DENVER -- The Rockies continued their celebration of MLB's Play Ball Weekend by hosting their region's Scotts Pitch Hit & Run event at Coors Field Saturday morning. Twenty-four kids, ranging in age from 7 to 14, participated in a baseball and softball skills competition, featuring hitting off a tee, running from second to home and pitching to a target.
The winners of the day's competition moved on to eligibility for the final round, which is a national competition during MLB All-Star Week at Marlins Park in Miami, ahead of the 88th MLB All-Star Game on July 11. Winners will be selected from the regional competitions taking place at all 30 MLB parks around the country, and they will be announced on MLB Network on June 25.
From the 7/8-year-old softball division, Madi Olsen of Byers, Colo., took first place. From the 9/10-year-old division, the winner was Camory Wedel of Bethune, Colo. From the 11/12-year-old division, Brooke Wright of Worland, Wyo., took home first-place honors. And from the 13/14-year-old division, it was Morgan Peterson of Enders, Neb., winning first place.
"This is my fifth time making it to this round at Coors Field," said Peterson, who is hoping for her first trip to the national competition. "I think it's really cool how MLB gives normal kids a chance to show off different skills in the game of baseball. It's just fun being on the field and knowing you're in a dugout that you know Major League players have been in."

Even though Peterson is a veteran of the Pitch Hit & Run program, she still was in awe of standing on the field in the home of the Rockies, especially in a competitive environment.
"It's still nerve-wracking. You kind of just watch the other competitors you're going against, hoping that you hit farther and throw better," Peterson said. "But being here, it's still as exciting as the first time."
Peterson, along with the other winners from the Coors Field regional competition, certainly did that.
"It feels good to be able to make it this far, to be in the top three players in five states," said Tyler Remington, of Hot Springs, S.D., winner of the 11/12-year-old baseball division. "Two years ago, I was able to make it to Coors Field, but this is the first time winning in this round.
"I think it's good, because it gets kids' hopes up and maybe encourages them to tell their friends to play baseball."
The other winners of the baseball competition were Manuel Corpas of Denver in the 7/8-year-old division, Diego Herrera of Laramie, Wyo., in the 9/10-year-old division and Kaidon Feyereisen of Spearfish, S.D., in the 13/14-year-old division.