GLENDALE, Ariz. – When play began Friday morning at the Perfect Game/EvoShield National Championship (Underclass) tournament at Camelback Ranch, Canyon Thunder head coach Ryan Cisterna found himself competing with a slightly depleted roster. That in no way, however, diminished the enthusiasm Cisterna and his somewhat diminished crew carried into their tournament opener.
“This tournament is a great showcase of talent from all across the country,” Cisterna said Friday morning from the Los Angeles Dodgers side of the Camelback Ranch complex. “You’re looking at some of the best kids from the underclass division with some really good teams that are well put together; it will be a great test for these guys.”
Canyon Thunder is one of 78 teams competing in the 7th annual PG/EvoShield Underclass National Championship, with games being played at both Camelback Ranch and the Goodyear (Ariz.) BallPark Sports Complex. The event’s championship game is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday at Camelback Ranch Stadium.
The Phoenix-based Canyon Thunder Baseball Club and Academy is beginning its second fall season after Cisterna, Joe Perez and Nic Spence formed the group in the spring of 2014. Most of the members of this underclass team are playing together for the first time – they held their first joint practice session just a couple of weeks ago.
Several of the players have been involved with the Canyon Thunder for a couple of years but the majority are getting to know one another for the first time.
“Today is going to be a tough game for us because we don’t have everybody here because of school; it’s going to be a little bit of a grind today,” Cisterna said. “Hopefully we can play some good baseball and do what we need to do and stay within ourselves and have a good game.”
In fact, the Thunder enjoyed a very good opener, using a nine-run first inning to pounce to a 9-1 win over the Corona Reds from Lake Mathews, Calif. Daniel Carrizosa doubled and drove in three runs, Garret Thornton doubled and drove in a pair and Cole Bellinger singled, drove in a run and scored two to lead the Thunder at the plate. 2018 left-hander Garrett Elwell and 2017 righty Derek Anderson combined on a five-inning three-hitter, striking out six and walking four.
2017 second baseman/right-hander Bellinger from Chandler, Ariz., is playing in his first tournament with the Thunder after playing at this event in 2013 with the Arizona Blaze and last year with the SCBC Huskies. Like so many of the others on this team, he’s just getting to know his teammates for the first time.
“This is a great group of guys and we’re going to be pretty good,” he said about 45 minutes before the Thunder went off for nine first-inning runs in their tournament-opener. “We’re looking forward to being out here – I got to miss some school today, so that’s pretty good – just being out here and playing some baseball.”
Bellinger’s father, Clay Bellinger, played parts of four big-league seasons (1999-2002) with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels, His older brother Cody Bellinger is an alumnus of the 2012 PG National Showcase and is currently in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system. Both his dad and his brother have had a big impact on his career to date.
“Basically, he’s taught me everything that I know about baseball; he’s out here every day helping me do what I need to do,” Cole Bellinger said of his dad, before saying this about his brother: “He helps me every day when he’s home, hitting out in the cage and fielding ground balls with me. To follow the same path that he’s taken would be a dream come true.”
It’s a path every prospect on the Canyon Thunder underclass roster would love to stroll down, and by being a part of this organization they’ll be doing it by learning the game under the premise that all things good can only be achieved with a team-first mentality.
“Our goal is to try to change the culture of club baseball,” Cisterna said. “I believe that a lot of the players nowadays … come into these tournaments and they’re more worried about themselves. … The game of baseball is played as a team.”
The concept of “team” is emphasized repeatedly by those at the top of the Canyon Thunder organization. With every player residing in a community within Phoenix’s sprawling Valley of the Sun – several are high school classmates and teammates – the Thunder coaches try to bring them together for practice sessions as often as the players’ school schedules will allow.
“We really try to isolate the development aspect of the entire organization,” Cisterna said. “We’re helping kids become the best players they can be. … We’re really trying to get guys to play team baseball; that’s the whole idea.”
Their success in attaining that goal is right there for everyone to see, and already three prospects on the Thunder’s underclass roster have committed to elite level NCAA Division-I programs: 2017 right-hander/corner-infielder Matt Schroer (ranked No. 165 nationally, from Phoenix) has committed to Louisiana State; 2017 middle-infielder Coby Boulware (No. 460, Anthem, Ariz.) to Texas Christian; 2017 right-hander Quinn Flanagan (top-500, Chandler, Ariz.) to Arizona.
2017 infielder Nick DeCarlo from Scottsdale, Ariz., is ranked No. 345 and is uncommitted, as are 2017 top-600s Bellinger and Marcus Christy from Mesa, Ariz.
Another way that the founders of the Canyon Thunder Baseball Club hope to change the culture of travel baseball is by encouraging their players to pursue other sports. There were at least three members of this Canyon Thunder team that weren’t available on Friday because they were playing football for their high school teams Friday night and couldn’t be excused from class during the day.
“We have a lot of kids that play football and we have a lot of kids that play basketball; we do a great job as an organization promoting two-sport players,” Cisterna said. “I think when you play two sports you build athleticism and you learn how to compete in different ways.”
Cisterna was drafted three times, twice out of Chandler-Gilbert Community College and finally by the Los Angeles Angels out of the University of Arkansas for whom he played in the 2009 College World Series. He spent a couple of seasons in the Angels farm system before turning to coaching and is currently on the staff at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
“We don’t yell at kids, we don’t try to bury kids – it’s not about us, it’s about them,” Cisterna said of the approach he and the other coaches take. “I think they respond to positive energy – that’s the biggest thing kids respond to nowadays.
“It’s about using any way possible to motive them to become the best player they can be,” he continued. “Whether that’s kicking them in the butt or patting them on the butt, it doesn’t matter.”
The Thunder will play their final two pool-play games Saturday with their collective eyes set on making a strong run not only into the 20-team playoffs but also into Monday’s final four.
“We’re really looking forward to winning so hopefully we can come out and play our best,” Bellinger said. His head coach views the weekend though a slightly different lens, even while knowing the Thunder should be at full strength at least on Saturday and Sunday.
“We’re here to play good baseball, but it’s about the development and learning through the game,” Cisterna said. “If we win and we happen to make it (into the playoffs), and by a stroke of luck we win a championship, then that’s icing on the cake.
“But that’s not the ultimate goal right now. The ultimate goal is to teach these kids how to play the game,” he concluded. “As long as we’re getting better each and every day then we as a coaching staff are doing our jobs.”