Carlos Cougars tops in 14C, Snaza named MVP

• Joe Snaza

Echo Press photo by Eric Morken Carlos shortstop Joe Snaza was congratulated after hitting a solo home run in the first inning that tied the Region 14C championship game at one apiece.

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The Carlos Cougars baseball team should have a lot of confidence heading into the Minnesota State Amateur Baseball tournament this coming weekend.

The Cougars will be making their sixth straight appearance at state and are looking like a team that can make a serious run this year. Carlos will enter the tournament as the Region 14C champions after picking up a 14-4, seven-inning win over Bertha this past Sunday.

The Cougars improved to 24-1 with the victory. They were never really challenged during the region tournament, picking up wins of 12-6, 8-1 and 9-2 before the title game this past weekend.

Neil Jenzen started on the mound against Bertha on Sunday. He gave up a home run in the first inning, but Joe Snaza wasted no time erasing that 1-0 deficit. Snaza connected for a home run in the bottom of the first to tie the game. He then tied things up again in the third with an RBI single.

Jenzen and Brad Nyberg each followed that up with back-to-back RBI doubles to give the Cougars a lead for the first time. They would only add to that lead as they tallied the 14 runs to make things easy on themselves.

Snaza was named the Region 14C Most Valuable Player after putting up huge numbers in the four games. He started off the tournament with three hits, three RBIs and three runs scored against Bluffton. Four runs and two hits against Nimrod in the third round also helped him secure the MVP award.

After the tournament, the Cougars drafted Nisswa’s Aaron Jenkins to help them at the state tournament. Carlos opens play this Sunday with a game against Elrosa. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. in Arlington.

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, baseball, carlos, cougars, 14c, joe, snaza, state, tournament, amateur