LEWISTOWN - There are not many things in life that a sure thing. As one saying goes. the only two sure things are death and taxes.
But the Mifflin County Babe Ruth class of 2012 also did two sure things on a consistent basis: hit and score.
During their three year career, the three All-Star teams at 13, 14 and 15 put up some significant numbers.
In three years of competition, the class had a combined record of 16-6 including three District 7 titles, one finish in the state's final four and as 13-year-olds in 2010 they were state runners-up.
In those 22 games, they put up some numbers that could stand the test of time. For teams that had 100 or more official at bats, the class of 2012 ranks one, two and three in batting average. The 13-year-old team (2010) hit an all-time high of .434, while the 14-year-old team (2011) came in at .408. The 15-year-old team (2012) was close behind at .404. For teams that had over 200 or more official at bats, the 13-year-old team is number one and the 15-year-old team is second. The 14-year-old team in 2011 didn't qualify at 200 as it only had 169 official at bats. Across their three years, the group hit a combined .418.
In run production, the class scored 308 times, second most to the class of 2009, which scored 346 runs. The class of 2012 averaged 11.8 runs per game and scored in double figures in 13 of its 22 games. The 2009 class played in 37 games.
Twice, Mifflin County set single game records for most hits in a game as it had 30 against Brandywine as 15-year-olds in a 33-2 win and as 13-year-olds in a 48-1 win over Perry County.
With all that hitting and scoring four players from the class of 2012 moved into the league's top 10 in offensive statistics.
Carter Spade finished his career with 38 hits, tied for 10th place. The all time leader is Chris Tressler, who had 51 hits from 2002-04.
Lucas McKay and Spade both made the top 10 in runs scored. McKay finished with 43 runs, which placed him third behind Tressler and Casey Zimmerman (2004-06). Each of those players are tied for the top spot with 44 runs. Spade finished in sixth place with 41.
McKay had nine doubles for his career, which ties him for fourth place. Drew Hannon is tied for seventh place with eight. The all-time leader is Matt Gregg (2002-04) with 13.
Hannon finished with 31 RBIs tying him for fourth place. The all time leaders are Gregg and Zimmerman with 33 runs knocked in.
Spade placed fourth with a .475 average, while Hunter Shuff is seventh with a .455 mark and McKay is eighth at .453.
There is, however, a new leader in the batting average department for the first time in a quarter century - Jeff Kanagy (1985-87) has been the leader for 25 years with a .510 mark. Isaiah Kearns, a 14-year-old, with one year remaining in his Babe Ruth career is the new leader with a .511 mark. Kearns also made the top ten in doubles with eight.
A player must have at least 45 official at bats to qualify for the top 10.
The three All-Star managers, Fred Zook (13-year-olds), Scott Wright (14-year-olds) and Bernie Howard (15-year-olds) all moved up in the coaching marks.
Zook is at the top of the charts for All-Star wins with a 96-37 record and overall he has a 476-296 record.
Howard now has a 73-23 mark as an All-Star manager and is in fourth place. His career record is 361-89.
Wright now has a 10-4 All-Star record and he became the 13th manager to accumulate double digit victories in a Mifflin County All-Star uniform. His overall mark is 106-65.
The league finished its 58th season of Babe Ruth All-Star competition with a record of 592-255. It now has put together 45 seasons in a row without a losing mark and has won 78 district titles and 19 state championships. Mifflin County has had 65 finishes in the state's final four and has been in 38 state championship games along with winning two Mid-Atlantic Regionals and going to two World Series.
