The 13U Major Angels (pictured above) out of the Florida Baseball Heaven academy won its third straight USSSA tournament championship this past weekend at the CFL Spring Classic Super NIT. Manager Mark Persails’ club went 5-0 overall and outscored opponents by a combined total of 51-10. Along with this Super NIT trophy, the Angels won took home a State Level 2 title earlier this month and a Select30 Super NIT in February.
The CFL Spring Classic in Sanford, Florida, attracted nearly 100 youth teams across six Major classified age divisions ranging from 9U to 14U. The 13U division was comprised of 14 outstanding teams from either the Florida-south or Florida-north USSSA location designations. Half of the squads were AAA classified while the other half carried Major tags. Each team was required to play two pool games before being seeded based on record and average runs allowed into a single elimination “Super Bracket.”
In the first round robin game, the Angels destroyed the Jax Pitbulls, a AAA team still looking for its first win on the season, 16-0. They followed this victory up with another shutout – this time 4-0 over the CBC Riverhawks – Scott who is now 4-6 overall.
The Angels were given top seed after their performance in the first round. Three other teams were 2-0 (Mahler Baseball, East Orlando Tigers 13U, 5 Star National Panhandle) but they each yielded at least two runs while the Angels had a perfect 0.00 average allowed figure. Getting the top overall seed was nice, but more importantly it meant a first round bye and an easier path to the title (all without having to use as many pitchers).
As the second day of competition began, Persails and his team knew they had to win three games in one day to hoist another trophy. That’s something they’ve done twice before dating back to the fall and winter seasons. The boys from Lakeland got it started versus Hard Ninety Red, the 9th seeds from South Daytona who upset the Lake Nona Lightning 8-6 in the first round. Hard Ninety (AAA) didn’t stand much of a chance against a rested Angels squad, and they lost 11-2.
The Angels advanced to the semifinals to play 5 Star National Panhandle who moved to 4-0 in the tournament and eliminated Sun Coast Elite Baseball 13-12 a round prior in a thrilling game. The Angels continued to flex its offensive muscles and posted 11 runs once again while surrendering just 5. The East Orlando Tigers were the final test for the Angels as the No.3 seeds took out the Mahler Baseball team 5-2 setting up a great matchup.
In a battle of one vs. three, the Angels emerged victorious and kept its undefeated tournament record intact with a 9-3 victory over the Tigers (18-10 overall). Persails’ team is now 22-2-1 overall and 14-2-1 In Class.
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