The MBA Utah Grays 13U (pictured above) dominated the Spring Championships Select30 Super NIT this past weekend in its USSSA season debut. The boys from Riverton, Utah, went 7-0 throughout three days of competition while outscoring opponents by a combined 75-12 margin. In fact, the closest game manager Robert Andrews’ club played was the title tilt versus 23-11 AZ T-Rex Easton Blue.
The Spring Championships attracted nearly 300 youth baseball teams spanning from the 7-Open division all the way up to a 14-Major 12 team field. The Grays competed in a huge field of 20 teams in the 13Major classification which played on regulation size diamonds (60/90). The 13U division was comprised of teams from Utah, California, Arizona, Canada, Kansas, Arkansas and Texas and followed a similar format to other critical USSSA tournaments; four game pool play schedule into an eight-team single elimination Gold Bracket.
The Grays were placed in Pool A along with the So Cal Swat, Los Banditos Black, Hype Baseball and AZ Grizzlies 2024. Last Friday they played the initial two pool games and opened with a 13-1 trouncing of the Banditos. Tee Southisene and Zach Edwards each pitched two innings to complete this run rule shortened game. Later that day Hype Baseball suffered a similar fate as they were steamrolled 14-2 as the Grays announced itself as serious title contenders. Cooper Hansen threw three of the four innings for the winning side as Southisene again made a mound appearance, this time for three outs.
On Saturday it was more lopsided results for the Grays as they finished out pool competition first with an 11-3 victory against the Grizzlies from Arizona who now own a 25-22 overall record. This contest actually lasted five innings and was split between eventual tournament MVP Will Dart (3 innings) and Jaxon Reiser for two. The fourth and final pool game came against the Swat and it ended similarly to the other three – in a blowout. This time there was an 11-2 final score and Andrews was once again able to evenly distribute pitching duties to Carson Moody and Easton Barrett without overworking anyone.
The MBA Grays won Pool A without much competition and advanced onto single elimination quarterfinals on Sunday. In order to seal the deal, they would need to win three games in one day against the top competition in Arizona. Their first elimination test came against the SC Renegades who were 2-1-1 in the first round. That was one indication that the AAA classified Renegades were a bit overmatched. The Grays won 10-0 and used Cooper Hansen for all five innings.
In the semis, they took on Team KC from Overland Park who had just defeated the dangerous Scottsdale Dirtbags team 11-6. The Grays jumped all over Team KC and silenced their potent bats with the arms of Zach Edwards (5 IP) and Jaxon Reiser (1 IP). The Grays won 10-2 to setup a game against AZ T-Rex.
The boys from Scottsdale were 6-0 at the Spring Championships up until their matchup against the MBA Grays. They were able to limit the offensive output of the Grays to just six runs, their fewest of the tournament, but it was not enough. The Grays completed its excellent tournament run to hoist this prestigious banner and wear the rings.
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