Effort and attitude is the motto of Head Coach  Eric Graning and Assistant Coach Tony Graning to their baseball team each year. This year’s group of Gopher State 11U AAA have really started to put that into play in their games.

 

June 3, the team traveled to Princeton to take part in the Princeton Roar Tournament. The Bulldogs went 4-0 and took home the first place trophy, also giving them a berth in the Gopher State Tournament of Champions for the second year in a row.

 

Last weekend, the Bulldogs traveled to Brainerd to play in the Brainerd Lakes Classic Tournament to defend their 10U AAA championship title from last year. The team played six games from Friday to Sunday. While the Bulldogs fell just short in the championship game, they still showed that they are one of the top teams in the league. 

 

They captured second place in what the Granings called, “one of the best outings this team has put together this year.” 

 

“Everyone on the team contributed both offensively and defensively,” said Eric. “While the end result is a team effort, four of the boys made sure to really leave a mark in Brainerd by hitting seven homeruns over the long weekend.” 

 

Dylan Webber started things off Friday by hitting a grand slam versus Little Falls. Reid McCalla kept things rolling Saturday when he hit not one, but two run home runs versus Blaine. In the same game, Ethan Guck put a solo shot over the center field fence.

 

 The action continued Sunday in bracket play and Reid McCalla hit his third home run of the weekend — a two-run shot. Aiden Holm wasn’t to be outdone as he blasted a solo home run versus New Ulm to help catapult the Bulldogs into the championship game. 

 

In the winner-take-all finale, Weber sent his second home run ball of the weekend over the center field fence to the delight of his fans and teammates.

 

“While it was not quite the outcome we had hoped for, the boys really dug deep and gave their best all weekend,” said Coach  Graning. “We could not be more proud of how the team played.”

 

The Bulldogs finish off their regular season play this week and then onto playoffs starting the week of July 10. The Bulldogs will also be making their appearance at the Gopher State Tournament of Champions July 21-23 in Eden Prairie.