Perfect Game 15U WWBA National Championships

272 teams from all over the country were on hand to compete in the in Atlanta this past week.  34 pools of 8 teams each competed to make bracket play, with the winner of each pool moving on.  The Crusaders pool consisted of Tri-State Arsenal Prime from NJ, Austin Banditos from TX, Cincinnati Elite from OH, Jacksonville Warriors from FL, North East Baseball from MA, Chain 15u from GA, and the Atlanta Blue Jays also from GA.  The Crusaders went 7-0 in pool play to make bracket play with the biggest win coming on day one against nationally ranked (#25 in Perfect Game) Tri-State Arsenal Prime by a score of 5-3.  By clinching the pool, the Crusaders started bracket play off with a familiar team from last year, the #15 nationally ranked Chaos from LA, coached by former LSU and Major League pitcher Ben McDonald.  Last year in the TBS National Championship semifinals, the Crusaders defeated Chaos 3-1 before falling in the championship game to BPA out of CA.  This time was very similar again as the Crusaders defeated Chaos 3-0 which moved them into the round of 16.  The Crusaders then defeated Vipers Baseball Academy from AL 4-2 to move on to the quarterfinals where they were matched up against Midwest Elite from OK.  The Crusaders went on to win 6-3 to run their record to 10-0.  The Semifinal matchup was against #3 Nationally ranked East Coast Sox Prime.  East Coast ended the Crusaders run which led to a third place finish.  The Crusaders finished the tournament with a 10-1 record and 3^rd place out of 272 teams.