FARMINGTON – Just one week after the Frackers competed in a regional tournament in Albuquerque in hopes of tightening their game ahead of a potential berth in the Connie Mack World Series, the 505 Panthers are prepared to venture on the road in hopes of doing much the same.
Coached by John Kuhn, the 505 Panthers have a record of 7-1 in Connie Mack city league play. They are in the middle of a seven-game win streak after dropping the opening game of the city league season to the Frackers.
The 505 Panthers will be competing in a Connie Mack World Series qualifying tournament in Denver this week. Along with more than a dozen teams from New Mexico and Colorado, the winner of the qualifier receives an automatic bid to the CMWS, which gets underway at Ricketts Park on July 21.
Despite some headlines off the field through the last several days regarding the immediate future of the host team and a dispute between the Farmington Amateur Baseball Congress and the American Amateur Baseball Congress, the business of playing the game and reaching the Connie Mack World Series remains at the top of the agendas for coaches and players.
“I’m just happy the local kids get the opportunity to represent their hometown,” Kuhn said. “Who runs the qualifying tournament makes no difference to me.”
Frackers coach Eli Wyatt, with his squad having won six of its nine games during the summer, is also anxious to get back onto the field.
“We’ve been competing well as a team, and our guys have stepped up and came through for us when we needed it,” Wyatt said. “I’m encouraged by the strides that we’re making.”
In addition to the Denver qualifier opening this week is another qualifying event, hosted by the Heart of America Tournaments. Held in Joplin, Missouri, the Ozarks Hub 18-and-under Connie Mack World Series Qualifier gets underway on Thursday.
A total of 28 teams are scheduled to participate in the event, with the winner receiving a bid into the Connie Mack World Series plus $7,000 in travel money.
Among the teams scheduled to compete in the tournament are Dulin’s Dodgers from McKinney, Texas, who are looking to make a return trip to Farmington for the CMWS after qualifying for the event by winning last year’s Don Mattingly qualifier in Melissa, Texas.
Also scheduled for the Ozarks qualifier are the Marucci Elite from Bullock, Texas. With a record of 11-3 this summer, the squad is led by Gavyn Jones, a recent commit to Texas Tech University who drove in five runs in a game last week against the McKinney Marshals with a homerun and a triple.
Playing last season for White Oak (Texas) High School, Jones batted nearly .500 and drove in 10 runs. The left-hander also has been a force on the mound this summer, striking out 10 batters over four innings in a qualifying tournament game earlier this month.
Meantime, at Ricketts Park, action continued on the field last week, with the Frackers getting back into the city league season with an 8-4 win over the Shiprock Dodgers. The 505 Panthers Black played a pair of games on Wednesday, blanking NWNM Elite by a score of 11-0 before coming back to finish in a 4-4 tie against the Kirtland Broncos.
NWNM Elite topped Kirtland by a score of 13-7 to wrap up a busy week of Connie Mack city league action.
The Frackers will have a busy week of games coming up in the final days of the season. On Friday, the Frackers will face the Shiprock Dodgers, followed by games against the Kirtland Broncos on Monday and the team’s final game of the season on Tuesday against NWNM Elite.
The city league season will come to an end on Wednesday, June 28 at Ricketts Park with a pair of games featuring the 505 Panthers as they face the Broncos and the NWNM Elite.
