Jenks to play in national baseball tournament
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Thursday, January 03, 2013
1/03/13 at 6:15 AM
The Jenks baseball program is going national this spring.
The Trojans are one of 16 teams in the field for the second annual USA Baseball National High School Invitational. The tournament will be played March 27-30 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
"I think it's a tremendous opportunity for our kids, and we're excited about being able to play," Jenks coach Dennis Keeley said.
The field includes defending champion Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif., and nine of Baseball America's top-100 draft-eligible prospects in 2013.
Jenks returns almost every starter from last year's 28-14 team that qualified for the Class 6A state tournament, led by Division I signees Thomas Hatch (Oklahoma State), Trey Michalczewski (Oklahoma) and Grant Maxey (Central Arkansas).
Keeley said the tournament will tell where the Trojans rank on a national level.
"When you get an opportunity to compete against the best high school programs in the nation, you want to represent your state well," he said. "I'm extremely partial to Oklahoma baseball. I think we have the best programs in the nation right here, talking about Owasso, Union, Broken Arrow and the like. So we want to find out where we stack up."
The championship bracket is single elimination, but participating schools are guaranteed four games.
Mater Dei won last year's title with a 3-2, extra-innings victory over Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, Calif. Harvard-Westlake also returns for a second straight year.
The remainder of the field: Bingham High of South Jordan, Utah; Cathedral Catholic of San Diego, Calif; Christian Brothers of Memphis, Tenn.; Eustis, Fla.; Florida Christian School of Miami, Fla.; Grayson High of Loganville, Ga.; Hamilton High of Chandler, Ariz.; Lexington, S.C.; Milton, Ga.; T.C. Roberson High of Asheville, N.C.; The Woodlands, Texas; Tullahoma, Tenn.; and Venice, Fla.
USA Baseball is the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the United State and is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
