MILWAUKEE -- At many a Major League ballpark, the overnight thunderstorms that carried over into the morning in Milwaukee would have washed out the Scotts Pitch, Hit & Run team championship scheduled at Miller Park at sunup on Sunday. The show would go on, however, thanks to the stadium's retractable roof.
Twenty-four boys and girls ages 7-14 ran the same basepaths as Jonathan Villar, pitched in the same park as Jeremy Jeffress and hit balls into the same outfield as Ryan Braun as Miller Park hosted the team competition round of the the Pitch, Hit & Run program. Contestants competed to earn a trip to the national finals at the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard in San Diego.
"It was really great as we finished up the team competitions today," said Kabir Faiz, representative at PHR Headquarters, which runs the program nationally. "It doesn't get much better than getting to play on the same field as your heroes."
The official youth skills competition of Major League Baseball, the Pitch, Hit & Run program is free with registration and invites youths to demonstrate their skills, competing in pitching, hitting and running competitions in baseball or softball. Contestants are split into divisions by both age and either baseball or softball.
Tyler Hach of Blue River, Wis., put on a display during the hitting competition, blasting a ball off the tee placed on the left-field foul line nearly over the fence in right-center field. Hach went on to win the 13-14 year-old age baseball division.
Other winners included Amaya Brooks (7-8 softball), Hannah Hinkle (9-10 softball), Lauren Kuchenbocker (11-12 softball), Lydia Krueger (13-14 softball), Turner Behm (7-8 baseball), Nick Argersinger (9-10 baseball) and Marc Jones (11-12 baseball). Every winner is from the state of Wisconsin.
The contestants earned a trip to compete at Miller Park by advancing through local and sectional competitions. The top three performers nationally from each age group will advance to the national finals in San Diego. Those results will be announced on MLB Network on Monday at 6:15 p.m. CT, according to Faiz.