12u "TEAM" Battles in Battle Born Tournament

Last weekend the 12u team competed for the 2nd time in 2 weekends, this time in the 2018 March Battle Born Tournament.  The weekend looked similar to last weekend with the boys giving up 2 runs in the 1st inning of the tournament against the Powernet Birdz from California.  However, this weekend was different.  With a strong start from Vincent R and offensive firepower provided by Sean S, they kept the boys in the game all the way to the end.  Despite Vincent’s efforts on the mound, we were still down 5-2, however a late inning rally allowed us to escape with a 5-5 tie.

Boosted by the momentum of the comeback in the first game, the boys came out strong in Game 2 against the LV Boyz.  A big 6 run 1st inning put us ahead and we never looked back.  The team got another complete game win from Sebastian L for the 2nd consecutive tournament and he also provided a 2 RBI double.  Extra base hits by Kaleb S, Cooper and Vincent R helped power the team as they coasted to an 11-3 victory giving them the 2 seed for Championship Sunday.

This Sunday the boys set out to make another championship run.  First up was the NSA Stars and the boys came out swinging. A 1-1 tie was broken open in the 3rd starting with a 2-run home run from Kaleb S.  Following an RBI single by Cooper, Sebastian L decided it was his turn and hit a 2-run blast into left center.  And to finish off the inning, Sean S went back to back with Sebastian L and the 6-run inning was complete.  Next up was Braden S on the mound, who went out and completed his own game as the boys finished with an 8-3 win to go the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals the boys faced the CBA Storm who had handed us a loss in the Winter Blast.  This time the boys did not wait around and with some creative base running jumped out to a 5 run lead in the 1st inning.  Key hits were provided by Sebastian L, Landon P, Devon G and James O, and it was Kaleb S’s time on the mound.  In his first tournament start for LVBA, Kaleb gave us a strong outing and Cooper in his new role came on to finish the game off for the 2nd time in the tournament.

The Championship game didn’t quite go our way this time.  Rox baseball jumped out to a large lead and the boys just didn’t have enough to stop the momentum.  Robert C came in and gave us 2 quality innings as well as a double late, but it wasn’t enough as we eventually fell 19-2 for a runner up finish.  The boys were disappointed, but the big picture is there for this team.  Playing on Championship Day for a 3rd straight tournament is an amazing accomplishment from where they started and their continued improvement is noted by everyone in the organization and several other programs around town.  Keep grinding boys!!