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The Boras Baseball Classic has given California a state championship with 16 top teams from the South and 16 from the North playing off until a champion is decided.
It now has expanded into Arizona, where it hopes to be a big hit in the Valley.
The 16-team tournament, hosted by Tempe Corona del Sol and Phoenix Arcadia, concludes Saturday with the championship at 6 p.m. at Phoenix Arcadia. The final will be streamed on ESPN3.
Gilbert Perry, a 13-3 semifinal winner over Henderson (Nev.) Coronado, will plays the winner of the Phoenix Mountain Pointe and Basic Academy of Nevada semifinal that was played later Friday.
Perry scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth, sparked by Tommy Sacco’s three-run double, to break open a 2-2 tie and take a commanding 9-2 lead.
“It felt great after some mishaps on the field,” Sacco said. “It was good to come through at that time to get that hit.”
Shortstop Trevor Hauver, who has signed with Arizona State, added an RBI double in the fourth. Senior Cody Holtz had three RBIs to help Perry. Junior Wyatt Crenshaw was 2 for 3 with three runs scored.
“It’s a great event,” Hauver said. “They’ve been treating us well.”
Corona del Sol coach David Webb said that former Aztecs pitcher Sean Martin, a 1998 graduate, who pitched at Cal State Fullerton, went to work for the Boras Foundation and is now a junior agent.
Jerry Boras, the brother of agent Scott Boras, is in charge of the Boras Foundation. He wanted to add a Southwest site to add to the California tournament.
Jerry said the Boras Classic was his brother’s idea.
“They contacted us and we jumped in,” Webb said. “I had to find another site.”
Webb knows Arcadia coach Troy Gerlach well. Gerlach agreed to have Arcadia be the second host site in Arizona. It worked out well with both Corona del Sol and Arcadia on spring break this week.
Jerry Boras said this is a way to give back to the community.
This tournament is locked in for the next four years in Arizona with Corona del Sol and Arcadia hosting again.
“We want to give to the local high school teams here, as well as the Southwest,” Boras said. “That’s why we decided to move into California.”
This is the fifth year of the Boras Baseball Classic in California.
“It’s been very successful,” Boras said. “We want to get these kids recognized.”
Suggest human interest stories to Richard Obert at [email protected] or 602-316-8827. Follow him at azc_obert
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