GLENDALE, Ariz. – During the early afternoon on Saturday, back on the somewhat secluded Los Angeles Dodgers’ practice fields at the Camelback Ranch spring training complex, the final day of pool-play at the Perfect Game/EvoShield National Championship (Underclass) had the feel of a playoff atmosphere.
There was a reason for that, of course. A couple of teams with 2-0 pool-play records, one from Puyallup, Wash., and the other from Tucson, Ariz., were playing for their very existence at the 80-team Perfect Game national championship tournament.
The scenario couldn’t have been simpler: One of the teams, either Team Northwest from Washington or 520 Elite from Arizona, would wake up Sunday morning as one of 20 teams still alive in the playoffs; the other would most likely stick around for a consolation game but any championship hope would have evaporated into the desert sky.
A couple of unranked, uncommitted class of 2016 right-handers were handed the ball by their respective head coaches to make the start in the all-or-nothing pool-play game, and both high school juniors were quietly confident before either had thrown a pitch.
“I want to go out there just like it’s a normal game; just pitch how I normally do, throw strikes and get them out,” Team Northwest starter Jordan Jones said before adding a quick “Nope” when asked if he felt any nervousness at all.
“I just want to go out there and relax because I know what I can do,” 520 Elite starter Liam Rosebeck said. “I just try to trust everything I throw. We all know that there are a lot of eyes out here and we all know that we have to win this game because there are a lot of people watching. This is definitely a big tournament for us.”
It seems like no two Perfect Game national championship tournaments are the same, a reality usually dictated by the number of teams in the tournament field. In the case of the PG/EvoShield National Underclass, the 80 teams were placed in 20 four-team pools, each of the teams played their three pool opponents in games Friday and Saturday and only the 20 pool champions advanced to the playoffs.
Both Team Northwest and 520 Elite beat the Cairas Blackdogs from Chino Hills, Calif., and The Lot from Quartz Hill, Calif., during pool-play Friday – Team Northwest did so by a combined score of 11-3 and 520 Elite by a combined 7-1. Those wins set up Saturday’s pool-play punch-out.
“I was pleasantly surprised by how well we did,” Team Northwest general manager and head coach Mike Brooks said of Friday’s play. “We kind of put ourselves in a good position where if we do well here … we can go on into the championship round.”
In describing his team’s play on Friday, 520 Elite head coach Billy Hayes said: “We were good on the mound, we were good in the field and now we’re trying to make some adjustments at the plate. It had been a little while since we took live cuts and that showed a little bit (Friday) but we’re starting to get back in the rhythm there and we’re looking to have some better at-bats today.”
Brooks has been bringing talented squads with prospects from all around the Tacoma and Seattle area to some of the top Perfect Game tournaments for the past four years. His teams have always been competitive with several final four appearances on the organization’s resume and a Team Northwest team won the title at the 18u Perfect Game MLK Championship here in the Valley in January.
“This is a typical Team Northwest team,” Brooks said of the squad he has here this weekend. “We bring kids together that have been referred to us or that we have heard from scouts or college coaches or from other sources that they are players that can play at this level.
“A lot of them haven’t played together and we haven’t had a chance to really practice together, but they’re good ballplayers, they understand the game and they’re good at the basics.”
The core of this 520 Elite squad has played together for the past two years.
“It’s a great group of kids; everyone gets along real well,” Hayes said. “When we’re not at the field or when we’re back at the hotel or someplace else, the kids are all together, they want to hang out together; they all get along really well. On the field, they’re not openly emotional but they’re definitely competitive; they stay in games and compete well.
“We’ve been off for a little rest since our summer season, and we had a very successful summer season,” he continued. “This is a very competitive team; we’re always near the top of our pool (standings) at whatever tournament we end up in. So I’m not surprised at all we’re in this position.”
As the start of this pivotal game got closer it was easy to sense that both starting pitchers were prepared to go the distance.
This is Jones’ first Perfect Game tournament but it’s not the first time he would be pitching in front of a contingent of college coaches. During his freshman year at Kentwood High School in Kent, Wash., 2012 Perfect Game All-American Reese McGuire was his catcher, and every time he would pitch for the varsity unit there were scores of scouts on hand watching McGuire.
“I just want to see all the talent and learn from it,” Jones said of being at the PG/EvoShield National Under. “I want to learn what other people do and get information from (PG scouts) and get their thoughts on the things that I do and see if I can make myself a better player.
“(Players) from the Northwest, people don’t really think we’re the best or good contenders, but I know … how much good talent we have. I only knew one person on this team (before Friday) but even then I still have confidence that our team will be good every time I come down here with them.”
Rosebeck, a junior at Empire High School who calls Vail, Ariz., his hometown, felt an equal amount of confidence in his 520 Elite teammates.
“I’ll just try to get the whole team to stay up and stay (involved) in the whole game the whole time,” he said. “Our biggest thing is that sometimes we don’t talk enough but when we’re all in the game we score runs and we blow teams out.
“We’ve all been together since about eighth grade … and we’re all brothers; we all play together as a team,” Rosebeck added. “We like to have fun and we’re all really sarcastic and we like to make jokes and stuff, but we’re still out there playing baseball.”
With two games on Friday and just one on Saturday, both coaches were aware of the challenges they faced. Brooks, a veteran scout and travel ball director and coach, said the key was getting to know as much about the young prospects in a very short amount of time. Once they get a game or two under their belts they just naturally become more comfortable with one another.
“The challenge is keeping them motivated, keeping them excited,” Brooks said, noting that most of the players just finished busy summer seasons. “You want to make sure they understand how much this means. … You want them to maintain that intensity level so that when they get that opportunity to perform they’re at their best.”
502 Elite’s Hayes agreed: “With baseball, the game itself is going to a lot of highs and lows and trying to deal with that,” he said. “I think this group for the most part does a pretty good job of (handling) that and it is definitely something that we talk about. We’re looking for them to be able to deal with that adversity and respond to it in a positive way.”
Under a blazing desert sun and with a nice contingent of coaches and parents looking on, the game got under way just after 1:30 p.m. PDT. Team Northwest jumped to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning that would, remarkably, hold up. It added two more in the fourth and an additional two in the fifth and rolled to a 6-0 win.
Jones was better than good. He tossed a complete game, seven inning, five-hit shutout, striking out six without a walk; he also doubled and drove in a run. Keenan Milligan, a 2016 outfielder from Olympia, Wash., was 2-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored and was 6-for-8 (.750) with three doubles, the triple, four RBI and two runs in Team Northwest’s three pool-play games.
Jacob Hirsh (2016, Burien, Wash.) went 5-for-9 (.556) with a triple, two RBI and three runs in the three games and Jordan Mambaje, a 2017 from Boring, Ore., ranked No. 182 nationally, was 3-for-7 (.429) with two RBI and two runs.
Five Team Northwest pitchers, including Jones, combined to allow three earned runs on 10 hits in 20 innings (1.05 ERA).
502 Elite’s Rosebeck held his own in Saturday’s loss. He allowed seven hits over six innings and only three of the six runs Team Northwest scored were earned. In 502’s first two games, 2016 right-hander Branden Hance and 2016 lefty Cody Treach combined to allow one earned run on 10 hits in 12 innings of work (0.51 ERA) with eight strikeouts and six walks.
Ultimately, Team Northwest will play a meaningful game on Sunday; 502 Elite, not so much. Not that there are any regrets, of course.
“This age group is a fun group,” Hayes said. “They’re young enough where they’re very open to making changes and adjustments and being coachable, but they’re also pass the point where you’re not teaching them to throw and the all the other stuff you have to do with the little kids.”