Rocky Mountain School of Baseball National Championship Team Recaps

13U Recap
The 13u Blizzard had an up and down trip to Utah. We started off the tournament very well by hitting the ball very well against a good Utah team. Then the 2nd game came and the weather got cold and so did our bats and gloves. Game 3 was our toughest game, Alex Call pitched a gem and we were up 4-0 in the 6th inning when we gave up our lead and eventually lost 6-5 in a heartbreaking tie-breaker. Losing this game made it impossible for us to advance to the playoffs with 1 pool game remaining and we new this.	13U
The 13u team showed great pride and love for the game by playing their best game of the tournament and beating a very good Las Vegas team 11-5 (I will make a long story short, making the opposing coaches very mad in the process). Overall, it was a great experience and everybody is ready for the next tournament. - Coach Montana

14U Recap
The opening game featured two of the best teams in the tournament, the Minnesota Blizzard vs. the Utah Bombers. The Blizzard came out hot scoring three runs in the first and never looked back. With great pitching from Nicho Roessler and Dalton Herron, the Blizzard managed to hold the Bombers to one run. Offensively, a coach could not have asked for anything more, good at bats, aggressive base running, and driving runners in while in scoring position as the Blizzard went on to win 10-1. Beattie went six strong innings in the second game giving up no runs, on no hits, with nine strikeouts. Reliever Joe Waite was then called in to close the door on the Utah Stixx to get the save.	14U Tournament Champs
Offensively, the Blizzard had a much harder time with two soft lefties on the mound. The Blizzard went on to defeat the Stixx by a score of 2-0. The second day of action was a great one as the Minnesota Blizzard felt they had something to prove after going 2-0 on the first day. The Cadets jumped out to a 1-0 lead after Waite gave up a solo home run in the first. Nicho Roessler had something to say about that as he blasted a solo home run in the top of the second to tie the score up. After two strong innings of pitching, Pad Getchell of Stillwater, MN took over for Waite after giving up four runs. Midway through the game, the Blizzard began to pick up on the Cadets ace pitcher as they inched their way to a 4-4 ball game with just two innings to play. After the Blizzard hit their way through the Cadets Ace pitcher, they exploded for five more runs to clinch their third win of the tournament. The fourth game of the tournament featured an offensive explosion from the Blizzard, as they posted 25 runs in three innings, 18 of which were in the second inning. After going 4-0 in the tournament, it was time to get serious for Championship Monday! After a first round bye, the Blizzard would face the Utah Bombers in the Semi Finals. Fast forwarding midway through the game, the Blizzard for a second time in the tournament showed a champions’ attitude after coming back to tie the game with one inning to play. With nobody out in the bottom half of the last inning, Nicho Roessler stepped into the batters box with the bases loaded and nobody out. It only took one pitch as Roessler tore the cover off the ball with a screaming line drive past the glove of the short stop to win the game. This meant only one thing – the Championship! The Championship featured two undefeated teams, the Minnesota Blizzard (4-0 2nd seed) vs. SUBA (4-0 1st seed). For a third time in the tournament (second time in one day) the Blizzard found themselves down in the game. History shows that this Blizzard team will NOT give up, but fight to the end as the Blizzard came back from a five-run deficit to defeat SUBA for the Championship by a score of 8-7. Pat Getchel got the win, while Nicho Roessler got the save. I am unbelievably proud of this group of men. They bought into the system of working hard, and were awarded with the Championship honors of the Presidents Day Tournament! Great job Blizzard! - Coach Rolloff

15U Recap
As a first time coach getting the opportunity to be involved with so many wonderful players, parents and Blizzard staff was truly a positive experience for me. The 15u Blizzard squad, despite the 2-2 finish, gave an effort that truly would make any coach proud. The weekend started off on a high note with a big come from behind win sparked by determination and the will to win. For only being the first time in months that the players have been between the lines, it was impressive to see us both throwing strikes and making plays in the field. In the second game we saw how important it was to make the routine play, however there was no lack of effort or concentration which was good to see. As I told the players before the first game, physical errors are going to happen and that’s a part of the game but it’s the mental errors that need to be kept to a minimum. Day two of the tournament provided much of the same excitement. After seeing a day of pitching the blizzard bats came alive in game 1 putting up an impressive 6 run inning late in the game to seal the deal. However, game two proved to be the tough one all weekend as we were unable to overcome a big first inning. As was the story pretty much the entire weekend we hit the ball hard and came up empty on more that a few occasions. Again, this is a part of the game (Ya gotta love baseball!). Nonetheless, I was very impressed with the overall attitude and desire to compete, which is one of the few things a player has control of in this wonderful game. I was more than honored to be involved with the 15u team in Utah and wish them all of the success that comes their way! - Coach Rad

