Showcase baseball team wins title in Texas
Winning the first-place trophy was a big moment for members of the Oklahoma Tribe showcase baseball team.
They had won trophies before, but this was different because they were celebrating a championship south of the Red River.
“I think that is an awesome thing for our state,” Tribe baseball coach Trevor Nelson said.
It was an all-Oklahoma final in the Northwood University Showcase Tournament, played in July in Dallas. The other state team was Oklahoma Baseball.
“It was actually real cool,” said Sam Richison, a junior at Norman High School, who plays catcher. “We played that team before. The way the bracket came out, we were on opposite sides.”
This came out of a field of 33 teams — the two from Oklahoma, one from Illinois and the rest from Texas.
The Tribe is a summer showcase team of boys 16 and under who come from schools in the Oklahoma City area including Dale, Shawnee, Norman, Norman North, Mustang and Del City.
“I’ve been pretty fortunate to get kids from schools that are rich in baseball. High school coaches are really the ones that get them ready physically. What I do is get them more exposure to get to college, to get better scholarships,” Nelson said.
The Tribe often win with scores such as 15-2 and 13-1. They travel frequently, playing in Oklahoma, Texas and as far away as Arizo- na and Georgia.
The team was formed in the summer of 2010. Five members from the original team remain.
The Tribe will play in the Texas A&M Showcase sometime in October. “That’s what we do is we go around to different colleges and just play there and showcase kids’ abilities,” Nelson said.
This is Nelson’s only baseball coaching job. He works as a pharmacy technician. He is a 2008 Dale High School graduate who played baseball at Redlands Community College in El Reno and St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee.
“Our best aspect is defense,” Nelson said. “We are really good in the outfield and we’re really good behind the plate. Our infield is really good, but our outfield and our catcher is the backbone to our defense.”
Left fielder is Landon Vodka, of Mustang. Hunter Aguire, of Westmoore, is right fielder. Tanner Nelson, of Dale, the coach’s younger brother, is center fielder. Paul Reed, of Norman, plays second base. Chase Byndas, of Dale, is third baseman. Tyler Lippincott, of Norman, and Justin McGregor, of Carl Albert, alternate at short stop. Donny Vale, of Moore, is first baseman.
Richison, who has played with Tribe since its formation in 2010, says showcase baseball is “definitely all the more challenging. You see a lot more faster pitching, a lot more big hits, these teams are hand-picked and the high school ball teams are whatever they can get out of the student population. To me, it’s more fun because it’s a lot more challenging and there is a lot more competitiveness to it.”
Opposing coaches have never said anything to Trevor Nelson about his team after a game, but he has thoughts on what they might think. “What I hope they say is that we play hard, and that I think is the best compliment a coach could ever receive.”