Connie Mack City League tournament schedule updated

Steven Bortstein, Farmington Daily Times
·2 min read

FARMINGTON − Due to an error in the brackets for the Connie Mack City League tournament, slated to begin Tuesday night at Ricketts Park, the schedules and matchups for the opening night games has been changed.

According to Richard Neely, president of the American Amateur Baseball Congress, the local city tournament's opening games were posted incorrectly by the Farmington Amateur Baseball Congress, which oversees the City League and the City League tournament. The original schedules were posted shortly after the conclusion of the City League season, which wrapped up on Thursday.

The opening night game, which was originally posted last weekend as a matchup between the second-seeded Panthers and the third-seeded Sting, will now be a game in which the Panthers will face the fifth-seeded Shiprock Dodgers Tuesday at 5:30. That game will be followed by a matchup shortly thereafter between the Sting and the fourth-seeded Shiprock Angels.

"There was an error made on the bracket by the FABC," Neely said. "The FABC had the bracket wrong to start with."

The change in schedule and the matchups not only changes the dynamic of the opening night games, but also has an impact on the top seeded Frackers, who will play the winner of Tuesday's game between the Angels and the Sting. That second round game is slated for Wednesday at approximately 7:45 p.m. at Ricketts Park.

"I'm not sure if it was a miscommunication thing or what, but obviously some changes were made," said Frackers coach Eli Wyatt. "That affects us, and really everyone. The new bracket changes who we would possibly play, That's a huge change in pitching strategy, etc."

Frackers pitcher Brandon Arellano prepares to deliver a pitch in the first inning of their game against the Sting in Connie Mack City League action, Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at Ricketts Park.
Frackers pitcher Brandon Arellano prepares to deliver a pitch in the first inning of their game against the Sting in Connie Mack City League action, Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at Ricketts Park.

The winner of the city tournament, which is slated to wrap up this weekend, will likely determine the host team for the Connie Mack World Series, which gets underway on Thursday, July 21.

Wyatt said that while the strategy and dynamics of the tournament changes will have an impact on strategy for the Frackers, who come into the tournament with a City League record of 11-1, the goal remains the same.

"It doesn't really matter who or when we play, we still have to go out there and take care of business," Wyatt said. "We'll be ready for whatever team comes along."

For an updated look at this week's City League tournament schedule, check out the FABC's webpage.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Connie Mack City League tournament bracket updated prior to start