The undefeated Rockford Raptors 13U baseball team of (front, l–r) Matt DiLeo, David Sokol, Bobby Wilson, Jon Stewart, Kory Young, Brent Showers; (back) Andy Woodruff, Reid Kelley, Josh Neideck, Ryan Jerrils and Andrew Searl bring home the Diamond Classic tournament trophy from Battle Creek.
The Rockford Raptors 13U baseball team went undefeated in winning the USSSA-sanctioned Diamond Classic tournament held May 30-31 at Bailey Park in Battle Creek. The Raptors completed the tournament with a perfect record. In pool play, the Raptors exhibited a balanced hitting attack in victories over Grand Rapids Diamonds West and Kalamazoo Around-The-Horn Stampede. The Raptors clinched a spot in the championship game with an 8-6 victory over Portage Storm, the number-one ranked USSSA team in Michigan.
In the championship game the Raptors faced the Lansing Red Sox, the number-one seeded team in the tournament. The Raptors plated five runs in each of the first two innings and were on their way to a 16-0 victory to secure a championship trophy for the second time this season. The Raptors will compete in the Open State Tournament, which will be held in Sterling Heights on June 19-21.
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