By GANNON HANEVOLD
Moapa Valley Progress
While the summer is often a sign of hiatus when it comes to youth athletics, a team of young Pirates-in-the-making traveled to Beaver, Utah, for a baseball tournament earlier this month. The local Moapa 9U baseball team made the trip to Beaver on June 7-8 for a two day tournament that featured over twenty teams throughout the region. At the end of the weekend, Moapa left with an impressive finish.
Moapa’s squad was made up of eleven players aged nine or younger. They included Landon Briggs, Ethan Briggs, Hunter Holmstead, Jake Hadley, Austin Reese, Chris Kohntopp, Toby Wood, Colton Campbell, Cooper Comeau, and Cason Johnson.
The team started its slate of games by taking on the Roadrunners and they started competition on the right foot. Moapa trailed 6-9 going into the fifth inning and needed a comeback. Luckily, their bats got hot at the right time.
Jake Hadley and Toby Wood fired off consecutive doubles and Chris Kohntopp hit a triple after that. Ethan and Landon Briggs helped lead the comeback as well as Ethan hit a double and Landon was able to go two for two in his pair of ABs in the same inning. In the bottom of the fifth, the defense came together as well. Three strikeouts ended the game 14-9 in favor of Moapa.
“The boys really kept control of the game with strong fielding and I have seen the most improvement with this aspect of the game,” said RJ Briggs, who coaches the team alongside Colton Holmstead. “I think our first game really started us off on a strong pace.”
But Moapa Baseball ran into a speed bump in their second game as they fell to Battle Born by a score of 17-5. “This was a frustrating loss but as the tournament progressed, our fielding and hitting improved,” Briggs said.
The team bounced back a game later when they defeated Beaver 8-5.
Moapa’s third win of the weekend came after the Beaver contest when the team dominated Richfield 13-5. This impressive victory vaulted the team into the championship contest against none other than Battle Born, the only team to defeat Moapa Baseball thus far.
This time around, Moapa actually led the game in the fifth inning and were on the verge of claiming the top prize. However, a strong finish by Battle Born turned the game around and ultimately Moapa left as runner-ups. Despite the final contest, the team proved itself as a serious contender and saw massive improvements.
“I believe that one of the hardest things in baseball is translating your skills from practice into using them in the game,” Briggs said. “These tournaments provide these opportunities in a big way. Some things you can only learn in games, such as the pressure and success.”
With over twenty teams in attendance, the team absolutely saw both pressure and success in their two day tournament experience. This is the team’s second tournament together and the players have seen plenty of growth while playing in front of a large audience.
“Four of our players are batting over .500 over the last two tournaments,” said Briggs, “The boys became more confident at the plate and more of our bottom of the lineup hitters began producing hits and scoring runs.”
Moapa Valley continues to build its youth baseball presence in the community, and this latest string of summer success is just the latest example.
