The Maricopa High School baseball team will begin the 2016 season by co-hosting the annual Tomás Piñon/Matt Huffman Invitational from Wednesday through Saturday.
The invitational is an annual event in honor of former Maricopa baseball player Matt Huffman, who lost his life while running in January 2002. Huffman was an MHS senior with plans to attend Indiana State University on both an academic and athletic scholarship when he passed away. The MHS baseball field was renamed Matt Huffman Field in 2010.
“The tournament this weekend is about representing a great Maricopa Ram,” head coach Andrew Pollack said. “I can only hope the Huffman family is proud of the way our boys play the game of baseball, the pride our program takes in keeping Matt Huffman field in spectacular shape and the responsibility and expectations that come with being a Maricopa Ram baseball player.”
Maricopa’s baseball team and grounds crew takes such good care of Matt Huffman Field that in October 2015 the American Baseball Coaches Association awarded MHS the National Field Maintenance Award for the High School Division.
“This is a big deal,” Maricopa Unified School District superintendent Steve Chestnut said. “Every year the American Baseball Coaches Association names one high school field in the nation and one college field in the nation as the best. We’re proud of the fact that the Maricopa High School baseball field has been named the best in the nation for 2015-16.”
The invitational tourney will feature Higley High School (Gilbert), Williams Field High School (Gilbert), Poston Butte High School (San Tan Valley), Dobson High School (Mesa) and co-host Casa Grande Union High School. Tomás Piñon was the athletic director at CGHS.
The Rams’ first game in the tournament will be on Wednesday at 6 p.m. against Higley. Maricopa will then play Dobson on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Williams Field on Friday at 6 p.m. before concluding the tournament on Saturday against Poston Butte at 12:30 p.m.
