Hartland Eagles Baseball

The first annual Michigan Wood Bat Classic took place Saturday and Sunday at Tags Sports Complex in Hartland, complete with pine tar, rosin bags and even one team in throwback uniforms.

The Livingston Storm — sporting 1928 Detroit Tigers replica uniforms — cruised to a 10-4 win over the Michigan Red Sox (from Troy) in the title game. Jerry Waligora coaches the Storm, but stayed out of the dugout over the weekend because of his role as tournament director.

"We actually wanted to find a wood bat tournament for our team to play in in the state of Michigan and we couldn't," Waligora said. "So we created one. It's been well-received by the teams here."

Teams from Commerce, Grand Blanc, Lake Fenton and Wyandotte rounded out the six-team tournament field. As part of the entry fee, each team got a couple of wood bats for use in the tournament.

Overall, Waligora said, the tournament was a big success.

"It's just been a great experience for our kids," he said. "Part of our mission every year with our team is to give our kids new experiences, and we've done that here."

The players agreed.

"I thought the tournament was really fun," Robert Spencer said. "The games were really close and we played some great teams."

What about the uniforms?

"I love these uniforms," Spencer said. "We wear them in every tournament on Sunday."

Jacob McArthur said it took a few swings to get used to the wood bats but that using them will pay off when the team goes back to using aluminum bats.

"At first they seemed a little heavy," McArthur said. "But towards the end they got a lot better. Now, the (aluminum) bats will probably seem a lot lighter."

Andrew Chevalier had a different take on using wooden bats.

"I liked them because it made you feel like the pros," he said.

Along with the games, there was a skills competition on Saturday which featured a home run derby with the wood bats, a couple of throwing contests and a baserunning contest.

Cole Waligora listed that as one of his favorite parts of the weekend.

"That was really fun," he said, "especially because I won the velocity throw."

Cole's winning throw was clocked at 62 mph.

Jerry Waligora also turned the tournament into a fundraiser of sorts. Fans that brought a piece of baseball equipment got into the games for free. All equipment collected is being donated to the police athletic club.

Another Storm coach, Bob Reuter, said that Waligora's past experiences allowed him to create a perfect setting for the kids at this tournament.

"He's pretty much been in so many tournaments, he knew exactly what everybody was looking for," Reuter said. "There's so many coaches that only want to bat their best nine, but coach Waligora just wants to have all the kids play and get them equal playing time. He just does a phenomenal job with them."

Reach reporter Rick Shepich at (517) 552-2861 or by e-mail at rshepich@gannett.com