In the Starkville "Super Bulldog Bash NIT" tournament this past weekend, the talent level of the teams there was overwhelming to players and fans who walked through the gates on Friday night. Only one team would be left standing and walking away with the big prize on Sunday afternoon and that team was none other than the Mossy Oak Jakes.
The Jakes played the Madison Bulls on Friday night, giving up just 2 runs to last years AAA State Champion, winning the lod-sided match-up 8-2. Madison's pitching couldn't seem to get on track giving way to the Jakes bats. But the Jakes players left the park after the game Friday night knowing that the toughest task was just ahead, a match-up with last years Major State Champ, the Mississippi Heat, on Saturday afternoon. After a see-saw battle through-out most of the game, the Jakes took the lead in the bottom of the last inning and held in the 6th to take the game 5-3, giving them the #1 seed in Sunday's championship rounds.
They would face none other than the Heat again in the first round, but masterful pitching and clutch hitting would earn them the victory over their 11U Major rival 7-3. Mossy Oak would then face another in-class Major team in Elite Baseball in the championship game. What most would expect to be a great championship match-up turned out to be a very lop-sided victory for the Jakes beating Elite 16-6 with the run-rule in the fourth inning earning them the Super Bulldog Bash NIT Championship.
