The winners of the qualifying tournament in Denver hope for success in Farmington
The 2024 Dallas Patriots team celebrates after defeating the Albuquerque Baseball Academy in the final game of the Colorado regional qualifying tournament for the Connie Mack World Series. (Courtesy photo)
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FARMINGTON – The state of Texas promises to be well represented again at the Connie Mack World Series next month.
In addition to the return of the reigning CMWS champion Dallas Tigers and a number of other deserving teams, the Dallas Patriots have also officially qualified for the championship after winning a regional qualifying tournament held last weekend in Denver.
The Five Tool Colorado CMWS regional qualifier concluded Sunday. The Patriots earned an 8-0 run rule victory in the championship game against an Albuquerque Baseball Academy team, one of two such ABA teams in the tournament. It was the second time the Patriots defeated the Academy team, which lost 12-4 in an earlier bracket game.
The Patriots were led offensively by Cole Giametta and Chase Randall, who each scored two runs batted in in the championship game, which was called after five innings. Randall scored his two runs with a two-out triple in the second inning that scored Giametta and Matthew Tellez.
Giametta started the comeback in the second inning with a single that allowed Jaxon Miller and Darrell Catlin to cross home plate, while the Patriots scored five times in that stretch, putting the game out of reach.
Pitcher AJ Miera allowed just three hits in five innings to secure the win, allowing three strikeouts and no walks. In the tournament, Miera, who has committed to Weatherford (TX) Community College this fall, pitched eight scoreless innings in two appearances, allowing just five hits and striking out nine batters.
Aarren Marshall, pictured here playing for Lovejoy (Texas) High School, is one of the best offensive players on the Dallas Patriots team that has made it to the 2024 Connie Mack World Series. (Photo courtesy)
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Patriots head coach Landry Mayo was hoping for a chance to take a team to the Connie Mack World Series and is optimistic about his team’s chances when play begins in Farmington on July 26.
“This has been our goal for some time,” Mayo said. “We had a good run last week at the tournament in Joplin, Missouri. And we’ve had some good chances in recent years, but this time we finally got it done.”
Mayo is excited about this team and the way they will perform at the CMWS.
“We’ve seen how much this tournament means to other teams and we like the format it takes to get to the series, so we’re not only happy to be there,” Mayo said. “We hope these kids take this opportunity to be successful on a big stage before many of them go to college and play football.”
The Patriots, along with the Acadiana (LA) Cajuns and the High Performance Tigers of Mississauga, Ontario, are the latest teams to advance to the Connie Mack World Series by winning a regional qualifying tournament.
Karsen Davis, pictured here as a pitcher for Lake Ridge (Texas) High School, will be one of several pitchers used by the Dallas Patriots as they prepare for the 2024 Connie Mack World Series. (Photo courtesy)
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The Patriots will be one of at least four teams from Texas in the CMWS, along with the Tigers and automatic qualifiers such as the D-Bat United team from Dallas and the Twelve Baseball Red Sox team, last year’s Don Mattingly World Series champions. They will be joined by the Midland (Ohio) Redskins and the host team that automatically qualified at the end of the Connie Mack City League season.
The Patriots have a number of talented players expected to shine during the CMWS, including pitchers Austin Smith and Karsen Davis. Smith struck out 11 batters over the course of two games during the qualifying tournament. The 6-foot-4 senior from Hebron (Texas) High School led the Patriots to the final with a nine-strikeout performance against the Azteca team from Pueblo (Colo.) in the semifinals.
Davis, a left-hander from Lake Ridge (Texas) High and recently transferred to Tarleton State University, played two games for the Patriots during the tournament and is expected to lead the team from the mound.
The Texas Connie Mack World Series Qualifier begins this week at the Ford Sports Village in Dallas. More than 40 teams have registered for the tournament, including the Oklahoma Express and the Dulins Dodgers, both of whom participated in the CMWS last year.
For more information about the Texas qualifier, visit the tournament’s official site at fivetool.org.
