NOTES: Baseball game to display state’s top underclassmen

By TRISTAN AIRD LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

15 years ago

Local high school baseball fans hoping to catch a glimpse of next year’s top talent from throughout the state will have their chance Friday.

The 13th Kelley Baseball Showcase, pitting top underclassmen from Southern Nevada against their Northern Nevada counterparts, will be played at 7:20 p.m. at the College of Southern Nevada.

The nine-inning game will be played with wood bats and is designed to give underclassmen a look in front of college and professional scouts.

Arbor View’s Chris Martinez and Rick Barry, Rancho’s Tom Pletsch and Faith Lutheran’s Tony Girod will coach the Southern Nevada team.

“It’s good recognition for the 2011 class,” Martinez said. “It’s nice to bring the college coaches and everybody to Vegas, (and) the kids don’t have to go all over the country.”

Players will be clocked in a 60-yard dash at 4 p.m., and the Southern Nevada team will take batting practice about 4:40.

Following is the roster for the Southern Nevada team:

1 Marcus Mejia (OF, Valley)

2 Eric Herring (C, Valley)

3 Nathan Hale (OF, Cimarron-Memorial)

4 Jordan Godman (OF, Arbor View)

5 Michael Kinkenon (C, Faith Lutheran)

6 Daniel Topps (OF, Liberty)

7 Brandon Pletsch (IF/P, Rancho)

8 Tyler LeBaron (IF, Arbor View)

9 Kevin Kline (IF/P, Rancho)

10 T.J. White (IF/P, Bishop Gorman)

11 Blake Matthias (P/OF Faith Lutheran)

12 Taylor Giordano (OF/P, Coronado)

13 Eric Larsen (P/OF/IF, Eldorado)

14 Zak Qualls (P/OF, Rancho)

15 Scott Koenen (P/IF/OF, Rancho)

16 Steven Pollex (IF/OF/C, Coronado)

17 Erik Van Meetren (C, Bishop Gorman)

18 Billy Richardson (P/IF, Bishop Gorman)

19 Isaiah Hernandez (IF, Eldorado)

20 Zachary Quintana (IF/P, Arbor View)

21 David Day (C, Del Sol)

3A HONORS — Virgin Valley’s baseball team was rewarded for its Class 3A state championship season with recent postseason awards.

Senior shortstop/pitcher Jason Wittwer was named Most Valuable Player on both the all-state and all-league teams, and Boyd Wittwer took Coach of the Year in both categories.

In softball, Boulder City senior catcher Paxton Fleming was the 3A Southern League MVP and Virgin Valley’s Rebecca Lunt the Coach of the Year.

SOFTBALL AWARD — Spanish Springs senior pitcher Karlyn Jones was named Gatorade Nevada Softball Player of the Year.

Jones, who has signed with Pittsburgh, was 24-1 with a 0.46 ERA and 229 strikeouts against only three walks in 152 innings to lead the Cougars to the 4A state title. She also was named Player of the Year by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

RECENT DECISIONS — Seniors who made recent college commitments include Legacy boys lacrosse player Joey Bustamante (Dominican College, N.Y.), Coronado football player Matthew Casella (Kansas Wesleyan), Moapa Valley boys basketball player Zach Geary (Umpqua College, Ore.), Trinity boys basketball player Budweiser Hawkins (Feather River College, Calif.) and Shadow Ridge girls basketball player Elisha Hensey (Gillette College, Wyo.).

Others include Cimarron-Memorial football player Brandarius Johnson (Pima College, Ariz.), Palo Verde boys lacrosse player Johnny Nitti (Mesa State, Colo.), Bonanza boys soccer player Chad Smith (Colorado State-Pueblo), Sierra Vista baseball player Marquis Towers (Olympic College, Wash.), Foothill football player Chris Waitkus (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, N.Y.) and Virgin Valley baseball player Jason Wittwer (Western Nevada College).