Welcome to the official website of the Memphis Tiger 9 year old baseball team for 2007 Fall Season & 2008 Spring Season. The Memphis Tigers are part of a youth baseball organization located in Memphis Tennessee that consist of players from all over the Mid-South. The organization is full of tradition and has numerous national championships. A host of past, present and future major leaguers have worn the Tiger colors throughout the years.

Our goals are to teach teamwork, respect for the game and proper technique, along with fundamentals of the game and most important of all is to have FUN playing the game. We like our Tigers smiling and happy, so they will always love the game and want to come back.

If you would like more information on the Tiger 9's or think you might like to be a Tiger please contact Coach Kendrick 901-491-5145. Please roam the site and check back often for updates. Also feel free to add us to your link page. Be sure to check the "My Site News" section for this Tiger teams past accomplishments.

Go Tigers!! - Let's Play Ball !!!

The Memphis Tigers traveled to Birmingham, AL chasing the dream - the Tigers had set their goals high this season and the Road to Disney was the Dream.  This meant becoming a member of the Elite 24 field that would compete in Orlando at the Wide World Of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World and be among the top 24 teams in the Nation. What would this take - it would require a Super NIT Championship.

The Tigers arrived late Friday afternoon and would draw the late game (9pm) against Rascal Basball. The Rascals would throw their big ace all night against the Tigers. The Tigers found a few holes but, the big #25 Brooks would keep the Tigers off balance all night. One of the best pitchers the Tigers have seen this year.

Sat morning brought more heartache for the Tigers, as the Alabama Attack and Line Drive Baseball sent the Tigers to the bottom of the seeding. The Tigers just could not get anything going and got a taste of what big time baseball teams are about. To compete at this level you can not take a pitch off. The Tiger coaches and players would have a mindset meeting after the Tigers 3rd loss of pool play. The Tigers wouldn't get to go swimming after the 3rd loss until they hit the Practice field. Coach Kendrick and Trainor wouldn't let the boys leave until the Tigers knew what 100% meant and how to finish.  Something happened in that session as the boys became a new team. On Sunday, Mother's Day, a different Tiger baseball team would take the field.

The Tigers were at the bottom of the pack with a #10 seeding which put the Tigers in the first game of the day, 8 a.m. against #7 seed Oxford Bombers.  The Tigers would jump out quick with 6 runs in the first. The Tiger defense did the rest. 7-5 Tigers

The Tigers would then advance to face the #2 seed Line Drive Baseball. The Tigers knew this would be a hard fought, close game, as these 2 teams have gone toe-to-toe each time they have met. D J Robinson would take the mound first with Chris Swanberg coming in and closing the door on Line Drive with some ace pitching. 8-6 Tigers advance to semi-finals

The Tigers would face the #3 seed TPSA Bandits. The Tigers would jump out with some solid hitting and defense to take a commanding lead 9-2 going into the bottom of the 6th. The Tigers were 3 outs away from the Championship game, not so fast!!  The hard hitting Bandits were not ready to just let the Tigers walk up the hill to the championship game. The Bandits strung together a few singles and then a GRANDSLAM !! and another solo Homerun. The Bandits had battled back and tied the game. The mental toughness of the Tigers showed as the International rules came into play. Hayden (The Hammer) Leatherwood would crush a single to center and drive in the 2 runs. D J Robinson would come in and get the Save and put the Tigers in the Championship Game.  Tigers 11-9

MEMPHIS TIGERS  vs  GULF COAST LIGHTNING

The Tigers would win the toss, thanks to D J calling tails and the Tigers would be the home team for the first time all day...  William Locke would take the mound and pitch 3 flawless innings. D J Robinson would get the scoring started for the Tigers with a 2 run 200+ HR over Left-center field. Garrett Baugh would come in and close the game pitching the last 3 innings. Tigers 6-4  (SUPER NIT CHAMPIONS)

This group proved what they could accomplish, when you believe in yourself and each other. This is what a Team is about!!!   The Tiger's backs were against the wall and all odds were against them.  The Tigers learned a lot from other teams this week-end on what being a team means. Hat's off to all the great teams in the Tournament. 

 Great Job Tigers !!!! 

HIGHLIGHTS:

Hayden Leatherwood 2 HR'S

DJ Robinson 2 RUN HR

BAM BAM 2 RUN HR

Steven Kendrick 4 double plays / diving outfield catch

Preston Trainor throwing out 2 base runners.

