​By Tanner Puckett

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The first game of the 12u Arizona Spring Spring Championships for the Issaquah Purple and Murieta Bulldogs ended in a 7-7 tie after five innings.

Early March games are some of the first played in the season, but offenses from both teams didn’t need much time to start clicking. Six of the 14 total runs scored came in the first inning. 

“Really happy,” IBC Purple head coach Dan Neel said when asked about his lineup’s performance.

“We’re up in the Pacific Northwest, so it’s cold. So being able to come out here and get the bats going in the heat, you know, I think we always play a lot better when it’s in the sun.”

Murieta (CA) plated two runs in the top of the first, but the IBC Purple answered quickly. A few singles sandwiched by a pair of errors led to the Bulldogs tallying four in the bottom of the inning.

“I thought the first inning, we made a lot of mistakes,” Bulldogs head coach Mike Tozi said. “We gave up four runs and we shouldn’t have given up any. But I was really proud of the way they bounced back the rest of the time.”

Bounce back they did, as some plate discipline and savvy baserunning led to two runs in the top of the second, tying the game 4-4.

Tozi credited the continued fight to the resolve of starting pitcher Mason Hanner.

“When Mason gave up the four runs in the beginning and then got one-two-three after that, it was a big turning point for us,” Tozi said. “He stayed strong mentally and the team rallied around him.”

The game was a back-and-forth from start to finish. The fourth was the only inning where both teams failed to score, bouncing between a tie game and one-run leads the rest of the time. 

A big moment that nearly changed the complexion of the game came in the top of that scoreless fourth inning. 

With two outs, Murieta’s Dominic Fillmore reached first base on a dropped third strike. Bulldog baserunner Parker Cerda broke for home, but Issaquah got a throw over in time to catch Cerda in a rundown. IBC Purple catcher Ethan Scheel applied the tag at home and ended the inning.

“It’s definitely something we emphasize as coaches and we work on,” Neel said of Issaquah’s defense. “We’re actually compatible with Little League, so we only get them once a week. Once a week, we’re not going to be able to build a swing or revamp someone’s pitching motion, but we can work on defensive plays. When you get to see them happen in-game, it puts a smile on your face.”

Fillmore was a large part of why the Bulldogs were able to remain in the game. He threw two innings in relief, striking out four and walking none while allowing two hits. Fillmore surrendered one unearned run, scored on a passed ball.

“He’s one of our big guns and he did exactly what we were hoping he would do,” Tozi said. “He did great.”

Fillmore pointed to confidence in his team as a key to his success. 

“I had a good defense behind me, so I just tried to throw strikes,” he said.

Another major component was a heads-up baserunning. Murieta had five stolen bases on the day, with three coming from Isaac Ochoa.

“He’s a super fast kid, and he’s super aggressive,” Tozi said.

The Bulldogs were able to get their first lead since the top of the first when they plated two in the top of the fifth, with the go-ahead run coming on a sacrifice fly by Robbie Swensen. 

In the bottom half of the inning, the IBC Purple plated the tying run when Tristan Turi broke for home on a wild pitch. 

Tozi emphasized pride in his team’s ability to stay focused.

“I was really proud after they made mistakes early how they bounced back,” he said. “I thought they played really well and they were in the game the whole time. I thought they had some good at-bats after a tough start.”

A point that may often go overlooked is the adjustment made by teams coming from much colder areas, like Issaquah, WA.

“Not quite used to 85 degree weather, so (trying to) stay hydrated,” Neel said. “Even our best pitchers, we’ll probably only have them go a couple of innings, even if they’re rolling. Because we’ve got a long tournament.”

As for how Neel feels about the Purple’s start, he’s happy with the performance. 

“I think, because of being compatible with Little League and only having them once a week, we always start out kind of slow,” he said. “We had a doubleheader scrimmage a week ago and lost them both. It made me look up the last four years, how have we done? And I think our best start is, like, 2-5. But then we finish 11-3 after that. We pick it up. So to start out this way and having made a number of defensive plays feels good.”

Both teams have doubleheaders tomorrow, March 7. Murieta will play their first game at 8:15 a.m. against the Midland Vipers (1-0). Issaquah will start the day at 8:00 a.m. against the HB Stingrays Elite.

Adjusting for weather, travel fatigue and a heavy schedule of games takes a balance.

“We’re also going to a spring training game tonight, and they’re saying, ‘Pool, pool, pool,’” Neel said. “So it’s a combination of having fun and relaxing, but trying to get to bed at a reasonable time, because 8 a.m. is going to come quick.”

​Baseball season is officially in the air, and a multitude of teams are preparing for their first big-time action since last season in the first Triple Crown tournament of 2020 in the Lone Star State.

The great Dallas Metroplex area will host teams from 7u through 14u in the Texas Season Opener, set for March 6-8. The Texas Season Opener offers three divisions in each age group, except for 7u and 8u who each have one solo division with coaches pitching in the games.

This year’s Texas Season Opener will welcome teams throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana for a weekend of quality baseball.

