By WESLIE STRATTON
Moapa Valley Progress
Youth coming from as far north as Farmington, Utah to as far south as Las Vegas and several places in between, enjoyed participating in the Rocky Mountain Baseball Tournament last weekend in the Moapa and Virgin Valleys. Teams played two games while family members enjoyed the warmer weather.
Having traveled from Price, Utah, Sarah Bradley’s son played for the Sliderz in the tournament. She said that the whole family enjoys traveling south for the tournament because of the perfect weather.
“I’ve got four kids here,” she said. “One playing ball and three on the playground.”
Bradley said that the family explores the local surroundings while they are in town.
“We play a couple games and then go explore the area,” she said.
Bradley’s husband Rory helps coach the 10-year-old Sliderz. He said that this is the second time this year that the team has traveled to Moapa Valley to play and that they will be back in two weeks for an Easter tournament.
“This is our season,” he said of the traveling team.
He said that they mostly play in Utah but that they enjoy competing in warmer weather and that the tournament provides great competition.
Traci Gunn from the Sandy/Draper area also enjoyed watching her son play in southern Nevada spring weather. She said that the boys’ favorite aspect of the tournament is being together as a team.
“They’re very close,” she said of the 10-year-old and under Utah Yard Dogs.
Local tournament coordinator Steve Staheli said that approximately 40 games were played between the two days that used six different fields between Overton and Moapa.
“They used pretty much every field we had,” he said of the 20 visiting teams from Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada.
Staheli explained that while each team has between 10 and 14 players, each player has a whole family visiting the area with them.
“It’s a family deal,” he said, adding that it was Spring Break in Utah and that this tournament doubled as a family vacation for many of the players.
“It’s great for the Valley,” he said. “It brings in a lot of people.”
He said that proceeds from field rentals and other tournament fees go back to local club teams and the high school baseball team.
As part of the local effort to accommodate the traveling teams, Staheli said that John Stastny from Clark County Parks and Rec handled field prep and logistics for the tournament that was considered a success.
