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A group of young local baseball players faced some of the toughest competition they’ve ever seen on a baseball adventure of a lifetime this past weekend.

The Lost Coast Legends 11U team traveled to Arizona for their first action of the season when they competed at the Arizona Spring Championship.

Playing against teams from all over the West Coast and as far east as Ohio, the young Legends placed second out of 31 teams at the tournament.

But that wasn’t the whole story.

The 10 players who made the trip got the opportunity to experience the spring training atmosphere, taking in a couple of games and visiting the San Diego Padres training facility.

“It was a full adventure for them,” head coach Tyler Conley said.

It was also a challenging tournament.

After going 2-1 in pool play, the Legends had to battle their way through the bracket to reach the championship game against a team from Bakersfield, playing four games on one day and finishing the tournament 7-2.

They won three straight on the final day of the tournament between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. before eventually falling 10-2 in the final that afternoon.

“We went into that game with only one sub and it was hard,” Conley added. “These kids battled and for them to win three in a row and make it to the championship, it was tough. But we were proud of them. Those kids gave it all they had.”

Several players stood out over the weekend, including Parker Morgan, who the coach described as “our MVP of the tourney.”

According to Conley, Morgan was “A top contributor in all offensive stats and makes plays at shortstop that seem normal to us but impossible for other kids.”

Graham Gaser and Parker Blasi also impressed for the young Legends.

“Graham was a stud eating up innings at catcher in the heat and being a wall and not letting anything by,” the coach said, while adding of Blasi, “He was a spark plug at the top of our lineup and had two different game saving plays in two different games on championship Sunday from center field.”

Ryder Sweaney was “the heart of the team,” according to the coach and was one of four Legends to hit over .500 for the tourney, along with Morgan, Grant Banducci and Treyce Conley. 

“When things get tough, Ryder always brings the team together,” Tyler Conley added.

Grady Crosswhite also impressed and hit .473 with some crucial RBIs, while also playing a major utility role all over the field for the team on defense. 

Banducci, meanwhile, drove in seven runs and was one of the team’s core pitchers for the whole tournament, while Bradley Plotz was “the ace of the team that either started big games for us or closed them down,” the coach said. 

Lucca Pinochi also played a major role for the team and had one of his best hitting tourneys yet, tying Banducci for most RBIs with seven.

“He always seemed to put the ball in play when needed,” Tyler Conley said of Pinochi. 

Treyce Conley also had his best hitting tourney yet and led the team in batting with a .533 average, including several doubles, while Kaden Haskell was a “speedster on the bases, always seeming to find his way around,” the coach added.

Haskell also had one of the team’s most reliable gloves in left field.

In addition to their nine games, the local players got to see a Giants/Dodgers game, as well as a game between Oregon and Arizona State.

They’ll be back in action at a tournament in Medford in early April.