The Indiana Storm 8-U baseball team finished runner-up at the Baseball Youth National tournament in Westfield last weekend.
In the front row are, from left, Kyler Farnham, Josh Patterson, Kohen Bailey, Brevin Anderson and Leyton Byler. In the back row are Dane Ebel, Ryder Reed, Evan Crosby, Kenton Conrad, Justis Johnson, Loden Johnson and Luke Holcomb. (Photo provided)

WESTFIELD – It was oh, so close for the Indiana Storm baseball team. The 8-U outfit, also known as the Northern Indiana Elite, finished runner-up in the Baseball Youth Nationals at Grand Park last weekend.

The Waterloo-based travel team, primarily made up of diamond stars from eastern Indiana and western Ohio including Syracuse’s Josh Patterson, won 33 games this season, including tournament titles in Holland, Mich., and Lowell, Mich. earlier this year. At the BYN tournament, the Storm beat Westfield, 5-1, and Wabash, 11-3, before falling to the Indiana Bulls, 3-1.

In the bracket finals, the Storm knocked off Imavex Orange, 12-4, and Hempfield Spartans, 8-5, to meet the Bulls again in the championship. Tied 4-4 through five innings, the Bulls proved to be the top club by scoring the game-winning run for a 5-4 final.