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Chasing summer glory

Local ballplayers compete for spot in Connie Mack World Series

FARMINGTON

The stage for summer-league baseball doesn’t get any bigger than at Ricketts Park in Farmington.

Each year, the best high school baseball players in North America and Puerto Rico gather for the American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack World Series. Entering its 51st year, the tournament is held the first week of August at the New Mexico ballpark that seats 6,100 fans and sits 50 miles southwest of Durango.

But before those teams step foot inside Ricketts Park, the stadium has already seen a summer’s worth of baseball excitement in the local Farmington Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack city league. That includes two teams representing Bayfield and Durango as well as other teams that are eager to add some of Southwestern Colorado’s brightest baseball stars. Through the years, teams from Aztec, Bloomfield, Shiprock and even as far as Gallup, New Mexico, are represented in the city league, as well as Bayfield, Durango, Cortez and as far as Pagosa Springs.

This season’s city tournament is set to begin Monday with all of the local teams vying for the right to host the Connie Mack World Series. It’s a unique opportunity, as the host team only has to win the local tournament to qualify for the grand amateur competition, while the other nine teams have to fight their way through brutal regional brackets and national qualifiers.

With the city tournament set to begin, here is a look at the Colorado talent in this year’s field:

Strike Zone Baseball

Since 2010, one team has dominated the Connie Mack city league – Strike Zone Baseball coached by Adam Morrissey, a native of Australia and former professional baseball player.

The team is named after an indoor baseball training facility in Farmington, where Morrissey is the lead instructor.

Each year, players from Bayfield and Durango have played on the Strike Zone squad, whether they were recruited by the team at the beginning of the summer or were regional pickup players. The winner of the city tournament is allowed to add four players from other teams in the league to its world series roster.

This year is no different, as Matthew Knickerbocker and Kelton McCoy of Bayfield and Lawrence Mayberry and Dayne Rowley of Durango play for Morrissey’s Strike Zone team.

Knickerbocker, Mayberry and McCoy all were part of last year’s Strike Zone team that reached the world series and played in front of Ken Griffey Jr. The soon-to-be Major League Baseball Hall of Famer was inducted into the CMWS Hall of Fame as part of the 50th anniversary celebration.

“We’re here to win the Connie Mack World Series. That’s our only goal,” said McCoy, son of Derek and Loreca McCoy. “We’re working every day to get better so we have a chance to take the championship.”

The host team has never won a CMWS title, but Morrissey’s Strike Zone teams have fared better than most host teams during their run of success, winning at least two games in the double-elimination tournament twice since 2010. But last year’s squad went 0-2, and this year’s group wants a chance to show better this year.

“We practice every day, all day,” said Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry. “We’re here to win, not to lose. We want to ball out and get to the world series. It is a level of baseball that you don’t see anywhere else once you’ve been there.”

For Rowley, this is his chance to reach the world series, a feat his older brother Danny accomplished four times. The right-handed pitcher said the summer season is where he really improves, and playing in it for various teams through the years helped him land a scholarship to play at Metro State University in Denver.

“It’s a lot more competitive, and it’s warmer outside in the summer. That makes my arm feel better, and it’s a lot of fun to go out there and pitch with your best stuff,” said Rowley, son of Darren and Kari Rowley.

To prepare for the city tournament and world series, the Strike Zone team travels the country to compete in big tournaments. This year’s team made trips to Denver and Pueblo as well as Lubbock, Texas and Phoenix.

Though Strike Zone has won the city tournament the past five years, it’s never easy. Getting past other city league teams such as Naa’taanii, or more recently 4-C Baseball, always proves to be a tough task.

This year’s team will enter the city tournament 10-0 in league games, but 4-C Baseball and Naa’taanii each have only one loss, and Strike Zone squeaked past Naa’taanii 2-1 earlier in the summer.

A turning point for the Strike Zone team this summer came in a 8-0 win against Durango High School’s developmental team June 12.

Knickerbocker said it was the first time the team had all been together, and they all started to hit the ball and play as a team.

That’s the expectation when a player puts on the Strike Zone jersey.

