Austin All Stars 12AA win Gopher State Tournament
Published 11:48 pm Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Austin Stars 12AA traveling team, sponsored by the Moose, came in seeded sixth and walked away with a title at the Gopher State Tournament of Champions in Savage, Minn. this past weekend.
Austin won the title game 3-2 against Red Wing, which was the only unbeaten team in the tournament.
Austin outfielder Riley Retterath helped seal the win as he made a running, jumping and reaching grab that saw him roll on the ground after making the catch to record the final out of the game with the tying run on second base.
The Stars took the lead on a couple of bunts by Nate Murphy and Josi Bothun.
The Stars started Sunday morning’s bracket play against the No. 3 seed, a team from Cold Spring, Minn. The Stars scored two runs early and held that score defensively right to the end. That 2-0 win then pitted the Stars against a team from Alexandria, Minn. in the semi finals, where the Stars won 6-2.
Jack Dankert, Jake Lunt, Peter Conner and Bret Mathews shared the duties on the mound Sunday combining to allow only 15 hits total over the three games, and the defense helped hold their opponents to just four runs total.
The Stars will be headed to the Twins vs White Sox Game on September 15 to be recognized as the 2012 Gopher State 12AA Champion.
It is there that the Stars will be presented with their Championship Rings which are given to each of the players for their accomplishment.
The Stars went 2-1 in Pool Play to move on to the final 8 in the Championship Bracket on Sunday. The Stars scored 28 runs over those three games while the defense gave up just 9 runs.
The Stars will play in the MBT State tournament in Prior Lake, Minn. July 20-22.