Bryan Hendrick has a different perspective than most baseball coaches of what is considered everyday routines — putting the uniform on, showing up to the park and filling out a lineup card, etc.
To him, it’s like living a dream each time.
“The passion of baseball, I love it,” Hendrick said when asked about his motivation following his serious heart issue. “To see the kids playing their heart off, finding a kid and getting the most out of him, is what gives me the joy.”
It was only two years ago, in the middle of June 2022, that Hendrick had open-heart surgery following a heart attack. He was in the midst of managing his son Andrew in the Randolph Little League organization at the time.
He returned last summer to manage Randolph’s Junior All-Star team, that included Andrew, and the team advanced to the West Regionals.
Tucson (Post 7) coach Bryan Hendrick led his team to an American Legion state championship in his first summer leading the Moondogs. Hendrick, a former manager in Randolph Little League, has worked his way back to coaching after suffering a heart attack in recent years. His son… pic.twitter.com/ETCkIfG4rG
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) July 24, 2024
This summer, he is the head coach of Tucson’s Post 7 American Legion team that beat Sunnyside (Post 73) by a score of 9-5 on Tuesday night in the state championship at the Kino Sports Complex.
Tucson coach Mark Morris added Bryan Hendrick to his staff during the spring and Hendrick will continue being with the Badgers in the years to come, especially with Andrew on the team.
“It’s awesome, going from Little League and getting to come up and do high school,” the elder Hendrick said. “It’s different. They’re grown men. It’s very exciting; it’s fast. I consider myself as a player’s coach.
“I go after these players who have flaws and I boost their confidence. And I love it. I love it.”
Tucson Post 7 are nicknamed the Moondogs after the late Chris Moon, a former Tucson High and Arizona player who sacrificed his life and career by joining the war on terrorism.
The team advances to the West Regional at Fairfield, Calif., starting Aug. 7. Tucson advanced to the semifinals of the regional tournament last year.
Post 7 will try to become the first team from Tucson to make the American Legion World Series since 2007. A team coached by Oscar Romero had players from Tucson, Salpointe and Desert View that came one game from the World Series championship game.
The Tucson team that made the World Series prior to that was in 1968, led by former Amphi coach Bob Scheyli.
“Last year we got down on ourselves,” Tucson pitcher and outfielder Gennaro Brito said of the team’s performance in the West Regional. “We weren’t playing how we normally played, but this year, we’re doing a lot better with that. Hopefully, we’ll win it all and go real far.”
Tucson shook off an 8-4 loss in the first game of the championship round Tuesday.
Its seven-run fifth inning in the second game, that included an RBI double by Brito was the difference. Brito was also the starting pitcher, taking to the mound this summer after not pitching during the spring for the Badgers because of a shoulder injury.
Tucson (Post 7) pitcher/outfielder Gennaro Brito is pitching strongly again coming off a shoulder injury that kept him off the mound during the spring. He pitched a solid 5 2/3 innings tonight allowing five hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in Tucson’s 9-5 win over… pic.twitter.com/tgOGCFMl7w
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) July 24, 2024
Brito pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and four runs while striking out seven and walking four.
He was 1 for 4 with a run and double as the leadoff batter.
“I just tried to go out there and throw strikes and do what I need to do to help my team get to California again,” Brito said.
Gabriel Morales went 2 for 2 with two walks, two doubles and two RBIs.
Elliot Pickrell was 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs. Pickrell, a sophomore, was part of Tucson’s team that advanced to the West Regionals last year but played a minimal role. With his long stride and speed, he is a starting centerfielder for Post 7 this summer.
Tucson (Post 7) outfielder Elliot Pickrell led his team with three RBIs in a 9-5 win over Sunnyside (Post 73) in the American Legion state championship game. Only a sophomore, he is excelling with more of a prominent role with Moondogs this summer. pic.twitter.com/ioEUmRqH1l
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) July 24, 2024
“Everything was flowing on offense,” said Pickrell of the seven-run fifth inning in which he also had an RBI double. “Everyone was getting on. We were seeing the ball well, working counts and getting on base. That was the key; that translated to more runs. We took the momentum all the way through the rest of the game.”
Sunnyside tried to seize the momentum in the next inning, in its top half of the sixth, with five runs but it could not push runs across in the top of the seventh.
The Post 73 team showed grit throughout the night, staving off elimination with the 8-4 victory in the first game behind Mikey Muñiz’s two-run home run and three RBIs overall.
Jorge Ruiz went 2 for 4 with three runs and an RBI and Lucas Mata was 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI in the win for Sunnyside. Jordan Mayboca led Post 73 going 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs in the second game. Christian Moran, the No. 9 batter, was 1 for 2 with a double and two RBIs.
Juan Hernandez and Javier Chavez added RBIs for Tucson in the second game.
Post 7 took advantage of seven walks allowed in the game and an error that resulted in two runs in the fifth. Sunnyside also left eight runners stranded on base.
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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 in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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