Shakopee Baseball Association

The Shakopee 12AA completed a very successful weekend by beating Cloquet 11-10 in 7 innings to win the 24 team Burnsville Tournament.

Shakopee's title run started on Friday night as they played host Burnsville. With very good pitching and great defense, the Shakopee 12AA team won 9-2. Key contributors at the plate were Colin Joyce and Andrew Wiest who each doubled and Eric Nicholas who scored twice. 10 of the 11 Shakopee players had at least 1 hit in the win.

In the 2nd game of the tournament, Shakopee shutout St. Peter 10-0. In the game, Eric Nicholas, Logan Becker, and Taylor Triplett combined to throw a no-hitter while only allowing 1 walk. With the solid pitching in place, the offense took over with 13 hits and some aggressive base running. Key offensive contributors in the win were Charles Kroll(2 Hits), Mitchell Gardner(3 Hits), and Andrew Wiest (2 HIts).

In the 3rd pool game of the tournament, Shakopee outdueld  a tough Orono Blue team winning 13-7. Again, good defense and pitching  keyed the win for Shakopee. The hitting continued to sparkle for the Sabers as they again combined for 13 hits. Taylor Triplett keyed the hitting attack going 3-3 with 2 singles and a homerun while scoring 3 runs. Other key contributors in the offense output were Eric Nicholas(2 Hits, 2 Runs Scored) and Andrew Wiest (Single and Triple).

With pool play complete and a 3-0 record, the Shakopee 12AA recieved the #1 overall seed for bracket play. Their 1st opponent was Eagan. With both teams exchanging runs in the first 3 innings with Shakopee leading 6-3, Shakopee's pitching and defense took over holding Eagan to 1 more run allowing their bats to wake up. In the 5th inning, Shakopee sent 11 players to plate, scoring 7 runs to break open the game and eventually give them a 14-4 win. Key offensive contributors were Logan Becker(2 Doubles, 2 Runs Scored), Taylor Triplett(Double, HR), Charles Kroll(2 singles, 2 Runs Scored), Eric Nicholas(2 Hits, 2 Runs Scored) and Andrew Wiest(2Hits, 2 Runs Scored). With the win, Shakopee gained the semifinals against Eden Prairie-Black.

In the semifinal game versus Eden Prarie-Black, Shakopee was put to its toughest test of the tournament. Shakopee jumped out to a 5-1 lead through 4 innings, but Eden Prairie came back with 4 in the top of the 5th. Shakopee responded with 2 in the bottom of the 5th to take the lead 7-5 which would eventually be the end score. The win was a total team effort as some key defensive plays in the field and solid pitching secured the win. Offensively, Logan Becker(1B, 3B), Josh Budin(1B, 2B) and doubles by Taylor Triplett and Andrew Wiest helped in the attack.

In the championship, the Sabers took on a very hot hitting Cloquet team. Cloquet lived up to their billing in the 1st inning scoring 6 runs on 5 solid hits to jump out on Shakopee. In the bottom of the 1st, Shakopee responded with 4 runs of their own with hits by Mitchell Gardner(2B) and singles by Nicholas, Triplett, Imhoff and Budin. The 2nd innning started off as the 1st did for Cloquet as they again pounded out hit after hit against Shakopee scoring 4 runs to build their lead.

After the 2nd inning, Shakopee's deep pitching and solid defense took over shutting the door on the Cloquet offense by holding them to 1 hit and only 4 base runners through the next 5 innings. As the defense tightened, the offense managed just enough to tie the game going into the bottom of the 6th. With Shakopee being the home team, the Sabers were able to get their 1st two batters to reach base on a hit and a walk. Some 12yr old base running mistakes by the Sabers lead to a double play by Cloquet to silence Shakopee's threat in the 6th. In the top of the 7th inning, Cloquet managed to get runners to 2nd and 3rd only to have Shakopee's steller pitching and defense defuse the threat leaving the runners in scoring position.

As Shakopee entered the bottom of the 7th, Logan Becker lead off the Shakopee attack with a deep triple to Right Center Field. With no out and a runner at 3rd, Cloquet coaches elected to intially walk Taylor Triplett and Andrew Wiest bring ing Jarrett Imhoff to the plate. With the infield in, Cloquet was again looking for a miracle. With the 1st pitch, Imhoff lined a sharp single between the 3rd baseman and shortstop that reached the outfield to give the Sabers the victory and the championship.

With the win, Shakopee's tournament record reached 11-1 with a 2nd place finish at the Woodbury Tournament and its 1st place finish at the Burnsville Tournament.

A great weekend for the Shakopee parents and fans and for a great group of boys!!

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