Following up on their outstanding first year of existence, the Grand Blanc Travel Baseball Association has announced their rosters for the 2011 season. Trryouts were held courtesy of Grand Blanc Varsity Baseball Coach JD Wheeler on Grand Blanc’s varsity field and many current Bobcat ballplayers assisted a large contingent of coaches in evaluating players in every age group. In addition to the squads that played under the GBTBA umbrella this past summer, the organization added a 10U team as well to further develop the future of Grand Blanc baseball.

“We’re excited to gear up for our second season,” said Dave Latture, GBTBA Board Member. “Our teams represented Grand Blanc extremely well in the Greater Flint Baseball League and we see the addtion of the 10U team as a continuation of our quality play. The new coaches in our association bring an exceptional level of enthusiasm and a love for the game that we need to keep our momentum going for years to come.”

The rosters are as follows:

Grand Blanc 10U Team:
1. Toby McLean
2. Brian Caine
3. Gavin Asbridge
4. Tyler Pasko
5. Diego Dionne
6. Bryce Bush
7. Kyle Pijaszek
8. Andrew Kranz
9. Brendan Silpoch
10. Justin Raybuck
11. Eric Delgado
12. Donovan Vanitvelt

Coaches:
Dave Pasko
Jesse Kranz
Ken Pijaszek

Grand Blanc 11U Team:
1. Keegan Titmuss
2. Garrett Lesser
3. Andrew Morningstar
4. Justin Pijaszek
5. Preston West
6. Sean Seaton
7. Joey Moore
8. Zachary Wurtz
9. Cooper Prue
10. Nolan Lawrence
11. Bryan Lendzion

Coaches:
Dan Titmuss
John Lesser

Grand Blanc 12U Team:
1. Hunter Carnell
2. Lawson Bainbridge
3. Connor Carlson
4. Brendan Pedrin
5. Gavin Anderson
6. Blake Bogan
7. Noah Troyer
8. Cal Smeets
9. Andrew Lannon
10. Brandon Bednar
11. Gage Sullivan
12. Nolan Hamilton

Coaches:
Mark Bednar
Mike Pedrin
Matt Bainbridge

Grand Blanc 13U Team:
1. Matt McKean
2. Cam Porritt
3. Annie Walker
4. Kyle Lavallee
5. Ross Whitehead
6. Evan Latture
7. Austen Mandernach
8. Andy Lendzion
9. Payton Lannon
10. Brandon Murphy
11. Spencer Fiewig
12. Paul Joseph

Coaches:
Ed Lavallee

Grand Blanc 14U Team:
1. Ryan Bartkowiak
2. Nick Scherba
3. Anthony Barbaretta
4. Garrett Newell
5. Johnny Clark
6. Curtis Frye
7. Alex Rye
8. Cam Alvado
9. Connor Haskins
10. Cody Schummer
11. Brenden Bush
12. Parker Barnett
13. Nick Williams

Coaches:
Mike Bartkowiak
Darrel Scherba
Jeff Newell
Joe Barbaretta

Grand Blanc 15U Team
1. Tylor Leeper
2. Brian Higham
3. Chris Flattley
4. Jacob Martin
5. Spencer Pins
6. Chris Burgess
7. Chase Carto
8. Neil Graham
9. Alex Cesal
10. Jacob Vanitvelt
11. Michael Bernard
12. Justin Rabidoux

Coaches:
Dave Vanitvelt
Jim Higham
Jim Cesal

The Grand Blanc Bobcats 13U travel baseball team won the Frankenmuth Summer Tournament Aug. 6-7.

The final tournament of the season for the Grand Blanc Cats 12U team brought them to Otisville to take part in the annual Otisville Invitational. The 12U squad, coming off an excellent season in the Greater Flint Baseball League, were poised to end the season on a high note. They did not disappoint.

