Young players flood cloquet

The fifth annual Northland Baseball Classic held last weekend featured 56 teams playing a total of 126 games. Champions were crowned in six age classes and games were played at Braun Park, Ed Mettner Field and Pinehurst Park in Cloquet and Chub Lake Park in Carlton.

"It was so fun to drive up to the parks and hear fans screaming and cheering on their teams," said tournament director Nate Knutson. "It was just great to have competitive baseball being played in Cloquet, and there were some tremendous teams and games."

At the 9U level, it was Rock Ridge taking the title by downing the Duluth Expos. Hibbing defeated Duluth in the 10U championship, with Cloquet finishing fourth. The 11U championship went to Grand Rapids, which defeated Duluth 709, with Cloquet finishing third. In U12, Duluth defeated Hermantown. The 13U division saw Cloquet fall in the title game to Hermantown and the 14U winner was Soderville Chicago, which beat Bemidji.

"We had teams from Canada, Illinois, Bismarck and all over southern Minnesota. It was a great tournament," Knutson said.