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Blizzard 12u wins championship, 13u takes 2nd in Arizona

03/23/2016, 3:00pm CDT
By Adam Barta, Minnesota Blizzard

12u takes home Blizzard's 5th tournament championship of the year !

Blizzard 12 win championship, 13u earn Runner-Up in Arizona


Blizzard 13u team at Spring Training game (Colorado)

One month after the Blizzard's 14u, 15u and varsity teams took home championships from Utah and Las Vegas, it was time for the 12u and 13u teams to shine in the spot light.

The Minnesota Blizzard Elite 12u team won the Blizzard program's 54th tournament championship since 2003 and fifth this Blizzard season winning the USSSA Spring Championships II in Phoenix, AZ.  The Blizzard Elite 13u team almost followed suit earning Runner-Up after losing 13-12 in the bottom of the 7th inning after coming back from a five-run deficit in the championship game of the Triple Crown Championships in Phoenix, AZ.

Blizzard 12u Recap

After dropping a pair of games to begin the tournament, the 12u picked up a win against the Rocky Mountain Rush before starting bracket play on Sunday.

In the semi finals, they beat the Flagstaff Seminoles 14-6 before Shea Endres threw a complete game against the Big League Experience winning 8-6 in the championship game.

"I've never seen a team overcome adversity the way this team did last weekend," Head Coach Brent Peters said.  "At some point during the weekend, every player helped shoulder the load and earned the right to be called Champions."

12u Tidbits ...

  • This is the first tournament championship for a Blizzard 12u team outside of Minnesota and Iowa. 
  • This is the 14th time since 2003 a 12u team has finished in the top four of a tournament. 
  • The other 12u championships include NIT Kick-Off Classic, IA (2009, 2013, 2015) and the AFA Nationals, MN (2004).

Blizzard 13u Recap

The Blizzard Elite 13u team lost in the championship game 12-11 after coming back from a five-run deficit.  The MHBA-Boom scored one run in the bottom of the seventh to secure a victory after the Blizzard rattled off four wins in a row in the last two pool play games and quarter-finals and semi-final games. 

The Blizzard lost their first game to VCBA by a large margin but won four straight leading into Sunday's final.

"The boys battled until the last out of the championship game," Head Coach Lonnie Robinson said.  "We could have packed it in after losing our first game, but the boys bounced back and decided they wanted to go out with a bang.  It was awesome to be a part of."

Blizzard's 13u player Joe Longo (Apple Valley) commented on how the team wanted finish strong, the coaches impact and their goal to get better every practice.

"Because this was our last tournament, we decided to give it our all and leave it all on the field," Longo said.  "Our Coach (Lonnie) gave us a little pep talk about doing the little things right like cutting down on the walks and errors."

"I think my favorite memory of the tournament was coming back in the seventh inning to tie it up.  We had five runs!"

13u Tidbits ...

  • The 13u team took 3rd in the Rocky Mountain School of Baseball tournament in St. George, UT this previous month.
  • This is the 21st time since 2003 a 13u team has finished in the top four of a tournament. 
  • This is the first time a 13u team has competed in the Triple Crown Sports tournaments. 

Both the 12u and 13u teams will continue their season as a part of the Blizzard Spring Program playing in Des Moines, IA and Sioux Falls, SD at the end of April.


Blizzard 13u - Runner Up - Triple Crown Sports Spring Training Championships

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