Academy Notebook: Wood Ducks win Texas Rangers Youth Academy 12U Wood Bat Classic; Texas Rangers Youth Academy holiday celebration

Wood Ducks win Texas Rangers Youth Academy 12U Wood Bat Classic

The Texas Rangers Youth Academy hosted its 12U Wood Bat Classic baseball tournament last weekend on Saturday, Dec. 10 and Sunday, Dec. 11.

Three Rangers Youth Academy teams competed against one another in pool play Saturday to decide seeding for Sunday’s semi-final and championship games, which ultimately saw the Wood Ducks named the first-ever 12U Wood Bat Classic Champions.

In the opening game, Wood Ducks pitcher Guillermo Coleman tossed four hitless innings with nine K against the Crawdads and on offense, Joshua White hit a two-run homer, solidifying the Ducks’ 5-0 victory.

In Game Two, Crawdads' pitching struggled against a strong Rough Riders offense. As a team, the Rough Riders finished with eight hits, two doubles and 10 walks. Hendrix Pope was the top contributor in the Riders' 14-3 win, finishing 2-4, 2B, RBI.

Game three between the Rough Riders and Wood Ducks was cut short due to inclement weather, but the skies cleared for Championship Sunday.

The Wood Ducks’ bats proved unstoppable in the semi-final game versus the Crawdads, securing a spot in the finals with a 15-4 win.

Sunday’s championships game between the Rough Riders and Wood Ducks kicked off with a surprise ceremonial first pitch from former Texas Rangers second baseman and 2022 Rangers Hall of Fame inductee Ian Kinsler. Kinsler stayed throughout the game to assistant coach both teams from their respective dugouts.

Again, the Wood Ducks found themselves on the winning side, beating the Rough Riders 9-2.

The Rough Riders couldn’t find the run support to make a comeback, resulting in their only loss of the tournament. Simon Portillo (1-2, SB, BB) and Damian Soto (1-3, 2B) led the team at the plate.

The Wood Ducks’ pitching was strong in Cruz Calderon, who finished with five strikeouts in four innings pitched and Joshua White, who threw four strikeouts in two innings pitched, in addition to going 2-3 at the plate. Top performers at the plate included Mason Berry (2-3, 2 R, BB) and Nathan Bocanegra (3 BB, 2 R).

Texas Rangers Youth Academy holiday celebration

The Texas Rangers Youth Academy holiday party, hosted by Neil Leibman and his wife Amy, took place on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Academy.

Leibman, the Rangers President of Business Operations and COO, and Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation Chairman, annually holds a party in conjunction with the Rangers Foundation for Youth Academy families to celebrate the holidays.

At this year’s event, more than 300 children received holiday gifts that included an assortment of toys, baseball and softball equipment, and the Rangers’ limited-edition By Way of Dallas varsity jackets.

Rangers General Manager Chris Young and his wife, Liz, also provided families in attendance with a gift basket that included blankets, towels, household cleaners and paper products, and toothbrushes with toothpaste.

Kids enjoyed holiday crafts, photo ops with Santa Claus, Rangers Captain, two live reindeer, Cupid and Blitzen and dinner from Golden Chick.

The event also included appearances from Texas Rangers players Nathaniel Lowe, Josh Sborz and Jonathan Hernandez and coaches Donnie Ecker and Tim Hyers.