“It’s an honor to play for Strike Zone and for (Morrissey),” said Knickerbocker, son of Kirk and Marie Knickerbocker. “He has a good reputation, and so does Strike Zone, and we all have to live up to those expectations.”

Durango Demons

With a young squad at the high school level, the Demons gather in Farmington for a summer of growing together.

Eric Baker, who will begin his second season as head coach at Durango High School in 2016, restarted the Durango Demons team in the Connie Mack league after a one-year hiatus, as the team transitioned from head coach Rob Coddington, who also coached a Connie Mack team, to Baker.

Baker has plenty of knowledge of the Connie Mack city league; his brother Lars Baker was a longtime coach of the Rivercats, a developmental team for younger players at Piedra Vista High School in Farmington.

“It’s invaluable to be able to come down here and see some really good competition. The best baseball players in the Four Corners area are here, and to come down and see Strike Zone, the Sting, the Rivercats, 4-C and Bloomfield, they are all solidly coached, good teams,” Baker said. “It’s really good for our younger kids to see that and get some cuts and gain a little confidence.”

While teams such as 4-C, Naa’taanii and Strike Zone compete for a trip to the CMWS, Durango, the Rivercats and Sting are more focused on developing young players to become future varsity players for their respective high schools. They also help current varsity players blossom into team leaders, such as Durango’s Andrew Selser.

“This is a big experience for us, and we are out here playing with the guys that mostly will be our varsity team next year,” said Selser, son of Linda and Rick Selser. “We’re building a bond together for next year, and that’s huge for us. We build team chemistry and improve every game.”

Mark Lamoreaux is one of the younger Durango players looking to make a name for himself during the summer season.

Against Strike Zone on June 12, Lamoreaux went 3-for-3 at the plate and stole a base as the team’s leadoff man.

“It’s nice to come out and face older kids to get my talents up,” said Lamoreaux, son of Debbie and John Lamoreaux. “Knowing the best high school players in the nation come here at the end of the year to play on this same field, it’s pretty cool. To know the greats like Ken Griffey Jr. have played on this same field we do, it’s cool to think about.”

The experience also is a benefit for Baker, as he finds the best positions for his young players to field while the team continues to gel.

“The pressure is not quite the same as it is during the compressed high school season, and it’s nice to come down here and be able to spend some time with the guys in a more relaxed atmosphere,” he said. “We’re still trying to win games and build competitiveness and fire, but it’s a better environment to build together.”

Durango will enter this year’s city tournament 2-5 in league games, though they had three games canceled because of rain. Two of those three games were scheduled against a team the Demons beat previously in the summer.

Bayfield 14ers

Jared and Steve Qualls, brothers of Bayfield High School head coach Jonathon Qualls, entered their second year leading a Bayfield squad to Farmington for the Connie Mack league.

A final four team at the city tournament a year ago, this year’s 14ers will enter the city tournament at 2-3 and as a relative unknown because of a light schedule and a late-forming roster, with star pitcher and third baseman Zane Phelps rejoining the club for only two games so far this season because of other baseball commitments.

“We’ve been successful in the two games I’ve played,” said Phelps, son of Dion and Koel Phelps.

The 14ers will open the city tournament against 4-C Baseball with a roster that features BHS varsity players Anthony Chamblee, Taed Heydinger, Noah Loutherback and Brody McGhehey along with Phelps. Also on the roster is Durango High School’s Kyle Duran and several up-and-coming Bayfield players.

“Our team is stronger this year than our final four team last year, and I think we’re all excited to compete and get further in the city tournament this year,” Phelps said.

Phelps has turned down offers to play with Strike Zone and 4-C Baseball the last two years. He likes to stick with his Bayfield teammates but said he wouldn’t turn down an offer to join a team’s CMWS roster.

“Most of our team is from Bayfield, and we have five of us all going to be seniors next year. We’ve grown up and played together since we were kids, and I haven’t felt like joining another team. I like to stay with my team,” Phelps said. “But it would be a dream to play in the world series.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com

Jul 4, 2015
The National Pastime


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