Outfielder Matt Joyce learned last week that he had been invited to the Tigers' major league camp in Lakeland, Fla. He has had a little trouble sleeping ever since.
"Your mind races," Joyce said Tuesday, after the team announced its 21 invitees. "You're a step closer to the big leagues. It's a big accomplishment, but you have to take it in stride, have fun with it and not pressure yourself too much.
"A bunch of people said, 'You've got to get me so-and-so's autograph,' " said Gerbe, 23. "That's not happening."
Kyle Teague gave up a solo homer over the center-field fence to Swartz Creek's Damien Keehn in the bottom of the fourth inning of the first game of a doubleheader Thursday.
That was about the only thing the Oxford junior did wrong as he tossed a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts to lead the Wildcats to a 9-1 Metro League victory over the host Dragons.
"It was belt high and down the middle," Teague said. "It was a big boy up there and, if he got ahold of it, it was going to go. I'm happy with one run."
Teague's performance enabled Oxford to clinch the outright Metro championship. The Wildcats, who won the nightcap by a 9-2 score, finished league play with a 14-1 record.
"It's incredible how businesslike and focused they are on every pitch," Oxford coach Kurt Nuss said. "They come to compete. Our seniors have been outstanding all year."
Teague's delivery might look a little odd to some, but its perfectly natural to him. Unlike most hurlers, the right-hander throws sidearm.
When he was a youth, he had difficulty getting the ball over the plate using the typical over-the-top motion.
In eighth grade his pitching coach, Joe Fletcher, changed his delivery to sidearm. This spring, Teague has been nearly unhitable.
Entering Thursday's contest he has been clocked consistently between 84 to 85 mph and he had an 0.88 earned run average.
"He's pretty special," Nuss said. "He does the important stuff that transfers to baseball. He works on his core (strength) and his weights. He works for everything he gets."
Against Swartz Creek, Teague's unusual delivery appeared to baffle the Dragons' hitters. After allowing three hits in the first four innings, he yielded only one in the final three.
The 16-year-old threw 98 pitches against Swartz Creek and fanned five of the final eight batters. He improved his overall record to 8-2 and has 96 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched.
Oxford gave Teague all the support he needed. Leading 1-0 after three innings, the Wildcats scored five runs in the top of the fourth and three in the fifth to break the game open.
"He controlled the game and he did what he had to do," Swartz Creek coach Eric Senter said of Teague. "Without a doubt, he's the best in the league."
Brandon Duggan had five hits and four RBIs, Bobby Rhodes had four hits and five RBIs, Teague had four hits and Jeremy Bukoski threw a four-hitter with three strikeouts to win the second game for Oxford (24-5).
Trevor Cope had four hits and Trevor L'Hommedieu had three
