Congratulations to the '00 Explosion who traveled to Jacksonville, Florida to compete in the USSSA North Florida State Championships and finished as the State Runnerup!  The '00 Explosion battled through the first tropical storm (Andrea) of the 2013 hurricane season, 95 degree temperatures and some of the fiercest competition that our organization has ever endured to compete for a Florida state championship.  The '00 Explosion played 10 games going 8-2 overall and completely stunning the entire tournament field to run the table and play 5 consecutive games (2 in international extra inning games) only to meet the best 12u team this organization has ever played on the field, the Springfield Georgia '00 Angels.  The '00 Explosion outscored the entire tournament field scoring 61 runs, getting the bats hot and staying hot until the championship game when we were overmatched by a superior '00 Angels team and a downpour of rain.  The '00 Angels are a class act and if you haven't seen them play, you should, they have rock solid fundamentals and will be serious contenders for the A national championship!

Here is a listing of the teams the '00 Explosion Played in this tournament:

Jacksonville Magic (Opening game, solid team, fought hard and gutted out 8-5 victory, Bug Buskey came up big both catching and hitting in this one!)

USSSA Florida Pride  (Big team with Big Bats!  Congrats to Brianna Blair who dominated the pitching)

Diamond Cruisers (Solid team that our pitching controlled)

Santa Fe Inferno (Lost a close heartbreaker, 4-3, but woke us up!)

Cruisers Silver (Solid team, Explosion Defense controlled the game)

Blazers 2000 (Extra Inning thriller, 8 innings, Shout out to Haley Williams who battled pitching through heat and played hard!  Huge hits by Maddie Sickau, Marieve Elkins, Rylee Grooms and Kennedy Cowden)

Suwannee Bandits (Straight A Team, absolutely loaded, shout out to Syd Birchfield who kept their bats quite and Rylee Grooms with a clutch 2 out bases loaded triple)

USSSA Georgia Pride (Great Team, A pitching gem by Brianna Blair, extra inning thiller with game saving catch in extra innings in right field by Sydney Birchfield)

Florida Prospects (Straight A Team, absolutely loaded! A level pitching performance by Rylee Grooms and a game saving catch in right field by Anna Grace Fox)

Georgia '00 Angels (This team is unbelieveable!  We were completely out of gas but even at our best, they would have still gotten us, they are the best of the best!)

There wasn't a tournament MVP as this was a team effort, every player contributed in a big way!  This is the kind of effort that is seen against all odds, I am so proud of the '00 Explosion and their efforts, congratulations ladies, you have done an exceptional job!!