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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Salt Lake Sidewinders youth baseball team has done it again.
Last year, as 9-year-olds, the Sidewinders won the Triple Crown World Series. A year later, this same group repeated their feat in the 10-year-old division and brought home another title.
Just as they did last year, they had to work their way back through the losers' bracket and win twice on the final day to win the championship.
"These kids are amazing," said Coach Lavon Edwards, a former All-WAC defensive back at Utah from 1988-91.
"We talk a lot about adversity -- and it's going to happen sometimes, you're gonna fail," Edwards continued. "But the big thing is how are you going to respond to it. And these kids knew going into this season that this was a goal they had in mind, and when adversity hit they didn't let it bother them. It was natural for us go through the losers bracket."
The event played in Steamboat Springs, Colo., and featured 19 teams from six different states.
"We're playing some of the best kids in the country." Edwards said. "These are all super-league teams that play competitive baseball each week. The teams we play against are from the warm weather states like Texas and Arizona. It's the best of the best."
The Sidewinders faced the Oklahoma Elite in the semi-finals of the losers' bracket and went down eight runs after the first inning. They managed to battle back and found a way to win 9-8.
Then in the championship game, the Sidewinders had to beat the top-seeded team -- the Stetson Stealth from Arizona -- and they had to do it twice. The Stealth had already defeated them twice in the tournament (11-1 and 13-10)
The Sidewinders found themselves down 6-5 going into the final inning, yet they were able to pull off one final rally.
With a runner on third base and one out, Braden Winget laid down a perfect bunt that allows Dalton Gray to score the tying run.
After Kyler Olsen popped out to second base, Cole Clemens came up to the plate with two out, and the game-winning run on second base.
Cole drove the first pitch to the right field fence, bringing in the winning run and setting off a wild celebration.
"It felt really good, but we couldn't have done it without being a team," Cole said.
Now the Sidewinders will look for sponsors to help them play in more tournaments. They also hope to return to Steamboat Springs next summer and win a third Triple Crown World Series.
"We've got a great group of dedicated folks," Edwards said. "It's just passion for the game -- these kids love to compete. And the success they've had at such a young age, they will continue to build on it."
E-mail: jjensen@ksl.com