The Texas Season Opener offers teams their first chance to compete in a large-scale tournament and get a crack at examining their new lineup at game speed. A tournament that started in 2006 has now grown into a prime youth baseball event for Texas and surrounding states. In 2019, 380 teams made their way to Metroplex, which was an increase from 2018. 

Each team will play a guaranteed 3-game format (weather permitting) and all teams will advance to a single-elimination playoff tournament. First and second place teams will each take home a team plaque and individual awards.

Once again, Triple Crown Sports will host Elite DI teams for the 14u division in the 2020 Texas Season Opener. The Elite Division is invite-only; there were 12 spots available with invites based on a team’s 2019 accomplishments.

In the Elite Division, coaches and teams will be able to evaluate how they compare against the highest competition at the beginning of the season. Additionally, Elite DI teams are guaranteed a 4-game minimum, 3-man umpire mechanics for each game, and their games will be played at superior facilities.

Currently, the 14u Elite Division has all spots filled up with Dallas Texas-Nalley (TX), Dallas Tigers-Bergman (TX), Lubbock Baseball Academy-Fortney (TX), Texas Stix Rookie (TX), Dallas Mustangs Stegman (TX), Canes Southwest-Clementz (TX), Louisiana Knights (LA), Lubbock Heat Baseball (TX), D5 Baseball (LA), Dallas Patriots-Brooks (TX), Dugout (TX) and Dulin Dodgers Prime-Godwin (TX) all confirmed for action.

by Sergio Santistevan
​
In South Orange County, CA, one baseball program will tell anybody who walks through their door about its philosophy.

Led by a group of high-level coaches, the Saddleback Cowboys are built off discipline, respect, and development – everything else comes second.
  
“We’re really keen on fundamentals and development, not necessarily about the wins,” said Saddleback Cowboys coach Wade Jackson. “Teaching them the right aspects of the game … fundamentals, development, respecting the game and having professionalism on the field.”

Growing up in the local area, Jackson has decades of playing and coaching experience. At El Toro High School, Jackson was a two-time All-South Coast League selection. Following his high school career, Jackson went on to play at Saddleback College, a JUCO in Mission Viejo, CA.

Jackson racked up several accolades during his junior college run as he was a two-time All-Orange Empire League selection, 1994 Junior College Player of the Year in the Southern Division, and he broke marks in batting, hits, RBI and runs. Today, Jackson is enshrined in the Saddleback College Baseball Hall of Fame.

After his JUCO run, Jackson played at the University of Nevada - Reno and was selected by the Anaheim Angels in the 1996 MLB Draft.

Once he was done playing in the minors, Jackson’s career switched to coaching youth baseball. A year after retirement, Jackson’s neighbor approached him and asked him to coach his son's travel team, which was one of the only baseball teams in South Orange County at that time.

Through the past 19 years in youth baseball, Jackson has experienced coaching his son to being a co-owner of the Saddleback Cowboys with Chris Malec and Richard Mercado.

Jackson took a few years off from coaching when his son, Jake, was younger but returned when he turned age 8 so he could coach the team. When Jake was ready to go to college, he followed his father’s legacy and chose Nevada where he was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 2018.

Jackson’s co-owners of the Saddleback Cowboys, Malec and Mercado, have plenty of experience on the diamond, too.

Malec was a freshman All-American and three-time All-Big West selection at the University of California - Santa Barbara. He then went on to get drafted by the New York Yankees in 2005, where he was a 2008 Class AA All-Star and three-time league champion who reached Triple-A.

Mercado attended the University of Arizona where he was a captain for the 2004 College World Series team. He was selected in the 12th round of the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks and achieved a nine-year professional career, also reaching Triple-A.

Jackson, Malec and Mercado have focused their post-playing careers on coaching youth baseball, but all three men have families – it can be hard to juggle baseball and their own lives.

“It’s balance, long hours,” Jackson laughed. “We get on the field at usually one and two in the afternoon and we’re at that until nine. Weekends are on the baseball field. It’s tough.”

Despite the long hours, all three coaches find a way to balance their lives and still implement discipline, respect and development in their players.

“We teach them that it’s a hard game, a family game, something you got to work every day at. It’s not something you just show up and throw your cleats on and start throwing the baseball,” Jackson said. “You have to respect it, treat it the way it’s supposed to be treated, and give it your all. This game can be very fortunate for you, take you very far, and do lots of things for you.”

The Saddleback Cowboys coaching staff has set up goals throughout the year for each age group but winning isn’t at top of that list. Development always comes first.

“As they get older that stuff happens because of what they do as they grow … we’re really keen on developing the boys, especially at a younger age.”

Developing the team comes with the respect and discipline that Jackson says is taught even in the youngest teams. A Saddleback Cowboys' rule is that if a player doesn’t show up with his uniform belt, then he doesn’t get to play.

