Area youth baseball team will play in Cooperstown

When the members of the Nevada Boys of Summer baseball team step off the airplane in New York later this week, they'll have a lot more than one of the most competitive 12-and-under tournaments in the nation to look forward to.

For the 14 Las Vegas-area residents on the squad, this year's Best-of-the-Best tourney in Cooperstown represents a chance to learn about -- and even become a part of -- their sport's history.

Next Thursday, after a week of games against the top young talent in the country, the Nevada contingent will receive the ultimate honor: induction into the Youth Baseball Hall of Fame, along with a set of Hall of Fame rings.

"If you're any kind of baseball fan or accomplished baseball player, there's no place like Cooperstown, New York," Boys of Summer coach Ron Sufana said. "You walk through the halls and see all the history, and you learn more about the game and about yourself."

The team members -- Kyle Hanson, Josh Felker, Matt Ellis, J.C. Leach, Jeremy Meeter, Zac Boots, Neil Medchill, Mike McKeaige, Ricky White, Jordan Gibson, Danny Ramirez, Robert Mills, Stephen Sauer and Andrew Pluta -- emerged from a rigorous statewide tryout process that began last December with about 70 athletes.

From there, Sufana and his staff used four cuts to whittle the squad to its current 14-player roster of 10, 11 and 12-year-olds.

"Some of these kids have talent that I haven't seen before at their level," said Sufana, who will coach the Eldorado High School junior varsity next spring and doubles as an area scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Boys of Summer will play two games Sunday, and will continue to play two contests a day until Wednesday, when single-elimination tournament action begins.

The championship is slated next Thursday night, followed by the induction ceremony.

Even if his charges don't advance far in the 42-team event, Sufana said they will come home richer for the experience.

"They get to see Cooperstown, play against top quality teams and get better," he said. "If they keep winning, it will just be a bonus."

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