Good Sports: Rival Valley baseball teams prepping for regional tournament

Down at Visalia’s Riverway Sports Park, the Visalia Blue 9U all-star team is getting ready to continue its post-season run.

“I think our record was 21-1 throughout the season,” says coach Mark Green. “We defended our championship.”

The back-to-back state champs are headed to the Cal Ripken regional tournament.

“They’ve matured a lot in the last year,” Green said. “Their baseball abilities have increased quite a bit.”

“We practice really hard,” said Camden. “We have really good coaches.”

Visalia will face the best teams from California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii.

That pool of talent includes a familiar foe.

Out at Elite Performance Center in Clovis, the Buchanan Red 9U all-stars are prepping for that same tournament.

Visalia and Buchanan have quite the history.

Visalia Blue beat Buchanan Red in back-to-back state championships.

“There was a bit of bad blood,” Green said.

As the kids have matured, so has the friendly rivalry between the top two 9u teams in the Valley.

“It’s definitely better than last year for sure,” says Connor. “We did like a team prayer in the championship game.”

Visalia and Buchanan came together on the field last month.

Now, both are heading to the same postseason spot yet again.

“As manager of these guys, of course I’m going to think that we’ve got the best chance of winning because I believe we’ve got the best team of winners,” Green said.

The regional tournament starts next week, and there’s a chance that both Visalia and Buchanan will meet yet again in the championship game.

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