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Arizona takes the “bronze” at the Sunbelt. That and more for Friday, brought to you by the Arcadia Tavern.
1. Third place: Arizona lost its final two pool games at the Sunbelt Classic in Oklahoma, going 6-3. That set up a rematch against Texas for third place. Arizona won 5-3 to take third in the baseball tournament for high school juniors.
2. Next up: Arizona’s team will play next week in the Heartland Classic as the version of the Sunbelt is now known. The team plays a practice game Friday night against the Arizona Summer Collegiate Baseball League team at Chandler Gilbert Community College.
3. Here is the roster for the Arizona team:
Will Abram. LHP, Chaparral
Tucker Esmay, INF/RHP, Casa Grande
Nate McOwen, INF/RHP, Westview
Ty Webster, RHP, Blue Ridge
Kurt Janke, RHP, Saguaro
Jason Gonzales, OF, Mesquite
Hunter Zwart, OF/RHP, Mingus
Juan Vega, INF/RHP, Nogales
Levi Smith, Catcher/Utility, Winslow
Greg Ryan, LHP/OF, Corona del Sol
Ryan Cota, OF/RHP, Canyon del Oro
Rocky High, OF/LHP, Mesquite
Kevin Wirth, INF/RHP, Sinagua
TJ Bennett, INF, Red Mountain
TC Mark, C/INF, Pinnacle
Taylor Kaczmarek, 1B/RHP, Desert Ridge
Alex Brown, RHP, Amphitheater
Malcom Purdy, RHP, Paradise Valley
David Abney, RHP, Verrado
Dan Slania, 1B/RHP, Salpointe Catholic
4. Connie Mack Qualifier: A strong field of 25 teams will play in the Connie Mack National Qualifier at the Tempe Diablo Sports Complex, starting next week. The pool play schedule is here.
The List for Thursday:
1. Radar love: Radar guns have been common at baseball games for years, but photo radars haven't been. The photo radar on Scottsdale Road beyond the right field fence of Packard Stadium apparently caught some scofflaw Sunday night and caught the attention of players and ESPN announcer Morgan Ensberg during the Arizona State-Arkansas baseball finale. Ensberg explained that a flash of light had drawn everyone’s attention. He told the audience it was from a speed trap, adding that was a sentence that a TV announcer doesn’t expect to utter during a baseball game.
2. BYOL: Packard Stadium was once state of the art, back in 1974 when it opened. That was five years before ESPN went on the air. The only time ASU made the tube was at the CWS. There was a deal where local TV stations that wanted to show the games could, supplying their own announcers. Sometimes only the final would be on TV. In 1979, none of the games was shown here, even though ASU made the final.
Needless to say, TV lighting for night games was not high on the list when they built Packard. So ESPN brought some temporary lights. I was there Saturday, and it made a huge difference. If ASU gets some more money from the Pac-10 expansion, Lisa Love should invest a little in some more lights at Packard. (Fat chance that will happen. Baseball hasn’t been a priority for at least the last three ADs.)
3. Real deal: U.S. Soccer has OK’d the Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy to join the federation's Development Academy for the 2010-11 season. RSL-Arizona will become the 78th team in the program when it begins play this fall. The RSL-Arizona Academy was founded in 2007 as a summer development program for Arizona's elite U17 players. RSL has non-Development Academy programs in Utah and Florida.
4. Academy background: The RSL-Arizona Academy is a fully-funded program hosted in Casa Grande at the beautiful Grande Sports World campus, which is right by the Francisco Grande Resort. The program is headed by Greg Vanney, a Marcos de Niza grad who played in MSL and on the U.S. National team.
The List for Wednesday:
1. National team: USA Baseball will hold a tryout for the Women’s National Team on Friday and Saturday at Brophy Prep. This is the first of six tryout sessions nationwide. Registration will take place at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. There is no pre-registration. All registration will be done on-site.
The tryouts will begin at 9 a.m. both days. Participation in the regional identification events is free. Players should bring a glove, spikes, a water bottle (water will be provided), a lunch and additional drinks as necessary. There will be bats, catcher's equipment, helmets, etc. provided if players do not already have their own.
2. Selection process: This is the first step. Thirty players will be invited to attend the USA Baseball Women's National Team Trials in North Carolina. The team roster will be cut to 18 players, and the team will play in the IBAF Women's Baseball World Cup August 12-22 in Venezuela.
3. A power: Team USA has been a force in the IBAF Women's Baseball World Cup since it started in 2004, winning two golds and a bronze. Kim Voisard of Phoenix was on the national team in 2006-07.
4. Big day in the Tingley household: May 15 was a red-letter day in the Tingley house. Saguaro High School won the 4A-I state baseball title that day. Ben Tingley, a junior, went 1-for-1 with an RBI and scored three times. Brad Tingley, who coached the powerhouse McDowell Mountain Yankees travel baseball team, did some volunteer work for the team. Ben’s older brother Chris, a longtime site director for USSSA baseball, had no direct involvement to the team, but he had a big day, too. Chris graduated from ASU with a degree in inter-disciplinary studies.
Three stars of the weekend:
1. Former Brophy standout Drew Maggi’s homer in extra innings clinched the NCAA Super Regional for ASU and sent the Sun Devils to the NCAA championships.
2. Mara Kemmes of the SunCats struck out 10 in the 12u championship of the USSSA East Side Show Down softball tournament.
3. Sam Huff homered three times on the final day as the Arizona Heat won the 12u Majors title at the USSSA state baseball championship.
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