed inning. “Truly a ‘Bush’ way to win” quoted Hen’s first basemen Steve Pepi. The way Cards pitcher Mark Thomas was throwing it would’ve been a struggle to put up 2 for the tie let alone 3 for the win. The Cardinals are a team in which you use to measure how good your team is and they showed what they are capable of at any given time and once an injured Brian Pereira returns the Cards will have one more weapon on both sides of the ball to make them even stronger.

May 25th : On a beautiful night with perfect baseball weather the Hen’s bats came to life scrambling 15 runs across the plate in 6 innings. Matt Lareau belted a two run homer, Jason McKay pitched in with a two hit three RBI night and Brad Otsuka continued his torrent pace at the plate with a two hit showing as well. Will ‘the un-made bed’ Elliot threw two solid innings to get the win while lefty new comer Brian ‘Gunner’ Gunson threw two scoreless innings only facing 7 batters. All in all a solid win against the Marauders.

Stonewalls in Hamilton is NOW OPEN. The BVB MudHen’s own, #26 Dennis Mahoney-Bruer has recently opened his own establishment in downtown Hamilton. Don’t let the word “PUB” fool you. Stonewalls is an inviting atmosphere with elegant décor inside and high end food and dining in a modern “Gastropub” approach. Stonewalls modern menu is far more expansive than a typical pub. Complex gourmet meals are served alongside traditional comfort foods; lending to anyone’s taste.

Come out this Saturday night (May8th) to celebrate their GRAND OPENING and see a live performance by the band POWERHOUSE. See the attached flyer for details and a special offer coupon. Head down to 339 York Boulevard, Hamilton to Stonewalls.

Saturday April 17th marks the date when the MudHens #24 Brian ‘Fergie’ Ferguson is getting married to his girlfriend, Kristina Lacy. The “eternal bachelor” days are now officially over for the Hens infielder.

Don’t worry Fergie, the MudHens in attendance on your wedding day will live up to expectations (open bar right!) but, try to not embarrass you too much or regret inviting us in the first place. Good luck on your speech and the day’s activities.

Congrats and best wishes on your day. We will see you at the yard in a couple weeks.

Brenner Everts and Erica gave birth to a baby boy on February 18th at 5:29am. Noah Joaquin Everts weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz. Mom and baby Noah are happy, healthy and ready to take lead-off like his old man.Noah looks just like his father...no hair and all!

On behalf of the MudHens squad and their families, we wish you luck and good health with your new family member. We hope to see the Everts clan at the yard in the spring…

Adam “Double A” Ableman and his wife Danielle gave birth to a baby boy on January 26th at 7:30am. Aaron Jude Ableman weighed in at a generous 8 lbs 9 oz. Mom and baby Aaron are happy, healthy and ready to take on the world.
On behalf of the MudHens squad and their families, wThe Hens family continues to grow

Adam “Double A” Ableman and his wife Danielle gave birth to a baby boy on January 26th at 7:30am. Aaron Jude Ableman weighed in at a generous 8 lbs 9 oz. Mom and baby Aaron are happy, healthy and ready to take on the world.

On behalf of the MudHens squad and their families, we wish you luck and good health with your new family member. We hope to see the entire Ableman clan at the yard soon...
e wish you luck and good health with your new family member. We hope to see the entire Ableman clan at the yard soon...

A great season in 2009 for the Hens no matter how you look at it. They made it 8 games into the play-offs; knocking off the 3rd place team in the quarter finals and took the Lutz Cup winning #1seeded team to the last game of the 5 game semi-final series. No matter, it was a good show and it proved that the Hens have the solid squad needed to compete in this league. Quoting team Manager, Dan Pokoradi: “The Hens are a first rate squad and 2009 was another growth pattern that we have always wanted. 2007, our inaugural year as the MudHens, produced the Legends Cup (B-pool champs), 2008 brought the Lutz Cup (top pennant record for the regular season at 17-3) and 2009 took us into the top Vintage round deep into the semi-finals. Next stop....THE WHOLE THING and the kitchen sink too!” With the drive to succeed, the MudHens can very well achieve that goal. Some tweaks to the roster and lessons learned through the season will provided positive results next year.

Despite the regular season being wrapped up for the season in BVB, the MudHens continue to find ways to keep the gloves from a “long sleep.” Just last weekend, the Hens travelled to the Oakville Fall Classic and played three games over the weekend despite the weather issues. A lot of good baseball and fun with some familiar characters from around the old loop. Many thanks to Rich Knight and the Golden A’s for hosting us again. The Hens will continue to find some pickup games through October where they can and for some, a little travel south to Arizona and Florida to play some tournament ball. All in an effort to push off storing the equipment for as long as they can.

The BVB MudHens want to thank all the sponsors from 2009 as well as the fans and family that came out to support us throughout the season. The BVB MudHens will continue to keep you updated on team and clubhouse activities throughout the winter via the website. A great season in 2009 from a great group of players. We will all look forward to the gatherings throughout the off-season and it will be spring in no time.

GO HENS!

The BVB MudHens own Pat "Patch" Adams and his wife, Carli have had their first child. Born on October 2nd at 3:24am they welcomed Harper Lana Victoria Adams into the world at a healthy 8lbs.2oz. Mom and baby are doing great. CONGRATS TO CARLI & PAT from the team! All the best in the future for you and your daughter.

Last evening at Nelson Park, the deciding game 3 of the first round play-off series between the Cardinals and the MudHens was won by the Hens 7-6. Once again, strong steady pitching by Will Elliot, Steve Pepi and Paul Thomas coupled with a solid defensive effort allowed the Hens to squeak out a very close game.

The Cardinals certainly do not lack any firepower at the plate but the injury to their first basemen Jason Saker in the games third inning certainly gave an advantage to the Hens. The former Hen, Saker is one of the BVB’s most stubborn batters and has established him as very tough out; his absence was a factor. Hats off to the Cardinals for playing a straight up series approached with class and dignity.

The Hens took an early 3 run lead in the top of the 1st inning thanks in large part to Mike Blaney continuing to be an RBI machine. Mike hit a double to the gap that cashed Brenner Everts and Brian Ferguson. The Cardinals responded in the bottom of the inning with a bases loaded double by Jeff Gilleland bringing in all three runners. The last six innings were characterized by solid pitching and defense on both sides of the diamond as the Hens pushed another 4 runs across to the Cardinals’ 3 runs.

As mentioned earlier, this year marked the departure of the former play-off system of separating the top 4 teams with the next 4 teams to play for separate Championships. In a pre-season move that recognized the increase in league talent and team parity it went to an 8 team seeded format. This was proven to be an exciting format as the 6th seeded MudHens are joining the 5th seeded Hobos in the Vintage Semi-finals.

The MudHens now move on to a best of 5 game series with the Brewers. Game 1 against the Brewers will be played Tuesday September 8th at Nelson Park, start time 7:00pm.