The Big Train 14U baseball team kicked-off its season with a second-place finish in the Rawlings Grand Slam NIT Tournament in Gardner.
Big Train opened the tournament on Saturday by beating the KC Bears and the Strike Zone Diablos 15-6 and 4-2. They then beat Omaha, Neb. team Hoseys Heroes 14-2 on Sunday morning before falling to the Wichita Aeros 8-6.
Eight pitchers threw for multiple innings over the weekend as the Big Train used their depth to their advantage.
The team has five players from Iola, three from Humboldt, one from Chanute and one from Colony. This season marks the teams sixth playing competitive tournament baseball together at the AA level in USSSA sanctioned tournaments. The Big Train has an overall record of 127-60-1 over those six years.
The team will play at the Alex Gordon Classic NIT in Shawnee on April 26 as part of an eight-to-10 tournament schedule heading into the summer with some mid-week games against more local teams being planned for May and June.
