The Kino Baseball League, headed by Bill Leith, staged another successful set of four games Tuesday night featuring more than 80 of the best Southern Arizona underclassmen and seniors at the Kino Sports Complex.
The event, in its eighth year, attracted packed seating at all four fields occupied for that games that featured two involving seniors bound for college in 2023-24 and underclassmen, some of whom are coming off stellar freshman seasons.
Watch a video of each of the players introduced by clicking here.
Some of the many notables:
— CDO two-time state champion Lucas Casey, a right-hander and outfielder, is heading back close to his home for college playing for Cal State Northridge. He comes from southern California, where he moved with his parents two years ago after they bought the D-Bat baseball and softball training facility at 4439 N. Oracle Road.
Good thing for @BaseballCDO @Lucas_Casey9’s parents bought D-Bat 2 years ago. Paved way for Casey to move here from Southern California. Casey an important part of CDO’s state titles the last two seasons. Repping Dorados tonight in the Southern Arizona Senior All-Star Game. pic.twitter.com/iClO4ZMYva
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 30, 2023
— Diego Piñedo, a catcher from Desert View, is headed to Cochise College in Douglas to play for the Apaches and study criminal justice. He first broke on to the baseball scene in Tucson playing for the successful Sunnyside Little League organization through 2018.
First saw Diego Pinedo pitch five years ago when he was with Sunnyside Little League. Now he is a Desert View graduate headed to Cochise College to play catcher and study criminal justice. pic.twitter.com/D6M7HSgPGj
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 31, 2023
— Another Sunnyside Little League alum — Izaiah Moraga — will be a junior pitcher/first baseman/third baseman at Salpointe in 2023-24. Moraga was part of the Sunnyside team that came a game from advancing to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series in 2019. He should start to garner interest from Division 1 coaches with the coaches able to contact juniors starting the first day of school.
Class of 2025 prospect @izaiahmoraga25 of @LancerHardball can pitch & play corners. Comes from esteemed Moraga baseball family that includes former UA slugger Omar Moraga & Pima softball standout Selina Encinas, whose son Adam pitches in Independent Professional Baseball League. pic.twitter.com/jwIC1krVxK
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 31, 2023
— Catalina Foothills senior catcher Kincaid Bergthold is a grandson of the late Dick Tomey. He was named after Tomey’s wife Nancy Kincaid. Bergthold plans to attend Arizona and walk on to the baseball program, of which his uncle Rich was a member of in the early 1990s. Rich Tomey now is the head coach at Scottsdale Horizon.
Catalina Foothills graduate Kincaid Bergthold is a grandson of late @ArizonaFBall coaching legend Dick Tomey. A catcher, he plans to attend Arizona and potentially walk on to Chip Hale’s @ArizonaBaseball program. Playing tonight in Southern Arizona Senior All-Star Games. pic.twitter.com/YprHpJRHW0
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 31, 2023
— Sahuarita right-hander/ first baseman Dante Johnson (6-foot-1 and 180 pounds) will be highly recruited and scouted this summer as part of Baseball’s Next Level traveling team. The Class of 2024 prospect has power at the plate and strength in his arm pitching. Ready for a breakthrough summer and senior season.
Class of 2024 @SahuaritaB P/1B Dante Johnson (6-1, 180) a prospect to watch this summer heading into his final high school season. Playing for @BaseballsNextL this summer. Will attract attention from scouts & college recruiters. pic.twitter.com/ciqoCicWXo
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 31, 2023
— Catalina Foothills Class of 2025 left-handed pitching and first base prospect Ganon Dwyer has already committed to Arizona’s program. He batted .344 with nine doubles and 26 RBIs and was 6-0 with a 2.03 ERA for the 27-3-1 Falcons who advanced to the Class 5A state championship game against Queen Creek Casteel. He had 37 strikeouts and 20 walks in 31 innings.
Catalina Foothills Class of 2025 1B/LHP Ganon Dwyer (@Ganoninator) (6-1, 165) has already committed to Chip Hale’s program at Arizona. Batted .344 with 9 doubles and 26 RBIs and was 6-0 with 2.03 ERA with 37 Ks and 20 walks in 31 innings for the 27-3-1 Falcons. pic.twitter.com/9cDTLI6m2m
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 31, 2023
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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