16U Recap
The 16U Blizzard team jumped to an early 8-0 lead in their first game of the tournament. Josh Muckenhirn, Ryan Wicks and Aaron Jensen each had a hit, walked once and scored twice. Nick Charest, Alex Wynne, Brian Billeadeau and George Hanson each chipped in with a hit as well. Pitching went well as Aaron Jensen started with Alex Wynne earning the win after a ‘faulty’ 4th inning led to eight runs. The Blizzard came back to score three more runs in the fifth Alec Erhard knocked in two of the three runs to win the game against Sandlot.	16U 3rd Place
The Blizzard lost game two GULP 18-4 against The Lone Peak Sophomores (the eventual tourney champs) in a shortened game. Aaron Jensen and Tommy Swanson were each 2-for-2 with Ben Schaben picking up a single as well. The 16s came to play game 3 against Meridian as Aaron Jensen and Nick Charest combined to throw a no-hitter taking the Blizzard to a 19-0 victory. Alec Erhard led the way going 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs and a walk. Muckenhirn was 2-for-3 with three runs scored with Schaben, Wynne, Boyle, Billeaeau and Denne all picking up hits as well. We played our best game of the tournament against the Dixie Mob. With each team 2-1, one of the teams was advancing with a win. The Blizzard won 3-2 behind a strong pitching performance by ace pitcher Tommy Swanson. Swanson struck out 11 players in five innings with Jensen coming in to get the save. The offense was led by Erhard, Boyle and Charest, who all accounted for driving in the three Blizzard runs. Schaben, Muckenhirn and Denned also collected hits as well. Game One of the playoffs featured the Blizzard matching up against the Tri-City Titans. The Blizzard cruised to an easy 11-0 win. Swanson collected the Blizzard’s first home run of the series with a third inning blast that carried 390 feet to left center and onto the schools running track. Muckenhirn, Schaben and Billeadeau all collected two hits. Alex Wynne earned the win on the mound. Game Two to play in the Championships was lost 10-5 against the Lone Peak Sophomores. A well fought battle, but their bats and the bounces went to a well-deserving Lone Peak team. Erhard was 2-for-2 with Denne and Wynne collecting singles in the match as well. Tommy Swanson was hit twice in the game and the third and fourth times in the tournament. Great results come from great efforts. The 16u team was the only team to place multiple times in the three tournaments we went to this year – 4th in Florida and 3rd in Utah. Great job, guys ! - Coach Barta

17U Recap
Game1: BLZ 6 - WoodCross 0. Johnson got things started in the 2nd inning with a one out double off the fence. Simonson follow with a 2b. Fangel pitched a shutout, keeping Wood Cross off balance with good location and effective pitch speeds. Becker had the play of the game by making a diving stab to save the game with runners in scoring position. After that it was lights out for Wood Cross. Game2: BLZ 1 - Pine View 5. We took a early blow in the top of the first from a grand slam and couldn’t bounce back. A few hits kept us just short of pulling ahead, but before we knew it, the time limit was up and the game ended after the 4th. Game3: BLZ 0 -Vegas 2. Johnson threw a jem giving up only three hits and one earned run. This was a well fought battle to the back to back state champs of Nevada. It was a great all around effort and came down to the final out. On defense, Ryan Hander (Sioux Falls) made some great plays an Jacob Dahl had the best at bat in the tourney. Game4: BLZ 6 - Alta 7. This was a crazy game but fun. In the first half of the lights when out which lead to a 30 minute power delay. Hander pitched 5 solid innings with Becker came into close what we thought would be the save, but later found out the book was wrong and had to go extras cali style. We scored one run in extras as did they. In the 9th, we got doubled off on a pop out squeeze attempt. Atla then started off with a runner on third and got the game winning hit. Great job, Blizzard - Coach Weber

18U Recap
The 18u Blizzard had a strong showing in the Presidents day tournament. In pool play we outscored our opponents 30-10. Throughout the whole tournament pitching was our strength. Zakk Bandemer started by throwing 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball against the Idaho Shorthorns who eventual won 2-1 on a mistake in the infield. Prior to the second game the team and I were frustrated with the loss, and went back to the hotel to recoup. I drove a few of the players to watch the 17u team play at Pine View h.s. On the way back I turned a corner to sharp and blew out a tire. With only 45 minutes to game time the team packed up and walked to the field. We definitely looked like a MN team walking into the ball park with Gap bags and backpacks storing balls and bats, but Calvin Quinn (4k's 0ER 0H 2I)and Jared Kirkeby combined for a three hitter in game two as the Blizzard started to play to it's potential in a 17-1 victory. George Bougallis threw out the only two attempted base stealers, Jake Kurth was 3-5 as well. Together they shut down the running game early in the tournament. Along with the great throwing, we let very few runners advance on passed balls or errors. Max Casper along with a crew of 2B turned six double plays and anchored the infield. Madison Boer threw 8 innings and gave up 1 hit and struck out 18 to lead the team into brackett play. Leaders at the plate were Joe Loftus, Justin Gominski, and Max Casper. Loftus hit 3 homeruns and had 8rbi's, Casper had 3 sacrifice bunts and finished the tourney 7-12. Gominski was the leadoff man all of the tourney and showed power hitting a homerun and accumulating 4 doubles. To end a stellar tournament we lost a heart-breaker to a very solid Utah Select team 2-1 in extra innings. We battled most of the game and had every opportunity to take it home. I am proud of the improvement made by all players, as we are a much better team at the tail end of the season. Thanks for being a respectful fun group of young men. Thanks for all of your hard work! - John Anderson