Mon-Clair League Championship Preview

 One of the highlights of the summer in our area is the Mon-Clair League season. Simply put, it's baseball as it ought to be, the "Best in the Midwest". 6 teams battled through a 25-game schedule, and it all comes down to this clash between the Belleville Rockies and Millstadt Green Machine.

Millstadt, searching for their first championship since 2021, are led by Hall of Fame Manager Norm "Shorty" Toenjes, and finished the regular season at 13-12, putting them in 3rd place in the standings. Their playoff run began with an offensive explosion, as they defeated the #6 seeded Edwardsville Stags 14-5, with Patrick Mendiola leading the way with 3 hits, including a home run, and 4 RBI's. They would then move on to take on the #2 seed and back-to-back league champion Valmeyer Lakers, and would continue their strong offensive performance, with the team combining for 17 hits to help defeat the Lakers 12-8. 

Anchoring the lineup for the Green Machine will be the 3 Kossina brothers. Tony, Cal, and Joey all hit over .300 on the season, combining for 121 hits and 63 RBI's over the course of the season. Another key piece will be veteran outfielder Brian Lupa, who in his age 33 season led the Green Machine in RBI's with 30. 

The pitching rotation is led by Jake Stedman, who in 48 2/3 innings posted a 6-2 record, with 30 strikeouts and a 4.03 ERA. Other arms of note include Evan Spears (27 IP, 4-0, 2.85 ERA), and Kamden Casey (27 2/3 IP, 1-3, 3.04 ERA). 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Belleville were most recently champions in 2020. Their manager is Jim Thompson, who led the Rockies to a 5th place finish in the regular season standings with an 11-14 record. Despite the sub-.500 record, the Rockies, as they usually do, managed to win the games that matter the most. They defeated the #5 seed Waterloo Buds 5-3 in 1st round action, and then upset the #1 seed St. Louis Spikes 8-6 to advance to the championship series.

Jake Issacs led the way offensively for the Rockies this year, batting .424, with 11 RBI's and stole 33 bases, finishing 2nd in the league in that category. 3rd baseman Jevon Boyd led the way in the power categories, with 3 homers and 14 RBI's. The middle infield pairing of Jordan Heckler and Kayden McGee shined offensively as well, both hitting over .300.

Pitching was a strength for Belleville this year, with Brayden Knoebel (40 IP, 3-3, 2.28), Tyler Jowett (22 2/3 IP, 1-1, 2.78), and Mark Mueller (20 2/3 IP, 2-1, 2.71) all posting very solid numbers on the season. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The championship series will be best of 3 games, with the first two games being held on Saturday, August 10th at Borsch Park in Valmeyer. These games will be held under the lights, with 5:00 and 7:30 PM scheduled start times for those games. The 3rd game, if necessary will be held Sunday, August 11th at 2:00 PM, again at Borsch Park. Best of luck to both teams, it looks like the weather will be fantastic for baseball, with temperatures expected to be in the 70s and low chance of rain.