The Mean Machine baseball team for local players 16 years and younger won its second tournament in three months in November — and almost won another in December.
Playing up an age group at the Red Mountain Baseball Complex in Mesa, Mean Machine scored a solid 6-1 win over Stampede Black, only to see the same team turn around and beat them to win the United States Specialty Sports Association Toys for Tots tournament Sunday, Dec. 6, 7-3.
“It all came down to the pitcher,” head coach Pete Kelly said. “Their big lefty threw pretty hard and mixed up his pitches pretty well. He kept us off-balance through the fifth inning.”
After scoring a 4-0 shutout over its first 18U opponent of the tournament, Mean Machine beat Stampede Black before edging the Minnesota Crush, 7-6.
“The guys who gave us silver rings for second place said, ‘It’s going to be hard to see you guys not winning the state title,’” Kelly said. “Hopefully, we’ll continue on that path to the next level, and that improvement in skills will carry over to the high school season.”
Kelly’s son Tyler, a sophomore at Mingus Union High School, was also home run derby champion Nov. 21 as part of the Showcase Baseball Tournament in Mesa, which Mean Machine won as well.
“This group of boys has won multiple tournaments through the season, but nothing like this,” Kelly said. “It’s just unbelievable how they seem to win every tournament they enter in. They’ve been on a big roll.”
The roll started with a sputter, though, as the winning run was thrown out at home in the seventh inning of a 4-4 tie with the Ahwatukee Devils.
“That was a team we should’ve blown out,” Kelly said. “We were missing a lot of big bats that game with only nine players. They scored all their runs off errors. Tyler threw a complete-game one-hitter.”
But a 14-0 barrage of the Big Cats the next game got Mean Machine going. MUHS junior Gus Henley went three-for-four with a triple to lead the blowout.
Sophomore Jose Pacheco mopped up PSA, 8-3, with a virtually spotless final four innings. Kelly had another triple and sophomore Andrew Kulis had two singles.
“That kid’s lazier than crap,” Kelly joked. “Andrew’s one of luckiest kids I know. He’s got such quick hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes — it’s just unbelievable, like how in the hell did you just do that?”
Kulis hurled a five-hitter, and Justin Tanner had a single, double and walk in a 10-2 semifinal pummeling of the Crush. That would lead to the championship, a 5-3 win over the top seed, and host, Red Mountain Lions.
“It was a pretty good battle, back and forth,” Kelly said. “We brought Tyler in the last two innings, and he shut them down. They didn’t fare well against him.”
Kelly will next coach Mean Machine at the Peoria Sports Complex on Sunday, Dec. 27, through Wednesday, Dec. 30, in Winter Nationals.
