2024 Motor City BlackJaxx Win First Title in 18+ Pistono Division of Detroit MSBL
Detroit MSBL, 18+ Pistono Division Championship
Motor City BlackJaxx 10, Yankees 8 (Game three in best-of-three championship series)
The Motor City BlackJaxx won their first championship in the Detroit MSBL after a thrilling second-half run in 2024. After a 6-9 start to the season, the BlackJaxx went on a 10-2 run to finish the season 16-11 and win the championship.
The 2024 BlackJaxx were offensively led by Aaron Dyke who hit .457 on the year, as well as Joe Rydzewski who batted .441, and Dom Mora who notched a .375 average. On the pitching side the BlackJaxx were led by Ace Jack Clever who carved his way to a 7 and 3 season, sporting a 2.59 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and an absurd opponent OBP of .186! The pitching staff was bolstered by a stable of horses such as Charlie Bartolomucci, Giovanni Aiuto, Alex Dyke, and Basil Badley.
The championship did not come easy for the BlackJaxx. Walk-off wins were needed to win the quarter-final and semi-final games against a tough pair of teams (shoutout to Team USA and the Brewers) in route to the 3-game championship series.
In the semi-final, the BlackJaxx were led by Joey Rydzewski who picked up a game-tying solo shot in the sixth inning, later capped off by a 2-run walk-off bomb by Gio Aiuto to send the BlackJaxx to the championship.
The first game of the Championship series was an absolute gem by ace right-hander Jack Clever who threw a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits while tallying five Ks through 7-innings pitched. Game two was a gutsy performance on the mound by Gio Aiuto, who threw a complete game but took the loss as the Yankees bounced back to even the series. 
The Game three rubber match was an absolute slugfest. Both teams combined for 18 runs on 29 hits. The BlackJaxx prevailed, led offensively by Aaron Dyke and Giovanni Aiuto. Aaron Dyke was 3 for 4 with a double, three stolen bases, one walk, and five RBI in the penultimate game, while Giovanni Aiuto went two for five with a triple and four RBI. The other lone RBI was picked up by 2-way player Basil Badley.
On the pitching side of things, Charlie Bartolomucci carried most of the innings, throwing 6.1 innings, putting the boys in position to win their first title as he exited the game. Giovanni Aiuto came into the game on one day’s rest and would throw 1.2 innings earning the ‘W’ on the mound before coming out of the game due to an oblique injury. Basil Badley would come in in the bottom of the ninth to get the save and close things out for the BlackJaxx as they etched their name into the record books, earning their first Detroit MSBL title!
Team Highlights:
HR Leaders (3-way tie) – Alex Dyke, Ben Senior, Giovanni Aituo
Hits Leader: Aaron Dyke
Ks Leader: Jack Clever
ERA Leader: Jack Clever