Jackson understands there is more to life than baseball, which is why he wants to teach his players life lessons on top of baseball techniques. His favorite stories to hear from players are the ones where they sign to a college with their help, because it shows that they accomplished their goals of creating good ballplayers and disciplined men.

“It’s just not just baseball, it’s teaching them aspects of life and becoming a young man,” Jackson said. “Teaching them beyond baseball is another thing … not everyone is going to go make that $10 million per year and there are other things in life.”

After a month and a half off from baseball, the Saddleback Cowboys returned to the field in late January. Jackson currently has his team hitting and doing some strength and conditioning as they start to prepare for their spring schedule.

“It comes back to development. Most of our teams get in three workouts a week,” Jackson said. “It’s preparing for them for the fundamentals and situational (baseball) … putting our best foot forward and trying to teach them.”

Despite being away from his family, grandchildren and friends often due to baseball events, Jackson can’t imagine himself doing anything else in life. He calls himself fortunate that he’s been allowed to do something that he loves for his entire life.

“How many people out in the world can say they do exactly what they love every day?” he said. “I get to be on the baseball field 50 percent of the day and almost every day. It’s something that I developed a respect for all my life, and I get to teach it to younger kids now.”

by Sergio Santistevan

Back in 2011, three friends had a vision of helping take youth baseball players to the next level. Now in 2020, Golden Spikes Baseball is one of the premier baseball organizations for youth development in the Sacramento, CA region.

Those three friends, Brett Hemphill, Alex Creel and Mikela Olsen, now lead the Golden Spikes coaching staff that consists fully of former professional and collegiate baseball players.

“I think it’s a big factor that draws a lot of really good ballplayers to our organization,” said Hemphill. “The training that we do is pretty rigorous and it’s great. I think the higher-level player is definitely seeking that out.”

Hemphill’s baseball career goes back to the early ’90s when he played at California State University, Fullerton, where he twice played in the College World Series. In 1994, Hemphill was voted “Best Defensive Player” of his team, Honorable Mention All-Big West and All-Tournament for the Midwest I Regional.

After a successful collegiate career, Hemphill went on to play seven years of professional baseball as a catcher with the Anaheim Angels organization. In the minor leagues, he experienced a pair of All-Star Game appearances and earned some hardware with 1995 and 1996 championships.

In 1999, Hemphill recorded a pair of hits in his first two major league at-bats – he’s one of a handful of players to ever record that stat. After an injury ended his career, he finished his professional career with a .270 batting average.

After leaving professional baseball, Hemphill moved into youth baseball as a member of the Hard 90 staff. As coaches with Hard 90, Hemphill, Creel and Olsen eventually decided to branch off and become co-founders of the California Golden Spikes.

Like Hemphill, Creel and Olsen have years of baseball experience. In 1999, Creel was ranked by Baseball America as the 49th best high school prospect in the nation. Creel went on to play at Arizona State and Cal Poly before injuries cut his career short.

Creel has become one of the best pitching experts in Northern California by emphasizing arm health, pitching mechanics and enhanced velocity. With his teachings, several pitchers have broken the 90MPH mark and been drafted in the MLB.

In 2003, Olsen was drafted by the Florida Marlins after a successful collegiate career at Sacramento State where he was team MVP and 2003 Independent Conference Hitter of the Year; he was awarded a spot on the Sacramento State’s All-Decade Team.

Olsen specializes his coaching practices on hitting, fielding and the mental aspect of the game.

The Golden Spikes coaching staff’s goal is to be a third-party set of eyes, which is why they don’t favor having fathers coaching sons on their teams. Hemphill believes this is what separates the Golden Spikes program from others, in how he values a player’s talent over political reasons.

“We’re not knocking the close dad-ball, but what we’re trying to do is have people say, ‘Hey I’m getting a good value for the dollar I’m spending because I’m getting a professional opinion from guys who have played the game at a high-level before who are looking at my kid as just a player,’” said Hemphill.

Some of the main objectives of the Golden Spikes program are to hold players accountable and implement high effort into their players' DNA.

“We try to have these kids write out their goals and try to keep them accountable to adhere to it,” said Hemphill. “We ask them ‘Well, how are you going to get there? You got to do your work, which requires you to try.’ You got to give us effort.”

This season, Hemphill and company have some goals that they want to accomplish on the diamond, as well. In March, the Golden Spikes will head down to Arizona to take part in Triple Crown Sports’ Arizona Spring Championships. The coaching staff is hoping for a good showing in Arizona to start their year off right.

The next tournament the Golden Spikes have circled is Cooperstown Dreams Park. In 2017, Hemphill’s squad made an unbelievable run in the tournament, and he hopes to relive that magic this time around.

“The last time I was there, the team I took finished second out of 104 teams, so I’d like these guys to experience what we went through, because it was an unreal run,” Hemphill said.

Whatever the results happen to be this season, Hemphill and the Golden Spikes coaching staff will continue their main goal of developing young players through it all.

“Coaching has allowed me to do something I’m passionate about,” he said. “It’s allowed me to stay involved in baseball and try to teach young kids the way I was taught.”