by Bradey King
At the start of pool play Friday at the Arizona Spring Championships, the 9u Amarillo Dragons brought their sticks in a 15-5 victory over Gwynn Baseball out of California. The game was a prime example of a “team win” as the Dragons combined for nearly 20 hits, most of those being bombs for extra bases. Solid pitching and defense backed the powerful hitting performance. While most teams’ rosters tend to change year after year, head coach Dennis Davison was proud to announce that the majority of his young Dragons have been playing baseball together since they were five years old, which is both rare and special. “We’re a unique team in Amarillo because we’re one of the only teams that doesn’t cut players. We don’t host tryouts, so unless someone quits we don’t have an opening on our roster,” said Davison. This organizational approach seems to work in the Dragons favor as the chemistry, solid fundamentals and confidence among this young team was obvious and fun to watch. “At this age the mentality is to just put the ball in play and good things happen. We also teach our pitchers to pitch to contact, because we believe our defense is good enough to get the other team out,” Davison added. Whether it was a perfect bunt, RBI triple, stolen base or double play, every Dragons player contributed a “standout” performance during Friday’s outing. Therefore, it was only appropriate that Triple Crown media caught up with multiple players after the game. Tyler Davison, Tanner Snider, Samuel Ramirez, Trey Bass, Dawson Lanham and Brighton McNabb shared their thoughts on the win and excitement about being in Arizona during Spring Training for Major League Baseball. “I’ve already got two baseballs full of MLB autographs,“ exclaimed the coaches son, Tyler Davison. All six players agreed that batting and watching MLB games are their favorite parts of the sport and this specific Arizona Spring Championships experience. The Dragons plan to grab a few more W’s and continue to learn a lot in the next few days. “I learned stuff on defense today, like how to throw it in from the outfield and not short-arm it,” Ramirez said. Young Davison jokingly added, “I learned to never catch Brighton (McNabb) again. He throws too hard…like 60 miles per hour!” The team was headed to cheer on the Texas Rangers later Friday and will be back on the diamond themselves Saturday at 12:15 p.m. by Bradey King
It’s no surprise that the Triple Crown Arizona Spring Championships is the ideal spring break destination for a young baseball player. The opportunity to compete in a high caliber tournament and also watch their MLB idols at Spring Training is unlike any other experience. The sunny and 75-degree weather is the cherry on top. Session 2 of the Spring Championships opened up Thursday morning and is off and running with more than 100 teams from states all across the country. Day 1 consisted of two “practice” games for each team. Coaches seemed to utilize their entire roster, giving everyone the chance to play and get comfortable at the plate and on the mound before tournament play begins Friday. Head coach Ray Atkinson and his NW Bandits 13’s team from Seattle, Washington said that this is a can’t-miss event. This weekend marks the sixth time they’ve made the trip to Arizona. “This is our version of Spring Training. It starts our season off right. We get great weather and a lot of good games, so we come every year,” said Atkinson. Most teams wrapped up their games around noon today with plans of heading to the Spring Training games tonight. A very excited NW Bandits player, Micah Coleman, is eager to cheer on the Diamondbacks. “The best part of the tournament so far is probably the sun! We’re gonna go to the Spring Training games, too. My favorite player on the Diamondbacks is Jake Lamb,” said Coleman. While the weather in California is pretty comparable to Arizona this time of year, the DBA Crushers – Silver from Danville, California come to this event to see where they stack up against the solid competition it offers. “I liked today’s format,” said Crushers coach Devin Rocha, who agreed the tournament was a good fit for his squad on multiple levels. “I was able to throw every single one of my pitchers.” Pool play begins Friday morning in all age groups, with the event wrapping up on Championship Day later on Sunday. Set aside about 90 minutes on the evening of Saturday, March 17 and come meet MLB players Joc Pederson and Trevor Story during the Triple Crown Arizona Spring Championships!
The night begins at 6 p.m. on Field 6 at Chaparral Park in Scottsdale, where baseball fans want to be as famous YouTube personality Domingo Ayala takes the microphone. Have some laughs and enjoy the show; then at 6:30 p.m., the team from isplack (the colored eye black product that unites in color) welcomes Joc Pederson of the L.A. Dodgers and Trevor Story of the Colorado Rockies. Hear what these MLB players have to say about life in the big leagues and their time in youth travel ball; we’ll do a bat and hat giveaway and run a few drills with some of the youth ballplayers on hand. There will be photo opportunities as well. Chaparral Park is located at 5401 N Hayden Rd. Scottsdale, AZ, 85250. With two successful years in the rearview mirror and nothing but excitement about the road ahead, Triple Crown Sports and YouTube sensation Domingo Ayala have announced their partnership will continue with the release of the 2018 TCS Tour schedule.
