It was the worst of times....it was the best of times. 

This year's Northern Classic was an exercise in yelling at Mother Nature for the torrential downpour on Friday and again on early Saturday morning, then working to get the fields ready for the rest of the tournament.  Once the games started, the action was fast and furious and resulted in champions being crowned in four divisions.

In the 10U group, 231 Fusion Fastpitch made it two Traverse City tournaments titles in a row.  Last week's Spring Splash winner, the Fusion team silenced the TC Thunder, 10-0, in the Northern Classic final.

In the 12U group, Jake Johnston's Mt. Pleasant Drillers team beat the TC Thunder, 16-1, to win the Northern Classic title.  The Drillers advanced to the finals with a win over the TC Waves, while Jason Hamilton's Thunder squad downed the West Michigan Outlaws Blue to join the medal round.

In 14U, the 231 Fusion - Tiesworth (Juli Tiesworth) squad edged Ben Lundquist's Cadillac Express, 3-2, in the championship game.

Finally, in the 16U group co-champions Elite 16U and Mid-Michigan Bolts earned crowns based on their 3-0 record and low number of runs allowed in 3 games of pool play.  The West Michigan Outlaws earned third place honors with a 3-0 record but more runs allowed, while Warrior Nation was top among a group of 2-and-1 teams and captured fourth place.

THANK YOU to all of the teams that hung in there and waited for the fields to clear and become playable.  Also, a special thank you to Phil Meeker for helping so much at SEAS, and all of the parents who chipped in to get the field at TC West ready on Saturday.

(Above, the 231 Fusion - Tiesworth team joins the Cadillac Express after the championship game to pose for the cameras.  Congratulations, Ladies!

Here are the All-Tournament Team selections for the 2019 Northern Classic.  Congratulation, Ladies!!!  Above, the Mid-Michigan Bolts and Elite 16U teams--co-champions in the 16U division--get together following play on Sunday.

Coaches:  If your team is not shown and you'd like to nominate your players, please email JSBrunner777@yahoo.com with your selections.

10U Division

Jillian Moazeni - 231 Fusion

Delaney Witkop - 231 Fusion

Claire McDaniel - 231 Fusion

Piper Cavanaugh - 231 Fusion

Mallorie Louch - Mid-Michigan Heat

Grace Flansberg - Mid-Michigan Heat

Brooklyn Fischer - TC Thunder

Claire Hurley - TC Thunder

Grace Merchant - TC Thunder

Reese Jones - TC Thunder

Anika Peterson - TC Waves

Taryn Beamish - TC Waves

12U Division

Autumn McSawby - Northwest Wild

Kayla Milarch - Northwest Wild

Lauren Tkach - TC Waves

Hannah Fellows - TC Waves

Zoey Jetter - TC Waves

Camryn Craig - TC Waves

Grace Lewis - TC Thunder

Lucy Uy - TC Thunder

Ella Schram - TC Thunder

Jordan LaFleur - TC Thunder

Addison Spicer - Michigan Blasters

Emmalee Shankel - Michigan Blasters

Hunter St. Peter - 231 Fusion

Adriana Sackett - 231 Fusion

Rylie Groggo - Michigan Rage

Melody Filipiak - Michigan Rage

14U Division

Karly Roelofs - TC Thunder 14U

Emma Blach - TC Thunder 14U

Jordyn Grant - Motor City Hit Dogs

Hope Sneizek - Motor City Hit Dogs

Caitlin Butzin - TC Thunder 13U

Kelsey Quiggin - TC Thunder 13U

Brooklyn Hoffert - Cadillac Express

Ashlyn Lundquist - Cadillac Express

Georgia Meyer - Cadillac Express

Jacelyn Moggo - Cadillac Express

Kaci Sowers - 231 Fusion

Sophie Wisniski - 231 Fusion

Jaycee Mitchell - 231 Fusion

Brooke Meeker - 231 Fusion

Maggie Napont - TC Waves 13U

Brooke Smith - TC Waves 13U

16U Division

Reagan Middleton - Northwest Wild

Jazmyn Correl - Northwest Wild

Madison Wilkinson - Moran Iron Works Vulcans

Shelby Yoder - Moran Iron Works Vulcans

Anna Terwilliger - MBS Jets Gold 15U

Kindra Winters - MBS Jets Gold 15U

Ashley Chmielewski -  Roscommon Royals

Allison Brown - Roscommon Royals

Karlee Erickson - Roscommon Royals