Southwest follows its heart and gut to the Little League district crown

Bay City, Michigan – They preach pitching and defense.

And they promise chicken wings and tacos.

The Bay City Southwest coaching staff understands there is more than one way to motivate Little League baseball players.

Fueled by their pursuit of perfection – and driven by their hunger for a post-game victory dinner – Southwest claimed the district championship for the under-11 age group with a hard-fought 5-0 victory over Greater Bay.

Then we went to Coco Loco.

“We’ve gone out to dinner together after every win so far,” Southwest coach Kent Cwiklinski said. “On the way home after Monday’s game, my son said, ‘It’s fun to win, but I really enjoy this part.’ Just coming together as a team and having fun is what it’s all about.”

The team earned a chance at several more dinners by qualifying for the Little League state tournament for kids and youth 11 and under, a 12-team showdown to be held July 27-August 1 at Ypsilanti National.

As always, it was not an easy task to win the district title.

Southwest and neighboring rival Greater Bay battled a scoreless duel for four innings in the decisive title game at Kolb Field. Southwest’s Austin Gwizdala and Greater Bay’s Grayden Fick engaged in a classic pitching duel that never lost its tension.

“It was one of those games where you could cut the tension with a knife,” Cwiklinski said. “You could feel the Southwest-Greater Bay atmosphere. It was stressful for me, but I believe in this team and I knew they could do it.”

Southwest didn’t have a single hit in the first four innings, but finally broke through in the fifth. Everett Carrier and Gwizdala hit singles and Parker Bellinger followed with a game-winning two-run double. Southwest took its first breath of the game and caught fire when Everett Cwiklinski walked and Nolan Bourassa, Tyson Phelps and Lukas Schlicker hit three straight singles to make it 4-0.

Gwizdala and Southwest’s nearly flawless defense did the rest, allowing them to win without conceding a goal.

“From day one, we talked about attitude, effort and belief,” said Cwiklinski, who coaches alongside Jeff O’Loughlin and Brent Jacobs. “You have to believe in yourself and the team behind you. They came in and played defense like no other.”

“We preach to the team that defense wins games. Eventually, goals will happen, and that’s exactly what happened tonight.”

Fick led Greater Bay’s lineup with two hits, while Hunter Ebelt, Nolan Cohee and Jayden Lauria each had one.

For Southwest, it was on to Coco Loco’s — after defeating Buffalo Wild Wings and Castaway’s following their first two wins in district play. And now the state tournament is next on the agenda.

They are the first team from Southwest to qualify for the under-11 state tournament since 2021. Southwest won the title in that age group in 2017.

Here is a summary of the group matches of the three-team district tournament.

LARGER BAY 18, SAGINAW 1

Greater Bay firmly secured its spot in the championship game by defeating Saginaw 18-1 in the final group game.

Greater Bay scored 10 runs in the sixth inning to pull away and improve its record to 1-1, giving it second place and a spot in the title game.

Grayden Fick and Hunter Crete each scored three goals to spark Greater Bay’s attack, while Jack Busch, Kaiden Thompson, Chase Korpal, Emmett Londry and Jase Millar each added one goal in the win.

Brooks Bovee had two hits for Saginaw (0-2), while Carter Sisson had one. Raymond Hill brought home Hiram Brown’s only run in the fifth inning.

Bay City Southwest 10, Greater Bay 4

Southwest secured its spot in the title game with a 10-4 win over Greater Bay.

Mason Larive and Roman Meyer each scored two goals in the win, while Caden O’Loughlin, Roman Meyer, Austin Gwizdala, Nolan Bourassa, Tyson Phelps, Lukas Schlicker and Jace Johnson all scored once for Southwest (2-0).

Greater Bay caught up with a four-run fourth inning to make it 5-4, but Southwest responded with two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to pull away.

Greater Bay got a two-run home run from Grayden Fick, while Kaiden Thompson and Hunter Crete each had a hit.

Bay City Southwest 26, Saginaw 2

Southwest opened district play with a bang, lighting up the scoreboard with a 26-2 victory over Saginaw.

Mason Larive led the charge with two hits and four RBIs, while Everett Carrier hit a three-run double. Calen O’Loughlin and Lukas Schlicker each had two hits, while Roman Meyer, Austin Gwizdala and Nolan Bourassa each had one hit. Leadoff hitter Braydon Jacobs did his job, drawing four walks and scoring four runs.

Saginaw got hits from Luke Modlin, Landon Cook and Brooks Bovee.