The Delta Dawgs 12U baseball team won its first championship of the 2010 season at the recent Super Series St. Patrick’s Day tournament held in Davis.

The Dawgs opened the 2010 campaign with injuries to several key players, making the start of the season a challenge. But they put it all together at the Super Series and played solid baseball en route to a 5-0 record and the championship title.

The Dawgs opened the tournament with a 4-2 win against the Knuckleheads; then faced off against the Bandits of Roseville and beat them convincingly 9-2 in a late-night chiller. In Sunday’s bracket play the Dawgs started slowly, falling 4-0 behind Bret’s Muckdogs. But the Dawgs regrouped and defeated the Muckdogs 10-4.

In the semifinal, the Dawgs faced the tough Knuckleheads again and beat them 5-1, earning them the right to play in the championship game against the Elk Grove Longhorns. The Longhorns had allowed only two runs in their previous four games en route to the finals and jumped on the Dawgs with a three-run first inning. The Dawgs evened the score 3-3 at the end of their own first frame and got on a roll, scoring runs in every other inning in a convincing 11-5 victory.

The Dawgs got outstanding pitching performances from Jake Schwaab, CJ Sneath, Bryce Prybylinski and Myles Coston. The defense was solid all weekend, and timely hitting was the key to the Dawgs success. Jose Vasquez, Max Petroff, Mason Fountain, Victor Anguiano, Jason Ochoa, Bryce Thompson along with Schwaab, Sneath, Prybylinski and Coston all shared a team MVP award.

To augment the 12U team’s championship, the 9, 10, 11 and 13U Dawgs, plus the affiliated 14U Pride Baseball team, played at a high level. The Dawgs 9U went 3-1 and made it to the semifinals, where they lost to the eventual champs. The Dawgs 10U went 3-2 and made it to the championship game, losing a tough one 15-8. The 11U Dawgs went 1-2 but beat the tournament-winning Delta Diamondbacks 6-2 in opening round play. The 13U Dawgs played hard, compiling a 1-1-1 record for the weekend, and the 14U Pride went 2-1.

– Contributed by Aaron Fountain