Mill Run, Carmichaels remain County League stalwarts
The Fayette County Baseball League has had a wide range of teams from many different places during its existence.
Some legendary franchises have come and gone but as the FCBL nears the end of its 50th season there are two stalwarts that remain in the league.
Those two teams, Mill Run and Carmichaels, met in the first round of the playoffs with the Copperheads winning the best-of-3 series 2-0 to advance to the league鈥檚 best-of-5 final against the Potomac Valley Mudcats. Game 1 was slated to be played Wednesday evening at Garrett College in Maryland.
Against the Millers, Carmichaels held on for a tense 6-5 win in the first game then rolled to a 16-2 victory in the second game.
Carmichaels has been in the league for 41 years and Mill Run has been a member all 50 years while the team has been around for an amazing 115 years.
Although Fayette County is in its name, there were only two teams from there this season, those being Mill Run and Brownsville. In addition to Carmichaels and Potomac Valley in Maryland, the current league also includes Charleroi, Youghiogheny, and Oakland in Maryland.
Mill Run manager Ray Orndorff and Carmichaels manager Dickie Krause both entered the league in 1984 and have transitioned from players to players/managers to now just managers.
The teams finished second and third in the regular season. The Copperheads tied Potomac Valley for the best record at 16-2 but the Mudcats earned the top seed in the playoffs by winning two of their three head-do-head matchups.
The Millers got into the postseason thanks to a huge turnaround after a 2-7 start. They went 8-1 the rest of the way which included handing Potomac Valley its second loss to finish 10-8.
鈥淲hen the season first started it was kind of rough,鈥� Orndorff said. 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 a very good baseball team and we didn鈥檛 look like a playoff team for sure. By midseason it started turning around a little bit and towards the latter third of the season we started playing really good baseball.
鈥淲e got the pitching, we got the hitting, we got a big win over the Mudcats and that put us in playoff position. So I thought we came a long way from the beginning of the season to the end of the season.鈥�
Mill Run鈥檚 baseball field was unplayable this year which presented another challenge for the team. They were forced to play their home games at Farmington and at Connellsville Area High School鈥檚 Thomas E. Sankovich Field.
The Millers are hoping to have their iconic field ready again by next season.
Krause voiced his respect for Orndorff and Mill Run.
鈥淭hey are classy,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淢ill Run has always been so good for the league. They always do things the right way. I wasn鈥檛 excited to play them to be honest because they came into the playoffs on an eight-of-nine streak, and they beat the Mudcats, which is something we only did once in three games.
鈥淚 have a lot of respect for them and Ray. They play baseball hard and the league is very fortunate to have them.鈥�
Krause and Orndorff both enjoy participating in the league and hope to keep doing it for the foreseeable future.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just always been something that I鈥檝e loved doing,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淎nd this year鈥檚 group of guys, I told them, they鈥檝e been so good. Everytime I pinch hit for a guy, whether it was a big moment or a blowout where I was trying to get somebody else time, nobody ever took a bad attitude. This group has been such a joy to be around. It鈥檚 been a fun season.鈥�
Although his team fell short of the finals, Orndorff was pleased at his team鈥檚 performance.
鈥淚 told all of them after the game that I was proud of them, of their accomplishments,鈥� Orndorff said. 鈥淭here were challenges this season moving from another field. I thought they performed well and I told them they play so well together as a team. They鈥檙e always encouraging each other and the fellows always play to the last out, no matter like we were losing as we were tonight or winning 2-1, they always played the full seven innings.
鈥淚 told them, Mill Run has had baseball for 115 years and we鈥檇 like to keep that tradition going.鈥