Even for Verde Valley baseball players ages 13 and under, there is never an off-season.
The Mean Machine baseball team is proving that, taking Cottonwood Middle School students like pitchers Chaz Taylor and Kendrew Streck and catcher Chris Mathe to winter tournaments in Phoenix and facing them off in six-inning games against young baseball talent from around the Southwest.
This was the case Dec. 27 through 30, as Mean Machine took third place in Peoria’s U.S. Specialty Sports Association Winter Nationals Super National Invitation Tournament — one game shy of earning a berth in the Elite World Series, Saturday, Aug. 2, through Sunday, Aug. 10, in Kissimmee, Fla. Each age bracket’s winner and runner-up there — 8-Under through 14-Under — will advance to the U.S. Specialty Sports Association National Youth Championship in Memphis, Tenn.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Jan. 22, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
