Arbor View baseball wins Connie Mack title in league’s first season locally, ready for regional

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, July 24, 2013 | noon

When Arbor View High baseball Chris Martinez decided to move his program’s summer baseball team to Connie Mack, he never imagined the experience would be so beneficial.

Not only did the Aggies’ players get valuable at-bats and innings pitched in preparation for next spring, they also advanced to the Connie Mack West Regionals. Arbor View opens Wednesday in the nine-team event in Bellevue, Wash.

A handful of local high school programs left American Legion this summer for Connie Mack, which also included three teams from Utah in the 18-and-under division Arbor View won.

“Legion has some older guys. It’s for up to 19-year-olds,” Martinez said. “At Arbor View, we don’t bring back graduates or use college players. For us, the summer is about developing our kids.”

Arbor View’s 18-player roster included 11 from its junior varsity team last spring and one incoming freshman. By winning the league, those younger players now have confidence they can compete against the Las Vegas area’s top programs.

“Winning the state tournament brought the kids closer,” Martinez said. “We’ve had success (in past high school seasons) in getting to the regional tournament, but we haven’t won. To get this experience and the excitement about what they just accomplished, makes it fun.”

Arbor View opened in 2006 and has slowly established itself as one of the more competitive teams in the Sunset Region. Two years ago, it lost to the eventual state champions in the Sunset title champion.

In the past two years, it has sent 17 of 19 graduates on to a higher level of competition, including a third- and seventh-round draft pick into Major League Baseball.

“We are not the new kids anymore,” Martinez said. “We have established ourselves pretty good. This adds to our tradition.”

Most Connie Mack teams are all-star teams, meaning Arbor View will face some fierce competition at the regional.

“This is a good opportunity to play on the big state in front of college and pro scouts,” Martinez said. “It’s an opportunity for them to see how baseball is played outside of Las Vegas.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.