Tigers going 9 pitchers deep !!!!! with plenty of pitching left..

Every Tiger could be mentioned here!!!!!! Awesome !!!

Locke , Swanberg , Baugh , Cain , Hefflinger

Tigers Pitching !!! Tigers Hitting !!! (Sun)Tiger defense!!!!

Happy Mothers Day to the Tiger Moms!!!

TIGER SCORE 60 AND ALLOW ONLY 10 RUNS ON WEEKEND!!!!

The Tigers team defense is really starting to gel. The Tigers never had to pull a starting pitcher all week-end as the defense stood tall and the pitch counts stayed low. The Tiger Bats were hot all week-end. On Sunday the bats started slow but once the blood got flowing, they were hot!!

Every Tiger recorded hits and runs, a complete team effort. The Tiger parents had a great week-end with the best tasting BBQ in Memphis !!! The team chemistry is starting to show and the Tigers are ready to head to Birmingham, Alabama for the Super NIT.

Go Tigers !!!

Great job !!!

HIGHLIGHTS

Hayden Leatherwood Grand Slam!!!

Pitchers DJ Robinson, Hayden Leatherwood, Frank Hefflinger

Team Defense !!!

Team Bats !!

6TH ANNUAL

MARION ROTARY

INVITATIONAL NIT

CHAMPIONS !!!!

Tiger defense claims championship

 Zero runs allowed all week-end !!

A great team effort!!!

TIGERS GO 4-1 !!!           

 In THE BEST OF THE SOUTH   at Snowden Grove Park The Tigers went 2-1 in pool play. The runs allowed didn't favor the Tigers in this tournament. The Tigers were sent to the  CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET. The Tigers came to the park and proved they deserved to play in the Championship bracket by running past the Heat and shutting out the Braves to claim the Consolation Championship !!!..

HIGHLIGHTS:  TIGERS GO YARD   

WILLIAM LOCKE LEAD-OFF HOMERUN OVER LEFT FIELD (BREAKS WINDSHIELD!!!)

PRESTON TRAINOR OVER THE CENTER FIELD FENCE !!!

Tigers play hard in Atlanta 1 day Shoot-out!!

The Tigers traveled to Atlanta, Which is surely the city of Home Cooking.  The simple seeding of the brackets were done with home team favortism.  Congrats to the Bandits who overcame all odds and took the tournament!!!

The shoot-out only allowed 35 min games????  The Tigers played a total of 7 innings in 4 games???   The Tigers did play some good ball but with a 1-inning game, two 2-inning games and one 3-inning game it's hard to see which is the better team. The Tigers let KENNESAW EXPRESS escape with a win. The Tigers were up 3-0 to lose 4-3 in sudden death OT. 

It was a Rainy long week-end for the Tigers but, We did take the field and learned about each other and our Team. The Tigers will take this experience and move forward as we always do... Go Tigers!!!

Highlights from the week-end: 

Solid pitching performances

Hayden Leatherwood goes yard at 185+

BAM BAM IS BACK !!!!!

TIGERS BRING HOME SILVER CHAMPIONSHIP !!!

BAM BAM (SETH) COCHRAN the Tiger's Catcher had a massive head trauma incident this Friday night.  Bam was on his way to his hotel room after rooting a fellow Memphis team on in the tournament.  Bam slipped and came crashing down head first on the pavement.

Bam fractured his skull and air was trapped inside on the brain. Bam was rushed from Muscle Shoals ER back to LeBonheur Childrens Hospital around 3:30 am Sat Morning.  Bam is a trooper / Fighter and is presently home to start the recovery process.

The Tigers would like to thank everyone for all the phone calls and prayers for Bam. The Tigers remembered Bam before and during every game. The Tigers didn't finish like they would have liked or are capable of, but did manage to bring Bam some hardware home.  Thanks to some bad weather and poor scheduling the Tigers had to play 2 games in frigid temperatures that carried on until 12:20am Sunday morning, after clean up the Tigers didn't get back to the bed until after 1 am. The Tigers would, of course, get the first game of the day as well on Sunday. The Tigers did get their second wind and dug deep to overcome a 9-1 deficit and come back to claim the Silver Championship 14-11 over the North Alabama Giants.

