ST. CLAIR, MI -- This year's Grosse Pointe Woods Shores Little League team is not the same as last year's team.

They have all new players and entirely different coaches.

But the one thing they have in common is the uniform they wear.

And, now, the trophy they hoisted.

Despite returning zero players from last year's all-star squad that captured the Major Baseball state title -- then rolled all the way to the Little League World Series -- Grosse Pointe Woods Shores returned to the state tourney and did it all over again.

With its second stirring comeback in two days, Woods Shores rallied past Rockford for a 12-7 victory Wednesday to capture Michigan's marquee tournament for ballplayers age 12-and-under. It became the first program to claim back-to-back state titles since Grand Rapids Western in 2004-05.

Now they try to match their predecessors again when they venture to the Great Lakes Regional in Westfield, Indiana. Woods Shores takes on state champions from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Kentucky in the six-team field that is vying for a famed trip to Williamsport. The Michigan champs open against Illinois at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5.

"This is a really special group of kids," Woods Shores manager Kurt Barr said. "They play well together, they trust each other. They really believe in their abilities and believe that their moment will come."

This group inherited some mighty expectations when they donned the Woods Shores all-star uniform this summer. The 2017 team set a powerful standard while winning the state tournament as well as the Great Lakes Regional crown -- and getting plenty of air time on ESPN.

"This is a totally new group from last year," Barr said. "But a lot of them traveled to Indy and Williamsport. Some followed the games on Facebook and watched ESPN. I don't think it put any pressure on them. I think it motivated them."

This year's team took the proper steps to fulfill its goal of duplicating the 2017 state championship. And step one was never giving up despite getting down.

Woods Shores rescued its repeat hopes with the most dramatic of comebacks in the semifinal. Trailing Bay City Northwest 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth, they got a three-run home run and a solo shot to tie it up, then won it in walkoff fashion in the eighth inning.

One day later, they found themselves in a hole again. Rockford bolted to a 7-2 lead and was still in front 7-5 heading into the fifth inning of the championship game.

Woods Shores finally swung the momentum with an electric four-run charge in the fifth -- powered by home runs by Jarren Purify, Oliver Service and Preston Barr -- then put three more runs on the board in the sixth to send the celebration in motion.

"We've learned a lot about how to overcome, whether it's big deficits or our own mistakes," Barr said.

"This is a big stage, it's pretty intense and there are big moments. But they handled it. All we did was put them out there and tried to put them in a position to succeed. They took care of the rest."

Service fronted the Woods Shores offense with two home runs among his three hits. Purify and Barr each had two hits with home runs while Reggie Sharpe added two hits and Cam Schafer one.

Rockford made a stunning push for the program's first Major Baseball state championship. After losing the opening game of the tournament 10-1 to Woods Shores, the club regrouped in fine fashion.

They won the next two pool games to advance to the quarterfinals with a second-place finish, then knocked off two pool champions -- including a walkoff win over Ash Carleton in the semifinals.

Rockford came out firing in the rematch with Woods Shores, scoring three first-inning runs then adding four more in the second inning to build the 7-2 advantage. But the offense couldn't keep up the pace and Woods Shores turned the tide.

Rockford got two hits on the day from Quinn Bentley and Michael Skarda and one hit apiece from Derek Landis, Payton Skarda and Jordan Eck.