GRAND JUNCTION - They came from near and far. From across the street and from as far away as Montrose. And they came in big numbers.

More than 80 young baseball players, ranging in age from 6 to 14, convened at the Grand Mesa Little League complex Tuesday to gain more baseball skills and knowledge, plus rub shoulders with the players and coaches from Mesa State College.

“We came just to have fun, learn the fundamentals and meet the players,” said Pudge Romine, 11, a catcher on the Grand Mesa Little League Major Gators.
Teammate Jeremy Champlin, who pitches for the Gators between stints on the infield and in left field, agreed.

“It’s fun being with the players. But it’s also fun learning more about baseball and what (the players) know and what they can teach us,” he said.

At quick glance of the expression on each Little Leaguer showed they were enjoying themselves.

Halfway into the first hour of the 3 1/2-hour training session, the Mavericks players had bonded with the youngsters. Instructors and campers alike were calling the each other by their first names. And they felt good about it.

Equal doses of encouragement from the instructors combined with solid “pings” of ball hitting aluminum bats echoed across each of the three ballfields drills were held on.

Throughout the duration of the clinic, participants learned skills taught by the Mavericks pitchers and catchers before lunch. After the break, the camp’s mode switched to hitting.

Depending on the station, batters took cuts against live pitching, batting tees and soft tosses. All under the watchful eye of Mavericks assistant coach Kurtis Beidleman, who kept the clinic going at a quick pace, where no ballplayer — either younger or more seasoned — could get bored.

Individually, each player had a skill they wanted to improve on.

Champlin hopes to be a better hitter this year. “I’m not good at it. I just want to improve on it a lot,” he said.

While Romine’s accustomed to catcher, he said there are aspects of the position he’s trying to master. “I want to work on blocking balls when they go down in the dirt. You have to go down on your knees to block it. If there’s a runner on third, as a catcher, you have to block the ball to keep the runner from scoring.”

Reach Phil Sandoval at psandoval@gjfreepress.com.