Ayala’s “Theory of Beisbol” series and other videos on YouTube have racked up more than 28 million views. He has performed in a variety of settings, from indoor sports facilities, sports complexes, youth baseball fundraisers, corporate events and even in MLB locker rooms. Ayala’s unconventional journey to excellence as a profoundly skilled athlete provides a great deal of comedic material that sports fans continue to embrace; until that day he signs an MLB contract that properly rewards a player of his profound skill set, Triple Crown Sports is thrilled to have him on location. “The players, coaches and families who play with us simply get a light in their eyes when Domingo Ayala shows up at the ballpark,” said Joe Santilli, director of baseball for Triple Crown Sports. “We are all about competition and skill-building with TCS baseball and softball, but it’s important to remember how much a good laugh makes it easier to stay in love with the game.” Triple Crown Sports, which produces a variety of competitive, premier destination tournaments drawing thousands of athletes and their families, welcomes Domingo Ayala to the following events: Arizona Spring Championships, Session 2 – March 17 (Phoenix, AZ) Bend Elks Memorial Day Tournament – May 27-28 (Bend, OR) Omaha SlumpBuster, Session 1 – June 14-15 (Omaha, NE) Omaha SlumpBuster, Session 3 – June 23-24 (Omaha, NE) Colorado Sparkler/Fireworks Fastpitch – June 27-28 (Denver, CO) TC Baseball World Series – July 16 (Park City, UT) U.S. Club Nationals – July 24 (Atlanta, GA) TC Baseball World Series – July 31 (Steamboat Springs, CO) Details on Domingo Ayala’s appearances will appear on the Triple Crown website (www.triplecrownsports.com) and TCS social media outlets; Ayala will also share details on his website (www.domingobeisbol.com) and Twitter feed (@DomingoBeisbol) About Domingo Ayala: Domingo Ayala was born and raised in Puerto Plata, DR sometime between 1978 and 1988 (records have not been verified). At a young age, with the influence of his cousin and longtime baseball coach, Vladimir Ayala, Domingo began to excel at the game of baseball. In the Dominican Republic, Domingo has been a 7-time Infielder of the Year and 6-time Outfielder of the Year award winner (two years overlapping when he played both SS and LF in order to hit twice in the lineup). More than 500 youth baseball coaches, players and fans helped Triple Crown Sports launch Session 1 of the AZ Spring Training Experience on Thursday, with entertainment and energy filling up the left-field pavilion at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Event directors carved out some extra space and time to welcome Session 1 teams, with players getting special packages that included Chinook Seeds and baseball cards featuring MLB athletes who are playing in Cactus League games in Arizona this spring. At the autograph tables, Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black was on hand, along with former MLB players Kurt Bevacqua, Aaron Rowand, Junior Spivey and Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers. TCS customers were also able to watch the team from Long Beach State practice on the field. Noted YouTube baseball comedian Domingo Ayala did a 30-minute show for the athletes on hand and also roamed the pavilion signing autographs and posing for photos. The action moves to the fields today for the start pf pool play; those games will continue through Saturday, with bracket play firing up Sunday morning. Session 2 of the AZ Spring Experience will run March 16-19; the Opening Ceremonies for that week will include the prize package, autograph sessions, an appearance from Domingo Ayala and free admission to an Arizona State baseball game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Any serious baseball fan says it at least once – “I’ve just got to make a trip to Spring Training someday.”
Triple Crown Sports, of course, has a restless interest in providing memorable events, and we’ve certainly met that standard with the AZ Spring Experience, set over two sessions (March 9-12 and March 16-19). We’ll be playing on the finest facilities in greater Phoenix and welcoming programs from all around the Far West. The competition will be strong, with teams eagerly looking at their roster to prepare for the season to come. After the games, teams get dedicated windows to go check out MLB Spring Training games at the intimate stadiums and warm, inviting towns that make Arizona one of the most desirable places to be in March. Parents and families can also enjoy the vacation aspect of the trip, with golf, shopping, swimming, hiking and stellar restaurants allowing visitors to pack in the fun, or find contentment by just relaxing by the pool. “Baseball fans just have so much to dig into at the Spring Championships, and Triple Crown is honored to have so many parents, players and coaches fire up their baseball season at this event,” said tournament director Drew Reiners. “We expect programs to enjoy the competitive experience as well as the unique team-building moments that will pay off months down the line.” Each session will have a Team/Manager Social, running Thursday from 6-9 p.m. at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Noted YouTube comedian Domingo Ayala will be on hand, as well as MLB Hall of Fame players and current baseball figures. |