The Fallon 10-under all-star team in front from left are Lucas Prinz, Raelynn Neumann, Rodney Alger, Reese Kincaid, Kaden Crutcher and Ian Baldwin. Back row from left are Gabriel Oldfield, Tyler Austin, Colton Tousignant, McKay Winder, Toby Anderson, Jace Nelson and Damein Towne. Coaches are Rusty Blackwater, Alex Alger and Micah Manning (not pictured).
The quest to making it to the World Series begins this week for four Fallon Youth Baseball all-star teams.
The Nevada Cal Ripken Nevada Tournament kicks off Thursday in north Reno and concludes on Sunday as Fallon will compete against Silver State, Sun Valley and Spanish Springs with the winner in each age group advancing to the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament next month.
The 8-, 10- and 12-and-under divisions begin on Thursday at the North Valleys Regional Park, which is located on Sky Vista off the Lemmon Drive exit north of Reno. The 9- and 11-under teams begin on Saturday. Fallon does not have an 11-under team this summer.
The under-9, tournament, however, has been cancelled due to a lack of teams.
Fallon’s 8- and 10-under all-stars will begin their pool play schedule against the host, Silver State, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, while Fallon’s 12-under team takes on Silver State at 7:30 p.m.
All three teams return to action on Friday in the round robin format.
The 8-under team faces Spanish Springs at 4 p.m. and then plays a doubleheader on Saturday against Silver State at 10 a.m. and Spanish Springs at 12:30 p.m. The second and third seeds from the two days of games will face each other on Sunday at 10 a.m. with the championship game against the No. 1 seed at 12:30 p.m.
In the 10-under division, Fallon takes on Sun Valley at 4 p.m. on Friday and plays a doubleheader on Saturday against Silver State at 3 p.m. and then Sun Valley at 5:30 p.m. The Nos. 2 and 3 teams from pool play will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday and the winner faces the No. 1 seed at 3 p.m. in the championship.
The 12-under all-stars follow a similar path with a round robin schedule for the first two days.
After Fallon faces Silver State on Thursday, it will take on Sun Valley at 5 p.m. on Friday and Silver State and Sun Valley again on Saturday at 3 and 5:30 p.m. The Nos. 2 and 3 teams face off at 1 p.m. on Sunday with the winner taking on the No. 1 team at 3:30 p.m. in the championship.
The 11-under division has Fallon competing against Spanish Springs. Each division is a three-game series that begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday with the second game to follow. If necessary, a game is scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m.
The 8-under and 11-under regional tournaments are in Long Beach, Calif., while the 9-under is in Panguitch, Utah. The 10-under tournament is also in Utah (Tooele), and the 12-under will be hosted in Visalia, Calif. All tournaments begin July 21.
Only the 10-, 11- and 12-under divisions will have a World Series.
Winchester, Va., will host the 10-under tournament, the 11-under will play in Alachua, Fla., and the 12-under will compete at Cal Ripken, Jr.’s Aberdeen Complex in Aberdeen, M.D.
One team from the Pacific Southwest won the World Series last year with Visalia’s 10-under group finishing on top.