Third Place Finish in GLSCL, Team Looks to Future
Royal Oak, MI, July 29, 2021 – The Lucky Corner – Memorial Field
Season one as the Royal Oak Leprechauns is in the books. The Metro-Detroit based baseball team finished the season 23-19, good for third place in the North Division of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. General Manager Mark Sackett noted the season was a success on the field and in the stands.
“It was an amazing first summer,” Sackett said. “With almost a thousand people at opening day to close to a thousand people at the end of the season. The fans were great, the players played well, and I think everyone had a great time.”
The new Oakland County attraction became an instant crowd favorite with plenty of familiar faces returning during the 21-game home dates.
“Yes, we are a baseball team but more importantly, we are a family-friendly, fun experience for all to enjoy. Where else can you grab a beer and a ticket to a ballgame for less than $10?”
The support of friends, fans, and the city of Royal Oak helped make the summer season a successful one, according to Sackett.
“I was so pleased to have so many Royal Oak residents at the games as well as many of our commissioners and city workers. They saw how beautiful the field was and now they’re making plans to improve the overall park.”
With plenty of enormous talent on the field, Sackett complimented his off-the-field team that gave countless hours to make the summer a winning one.
“We were extremely fortunate to have a lot of the right people join our operations team this summer. All of the Royal Oak residents from the Public Address Announcer to the Promotions Director – all residents of Royal Oak who are involved and care about their community.”
Looking forward to next season, Sackett will be busy with his team to improve upon the 2021 season.
“Plans have already begun to make 2022 bigger and better and the fun will return. Be on the lookout for a lot of off-season promotions.”
Follow the Leprechauns on their social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And fans can replay this past season’s home games on their YouTube channel as well.
The Leprechauns wrapped up their last week with a full slate of games to finish off an impressive season.
The final weeks of the season included sending six players to the 2021 GLSCL All-Star Game in Mason, Ohio on Tuesday, July 20 – an 11-5 North Division win. The Leprechauns then met the league-best Sandusky Ice Haulers in Royal Oak where the Leprechauns dropped a tough mercy-ruled game on.
The Leprechauns came out looking like a different team than the night before, defeating the Grand Lake Mariners by a score of 10-4 in front of an over 700-plus-person crowd at the #LuckyCorner Memorial Park for the final home game of the summer. Pitcher Lance Kinross (Moorpark College) picked up his fourth and final win on the year after throwing eight complete innings, giving up only four runs and recording six Mariner strikeouts. The home crowd was treated to some powerful offense including doubles from both Trent Farquhar (Michigan State University) and Devon Nettles (Jackson Community College), along with an impressive 3-for-6 game from Noah Stout (Clemson University). Perhaps none more impressive than Zack MacDonald (Miami University, OH), who had one of his best games of the season on Thursday. MacDonald was a perfect 4-for-4 on the night including three RBIs, four runs scored and a monster solo home run in the bottom of the 7th inning.
Following the Thursday night win at Memorial Park, the Leprechauns hit the road for the final three games of the regular season, which featured a doubleheader against Jet Box at Milford High School where the ‘Chauns picked up the sweep with scores of 12-2 and 4-2. The final game of the season took place in Muskegon against the Clippers where the Leprechauns dropped a 7-6 decision to wrap up a historic first season in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. The Leprechauns finished 23-19 and in third place in the North Division, just one spot out of the playoffs.
Timely hitting and baserunning were a major positive for the Leprechauns this season, with a handful of players hitting above .300. Perhaps the best all-around player this season for the Leprechauns, Trent Farquhar (Michigan State University), had an attention-grabbing stat line. The 20-year-old Spartan from Highland finished the year batting .345 (40 for 116) while recording 35 RBIs, 31 runs scored, 9 doubles, 3 triples, 31 walks, all while only striking out 11 times and swiping just under 20 bases. Farquhar had a whopping .503 on-base percentage, which led all Leprechauns hitters and his 35 RBIs were good enough to be in the top five for the entire league. Zach MacDonald (Miami University, OH) led all Royal Oak hitters with a .392 batting average (38-for-97) while picking up 26 RBIs, eight doubles, three triples, and three home runs.
The Royal Oak Leprechauns are part of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League that has been in existence since 1987. The league for 2021 consists of 14 teams throughout Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan.
The Leprechaun team is a division of the USA Prime Michigan organization which originally began in Birmingham, Michigan in 1999. In 2005, with expanded growth, the organization became a nonprofit and began to include players from all over Oakland County. In 2015, USA Prime Michigan added the Leprechauns and Sackett signed with the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League and began this program at Siena Heights University. He moved the team to Royal Oak and to Memorial Park in 2018. For more information, go to: www.royaloakleprechauns.com.
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If you would like more information about the Royal Oak Leprechauns, please contact Mark Sackett at 248.930.0388 or email him at mark@leprechaunball.com.
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