Each of the three Camp Verde Little League teams in the Majors division share the same field for evening games at Butler Park.
“I grew up and played ball in this town, and I’ve been coaching kids for eight years,” Mariners head coach John Frisch said. “Of all the Camp Verde coaches, that’s their main gripe: Basically, we only have five days of preseason practice on a real field. It’s really killing us fundamentally, and nothing has changed in 30 years.”
But in his first year as a Majors head coach, it is Frisch’s Mariners who have won their first two games, outscoring the Braves on April 13, 8-6, in four innings.
“It makes me feel pretty dang good,” Frisch said after second baseman Cayden Boggess batted two for two with a “spectacular” double to make the difference on an error-filled night. “He’s basically been the only one really hitting for us. What’s really contributed to our wins is our pitching has been really good.
Mariners starter Easton Bryant, 12, recorded all but the last two outs from the mound, with Frisch’s 11-year-old son, Cutter, coming in for the save.
The two did nearly the opposite in their season-opening win over the Diamondbacks, as Frisch pitched the first four innings of a 12-5 win over the Diamondbacks, with Bryant pitching the fifth inning for the save.
“He gave up a grand slam in the second, then held them scoreless the rest of the game,” Frisch said. “Pitching’s been picking up what our bats haven’t.”
In just his second year playing baseball, 12-year-old Jose Santana has made the catching position his own for
the Mariners.
“Our catcher has done a phenomenal job,” Frisch said. “He’s picked up the position really quick. We have really good infielders.”
With the D-Backs the only Camp Verde team in the Majors to return from last spring, Frisch lets those three players with previous Majors experience, help the rest of an inexperienced team pick up the game as it goes along.
“Through the years, I’ve coached a lot of these kids but worked my way up this year,” Frisch said. “So this is kind of a fresh deal for me.”
Still, no team has an experience advantage with its roster, as players from previous Majors seasons were reinserted into the league draft pool this spring.
“So it’s really even across the board,” Frisch said. “I’d like to get in as many games as possible, which is when I can get field time. But you can only have so much accuracy trying to get infielders prepared for a game when they haven’t practiced on dirt since the beginning of the season.
“Basically, it’s first-come, first-served, and we have to turn the lights off after 10:15 [p.m.] It’s really rough to hold an actual good practice when you don’t have access to the field. Unless we bring kids out on Saturday or Sunday, and that’s family time. It’s kind of upsetting.”
But Frisch and assistant coaches Alby Bryant and Joe Boggess make do.
“Based on our start, really don’t think there’s any team out there in the Verde Valley that can touch us,” Frisch said.