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHT : LOGAN CAIN THROWS PERFECT GAME AGAINST  SHARKS!!! NO BASE RUNNERS ALLOWED 

Great job Tigers!!!

we love you Bam!!!!!!!!!

 ROCKET CITY WINTER COUNT DOWN

HUNSTVILLE , AL  CHAMPIONS !!!! 

10 TEAM TOURNAMENT !!!

The Memphis Tigers traveled to Huntsville, Alabama after a bad snow storm hit Memphis and cancelled their tournament at First Tn Fields. This group of parents and boys proved they are willing to pick up and go play anyone , anywhere, anytime!!!!!   Hats off to parents who made this trip possible and hats off to the boys for coming through with a championship!!!

The Tiger would first play a stout Alabama Senators Team, The Tigers stout pitching and strong base running was to much for the Senators.. Tigers 9-0

The Tigers would then face off with a very talented TPSA BANDITS. This team is a training facilty team out of Cullman, AL sort of like a Gameday team here in Memphis. They practice year round with great facilities. The Tigers played a awesome defensive game but could never get the bats going against some strong pitching and solid defense from the Bandits. The Tigers would Lead 2-0 going into the last inning. The Bandits prevailed and handed the Tigers their first loss of the season, coming from behind to beat the Tigers. 3-2 Bandits

The Tigers stout Defense enabled them to cling on to the 4th seed going into the Championship rounds. Tigers only allowed 3 runs in pool play and only 10 on the week-end. The Tigers would have to battle the #1 seed North Alabama Sharks. The Sharks didn't see the Tigers coming, as the Tigers wheeled off 9 runs before the sharks could try and bite. Tigers 11-3 This put the Tigers in the Championship Game.

TSP BANDITS  VS. MEMPHIS TIGERS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The rematch:  The game started out as a defensive duel with the Tigers pulling out late. The Tigers went up 2-0 in the first, to only see the Bandits take a 4-2 lead into the last inning. TPSA had won the toss and was the home team, all they had to do was hold the Tigers down and the game was over. NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND!!  The Tiger bats got hot with singles from Preston Trainor & Logan Cain putting the tieing runs on base with no outs. Hayden Leatherwood would come to the plate and deliver a crushing Triple to the Left Field Fence scoring 2 RBI'S to tie the game and put the leading run on 3rd base. Hayden would score the go ahead run and 2 more Tigers would cross the plate before the Bandits could stop the bleeding. The Tigers would call on Hayden Leatherwood one more time, This time on the pitching mound to perserve the game. Hayden Delivered and got his first pitching victory as a Tiger.

Great Job Tigers!!!!

WEEK-END PLAYERS HIGHLIGHTS:

Pitching :  DJ ROBINSON, WILLIAM LOCKE , PRESTON TRAINOR, FRANKLIN HEFFLINGER , HAYDEN LEATHERWOOD

BAM BAM GUNNING DOWN 4 BASERUNNERS FROM CATCHER

Team Defense as a whole: OUTSTANDING TEAMWORK !!!! 

TIGERS COMPLETE 2008 PRESEASON CAMP AND TACKLE BIG FOOT !!!!

The Tigers finished up their preseason camp. The Tigers started the camp off with some speed training at Velocity Sports, followed by a trip downtown to BIG FOOT LODGE. The Tigers would tackle the famous 4lb burger (see albums section) 

The Tigers would all travel and stay together thanks to VAN'S TO GO and Coach Trainor providing a model home for the Tigers to stay in overnight. 

Saturday would start at APAK with a morning warm-up practice, followed by a date with the Houston High School Coaches for the next practice. The Tigers would take a little lunch break (all meals provided by the mom's breakfeast and lunch). The Tigers would then have a 3 hour team Scrimmage.

After all this , it was time for some fun. The Tigers all went to COMMANDO and celebrated Steven's Birthday.

These Tigers have worked hard and ready for another successful season. Special Thanks to all those Highlighted above for making this camp possible and pushing the boys to their limits.

GREAT JOB TIGERS & THANKS FOR ALL THE HARD WORK , COACH KENDRICK

2008 SPRING ROSTER

CHRISTOPHER SWANBERG

LOGAN CAIN

STEVEN KENDRICK

PRESTON TRAINOR

FRANKLIN HEFFLINGER

BAM BAM COCHRAN

WILLIAM LOCKE

D J  ROBINSON

ROLAND WILLIAMS

GARRETT BAUGH

HAYDEN LEATHERWOOD