3rd Annual Hudson Baseball Alumni Golf Outing is fast approaching!

HUDSON- The third annual Hudson Baseball Alumni Golf Outing is slated for Friday, August 8 at Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club in Hudson.

This is not a fundraiser, but simply a way to gather with friends and talk baseball. No golfing prowess is necessary, nor do you have to be an alumni of the program. All are welcome.

Registration begins at noon ahead of the 1:30pm shotgun start for the four-person scramble. The cost is $80 per golfer and includes driving range time, box lunch, a round of golf, and dinner. A cash bar will be available. There will be opportunities to win skill prizes as well as a raffle.

Checks and entry form must be received before August 1, 2014. Entry form is here.

Polar Bears ice out Hudson bats

CANTON- After pulling out extra-inning heroics against Walsh Jesuit and Aurora, the Explorers ran out of magic against Jackson in Friday's Regional Final.

Starter Nanak Saran struggled to find his rhythm in the first inning, giving up three runs on four hits in the first inning. Hudson began to chip away at that early lead when they responded with a run of their own in the top half of the second thanks to a two-out Polar Bear miscue on a popup behind the pitcher's mound.

The Polar Bear lefty hurler kept the Explorers off-balance all evening, with Hudson only managing four hits. Two of those base knocks came in the sixth inning, when it looked like Hudson would mount their now-customary comeback. With one out, Kevin Zullo ripped a single to left and Brett Kemper came in to run for Zullo who was hobbled by a first-inning hit-by-pitch to the right knee. Kemper moved up to second on Saran's ground out and would score on a two-out single by pinch hitter Travis Wood. However, the rally by the Blue and White would end there along with the plans of a trip to play in Columbus next week.

The Explorers wrap up a brilliant 26-5 season in which they won their fourth-straight NOC Valley Division championship and returned to the Regional Championship for the first time since 2000. Kevin Zullo was named NOC Player of the Year and Nanak Saran was tabbed as NOC Co-Pitcher of the Year with Mayfield's John Schreiber who is headed to pitch for Kent State next year. Each of the 11 seniors provided great contributions to the success of the team and will be missed.