Welcome to this year’s 2024 spring/summer team preview! Be sure to read up on all our teams, and check out their rosters for the upcoming season. All the information provided is through talks with our coaches and directors to bring the most accurate information on our players & teams. Go check out the latest write-up!

“MAFIA FAMILY is a firm belief of our team. We truly play together as a team, we hang out as a team, we eat as a team, this is a family.”

The best experiences we create sometimes end up right there at the ball field, doesn’t it? Playing a double-header game, wondering where we will eat afterward, and then rinse & repeat the process all over again with your friends the next day. The quote my former college coach used to say was “This right here will be the best days of your lives.” Being right out there on the baseball field. It changed my whole view of how important the game of baseball was to me and my life. A big part of my growth has been simply what I learned and did right there on the baseball field. The adversities you go through, the joy of being around it with new people, there’s nothing like it. It’s what makes watching the dynamic of our 5-Star Midsouth 9U Appleton team feel so refreshing. It’s good families, with good kids, all wanting to grow together. As Coach Appleton said, “It’s a growth mindset we have. We are simply hoping to continue growing each week. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” He’s exactly right. It takes everybody to contribute, and this group very well knows that. That’s why the work they continued to put in this winter came back to how they finished this fall.

“The progression the team showed from the first game of fall to the last was phenomenal. We hope to keep growing and learning something new about the game every day,” said Coach Appleton.

So who are the boys?

#2 James Dobson – “Thou Shall Not Steal.”

#3 AJ Elmore Jr – “Utility Specialist”

#4 Jaxon Sutton – “Selfless Teammate”

#7 Tucker Maryniw – “Fastest Thing On 2 Feet”

#9 Aiden Vantrease – “Johnny Hustle”

#10 Beau Young – “Fierce Competitor”

#11 Luke Smith – “Silent Assassin”

#24 Max Gomez – “Workhorse”

#35 Peyton Appleton – “Passionate”

#99 Dean Roberts – “Mr.Positive”

9U is a unique year. That year of battling through your woes specifically on the mound as they go through kid pitch can be a hurdle. However, the emphasis on the “little things” is a huge deal for these boys and the coaching staff. “We gotta take pride in the small things,” said Coach Appleton. Call them small victories. Those small victories begin turning into bigger and bigger victories. There’s no doubt this team is on a mission, we just can’t wait to see it all unfold here soon.

– Midsouth Staff