PHOENIX,
Ariz. – Perfect Game and EvoShield have brought a pretty big show
to the desert southwest and the Pacific Time Zone.
The
second annual Perfect Game/EvoShield National Championship – a two-
tournament (Upperclass and Underclass) event – kicks off early
Friday morning at spectacular Major League Baseball spring training
facilities spread across the greater Phoenix area, commonly known as
the Valley.
The
Upperclass and Underclass tournaments begin Friday and conclude with
championship games late Monday morning.
The
first games in the PG/EvoShield National Championship (Upperclass)
will begin at 8 a.m. (PT) at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in
Scottsdale, Ariz. – the sparkling new spring training home of the
Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies – and at 8:00 a.m. at
Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, the spring home of the Chicago White Sox.
Games in this tournament will also be played at the Peoria Sports
Complex in Peoria, Ariz., where the San Diego Padres and Seattle
Mariners train.
The
semifinal and championship games will be played Monday morning at
Salt River Flats.
Most
of the clubs in the 52-team Upperclass field are from Arizona and
California, but in all, there are teams representing 12 states –
including Maryland, Georgia, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri – and one
from Ontario, Canada, making it a truly national – and even
international – event.
The
EDH Vipers from Eldorado Hills, Calif., won last year’s inaugural
tournament and returns this year. Other teams in the field include
nationally ranked ABD Bulldogs from San Bernardino, Calif., CCB (San
Jose), San Diego Show and SGV Arsenal (West Covina, Calif.). There
are also entrants from nationally acclaimed organizations such as
NorCal Baseball, Houston Heat and So Cal Baseball.
Hundreds
of the nation’s top prospects from the class of 2012 will be in
attendance, including at least two who played in the 2011 Perfect
Game All-American Classic last month in San Diego. Tanner Rahier, a
shortstop/right-hander from Indian Wells, Calif., who has committed
to the University of San Diego is on the ABD Bulldogs roster, and
Trey Williams, a third baseman/shortstop from Saugus, Calif., who has
committed to Pepperdine is on the San Diego Show roster.
While
this is only the second PG/EvoShield National Championship
(Upperclass), the tournament had previous incarnations as the PG
National Championship (Upperclass), WWBA PG National Invitational, PG
National Invitational and WWBA National Invitational.
More
than 200 alumni of those events have been drafted, including more
than 20 first round or first round compensation picks, just since
2007. First-rounders Travis Harrison, Brandon Martin,
Trevor Story, Peter Tago and Taijuan Walker all played in the 2009 PG
National Championship (Upperclass).
This
year’s Perfect Game/EvoShield National Championship (Underclass)
has a field of 32 teams from 10 states and one from Ontario. All of
the games will be played at the Peoria Sports Complex, with the first
games beginning at noon Friday, and the semifinal and championship
games slated for Monday morning.
This
is the event’s third year of existence. In 2009 it was known as the
PG National Championship (Underclass). The ABD Bulldogs are the
defending Underclass champion.