The Cats opened with a 12-0 drubbing of the Lake Orion Dragons. A five run second inning all but sealed the victory for GB as the Lake Orion pitchers had trouble finding the strike zone. Andy Lendzion lead the way with three singles and both Annie Walker and Evan Latture singled and scored twice.

A tough Trenton team awaited the Cats in game two of the tourney and as expected, the game was a classic. Grand Blanc’s Latture was the only player to record a hit through three innings as the teams fought back and forth. Andy Lendzion’s left arm continued to keep the Trenton team at bay and in the bottom of the fourth, lightning struck for the Cats. With two outs, Brendan Bush was hit by a pitch and and Lendzion singled him to second. Grand Blanc’s big left fielder Matt McKean strode to the plate, looking to break the game open. McKean took strike one and then saw a Trenton fastball and hammered it over the left field fence, giving Grand Blanc a 3-0 lead they never relinquished. Latture was stellar behind the plate, throwing out two would-be base stealers to end innings and kill a pair of late Trenton rallies.

Game three saw the 12U squad take on the Sting, a team comprised of players from the Lapeer and North Branch area. The game was marred by many base on balls and these opportunities helped GB to a 13-2 win. Lendzion continued what has been an outstanding summer at the plate with yet another home run. Paul Joseph and Latture each had a two-run singles to aid in the Cat’s assault.

The three victories sent Grand Blanc into the tournament finals against the Bay City Lumbermen. Grand Blanc got on the board in the first when centerfielder Austen Mandernach drilled a pitch down the left field line and legged out a double. He stole third and then Annie Walker walked to give Grand Blanc a first and third, no-out situation. When Walker stole third on the next pitch, the Lumbermen catcher threw to second and Mandernach broke for home. The throw was on the money, but somehow Mandernach snuck under the tag and slid in with the game’s first run. The play’s momentum fueled the Cats and from that point, it was all Grand Blanc. The pitching duo of Joseph and Bush was virtually unhittable and they surrendered but a single base hit in the entire game. Cam Porritt drove in two more runs in the second inning to pad the Cat lead and seal the championship and put the finishing touches on a great season for the 12U team.

The GBLL’s 11U Cats overcame some tough luck and returned from the annual Otisville Baseball Tournament with a third place finish.

In game one, the Cats, behind some great pitching performances from Nolan Hamilton (7 strikeouts) and Noah Troyer (8 strikeouts) defeated the Bulldogs of Elba 5-4. Kyle Carlson hit a game tying inside-the-park homerun and Gage Sullivan’s single drove in the lead run in the last inning. The win was not secured until the bottom of the inning when with two outs, the Bulldogs attempted a double steal. The pick-off throw went over the head of third baseman Brendan Pedrin. Pedrin alertly ran to the fence, picked up and fired a dart to Cats catcher Brandon Bednar, who successfully blocked the plate and slapped the tag on the potential tying run, effectively ending the game.

Game two saw the Cat’s jump out to a 5-1 lead over the Dearborn Crush, the eventual champions of the 11U division. However, the defense could not keep the Crush down as they came back to win a close game by a 6-5 score. Lawson Bainbridge had a double for a second consecutive game to lead Grand Blanc

The third game of the weekend had plenty of drama, as the winner was guaranteed to advance to the championship game. Connor Carlson got the Cat’s off to a fast start by scoring the first run of the game in the top of the first on a single delivered by Blake Bogan. Both teams threatened to break the game open but pitching and defense kept the game close at 1-1 going to the last inning. The Cat’s could not score and the Renegades earned the victory with a walk off Grand Slam home run.

The battle for third place saw the Cat’s and Elba clash once again. Unlike the first game, there was an offensive explosion. Brandon Bednar led the attack with two doubles, a triple and five RBIs. Hunter Carnell was 2 for 2 to go along with two walks and Cal Smeets chipped in with a pair of singles and scored twice in the 14-6 victory. The win capped off a fine inaugural season for the 11U team.

Andy and Bryan Lendzion both went deep on Saturday in Otisville.