GLENDALE, Ariz. – A year ago this week during the long Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend, a team based in Seattle and playing under the name Pacific Northwest Regional Baseball (PNWRB) 2016s, surprised just about everyone but itself when it posted a 6-0-0 record on the way to winning the title at the Perfect Game West MLK Upperclass Championship.
In winning that title, the PNWRB 2016s became the second team based in the Pacific Northwest to win the PG West MLK Upper championship, joining Team Northwest, which won the title in 2014; the other three titlists in the event’s five-year history were from, not surprisingly, Arizona and California.
Shortly after his team had won the championship game against California-based Aggies Baseball, PNWRB 2016s head coach Rob Tomlinson made a declaration: “We’re from the Northwest and we can play some baseball. We put everybody else on notice that we’re from the Northwest and we’re coming.”
If the Pacific Northwest Regional Baseball program was still on its way in 2016, it has spent the last three days here in the middle of January 2017 proving it has arrived and is firmly establishing itself. It entered two teams in the PG West MLK Upper – Royal and Navy – and both completed Sunday’s play with spotless 3-0-0 pool-play records to earn the Nos. 2 (Royal) and 3 (Navy) seeds in Monday’s quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
“We plan and we expect to contend on a national scale,” Navy head coach Bryan Goff said Sunday morning on yet another very cool, cloudy and windy day at the Camelback Ranch MLB spring training complex in the West Valley. “If we’re going to put ourselves on the map, that’s part of the whole deal. If you’re going to come out and have your guys representing (an entire region), you might as well plan on winning the whole tournament.
“How it shakes out, we’ll have to wait and see – we’re just like everybody else – but we plan on making a run at the (championship).”
When Goff made that statement, he was speaking about both PNWRB teams competing in the Upperclass tournament. Goff uses the term “on paper” frequently when he speaks of the differences between the two teams, but in reality, the rosters share more similarities than they do differences.
The Royal roster features 12 2017s and two 2018s that have either signed with or committed to NCAA Division-I programs; seven 2017s are ranked in the top-500 of PG’s national prospect rankings. Both of those numbers include No. 288-ranked 2017 outfielder/left-hander Jesse Franklin, a Michigan signee from Seattle.
The Navy roster might not look as impressive at first-glance, with three 2017s and one 2018 signed with/committed to D-I programs. Four prospects are ranked in the top-500 nationally, including No. 423 2018 catcher/infielder Colton Cassinelli, a University of Washington commit.
“We feel like we have two clubs that are set up really well with some talented players on both teams,” Goff said. “But I do think the make-up of the teams is different. This team (Navy) is a group that on paper doesn’t have as many guys that are committed to the big-name schools, but we feel like we have quality guys right here that can play.
“This group might be a little bit more of a grinder versus the other one – which might be a little bit better on paper – but we’ve got quality baseball players on both teams.”
Cassinelli, the Washington commit, calls San Tan Valley, Ariz., home and is a junior at Queen Creek (Ariz.) High School; he was directed to the Pac Northwest Regional Baseball program by the Huskies’ coaching staff.
It’s been a perfect fit for a young man who in the past has played with CBA Marucci, SACSN National Team and Wilson Sandlot, among others. He is also an alumnus of the 2016 PG Junior National Showcase and 2016 PG Underclass All-American Games showcase.
“There are a lot of good kids on this team,” Cassinelli said Sunday. “They come from a lot of different places and just getting to know them has been a lot of fun. We have a lot in common and just getting to know them, it’s been good.
“We’re just trying to play at a high level of baseball,” he continued. “You know you’ve got a bunch of college guys on the field already, so you have to play with that (college) mindset and grind-out each game and grind-out each at-bat; just go out there and try to win every game.”
The Navy team hit .260 collectively in its three pool-play victories, with 19 hits, including eight for extra-bases. The batters also waited-out 15 walks, leading to a .413 team on-base percentage which they were able to turn into 23 runs, or nearly eight per game.
2017s Jared Maxfield (Bellevue CC), Cody Kehl, Derek Lohr, Dylan Lott (Freed-Hardeman U.) and Cassinelli were among the most productive at the plate. Eight Navy pitchers combined to allow only one earned run in 18 innings (0.39 ERA) with 19 strikeouts and 11 walks.
The Royal squad posted similar numbers. The batters combined for a .329 team batting average with 23 hits – only three for extra-bases – and 13 walks, which contributed to a .449 team on-base percentage.
Noah Hsue, a 2017 top-500 second baseman and a Washington signee from Mercer Island, Wash., collected five of his team’s 20 singles – he also doubled – and 2017s Jack Smith (t-500, Washington State), Kolby Force (Concordia University) and Mason Martin each contributed three singles apiece. Nine Royal pitchers allowed two earned runs in 17 innings (0.82 ERA) with 30 strikeouts and six walks.
“For us, we’re trying to get the players and parents to understand that this is about competing,” Goff said. “It really is about competition as much as it is about showcasing because when guys go out and showcase, they play a little bit different.
“We’re trying to get people that come into our program to understand this about competing and going out and playing great baseball,” he continued. “If you come out and you play it hard and you compete, at the end of the day you are going to showcase yourself.”
When Pacific Northwest Regional Baseball director Rhett Parker brings teams to events such as the PG West MLK Championships – two squads were entered in both the PG West MLK Underclass and PG West MLK Freshman tournaments, as well – he and his coaches like Goff only really expect the players to go out and do the baseball basics: play hard, be prepared and have a clear head.
It’s January, and every one of these teen-aged players is on a different schedule when it comes to being ready for their upcoming high school seasons. All six PNWRB teams that are in the Phoenix area this weekend want to compete and want to win, but it’s also important the players stay healthy, especially the guys who are clocking in from the mound.
“It’s a big puzzle piece and you kind of have to play it game-by-game,” Goff said. “You want to get into the bracket (playoffs) but at the end of the day you want to keep your players healthy and put them in a position to succeed.”
That all starts with a rock-solid communication network between the coaches and the players, Goff noted. The organization goes to great lengths to make sure the coaches are working with the players, especially when it comes to proper arm care. And that’s just as important in January as it is at the end of the fall season when a collection of PNWRB teams will return in September for PG national championship tournaments.
Pacific Northwest Regional Baseball came to the PG West MLK Upperclass Championship last year and returned home with a gold championship trophy. With two teams still standing among the final-eight this year, there is no reason to think history can’t repeat itself.
“We really just want to come out here and play,” Cassinelli said. “I looked on the (PG) website and I saw that the (organization) is ranked pretty high and that they won this (tournament) last year, and it’s pretty awesome to be a part of all this.”
“Up in the Northwest it’s tough to get out and play games, so any chance we get to come out on the field, we’re going to be ready to go,” Goff concluded. “We want to represent the Northwest and come out and play hard and show everyone where we’re from; it’s pretty simple.”