Bercovich Excels at AZ Fall Classic

    A strong group of Juniors travelled to Arizona to play on the Mariners and Padres Spring Training fields in front of college recruiters who were in attendance.  The Junior Fall Classic is one of the most attended showcases by college coaches as they diligently try to search for talent for their schools.

    Though no scores are kept, the Bercovich 2021 grads, sporting the special gold jerseys, outplayed their opponents in three of the four games they played.  Bobby Brown (Fusion) led the way in the opening game with a home run in addition to striking out 8 of 10 batters and topping out at 84mph.  Emitt Phinney (St Joes) got hot quickly on the offensive side as he hit two triples and a double in his first four plate appearances. Cameron Calvillo (Castro Valley) and Danny Garcia (San Leandro) had the highest velocity on the mound as each reached 85 mph with plus breaking balls.  Josh Algarin (King’s Academy) tried out to make the prestigious Academic Showcase Game and in addition to making it and playing in the main stadium, he was also one of a few players to receive special recognition.  

    The AZ trip is always an eye-opening trip and the players return with a new appreciation about what is required in the pathway from high school to college. The team meets several times while in AZ, including a small college recruiting talk.  A short list of schools who watched Bercovich included Cal St Fullerton, Washington St, Yale, Cal Poly, St Mary’s, UC Santa Barbara, Pomona Pitzer, UNR, Dartmouth, San Jose St, UC Irvine, Sacramento St, etc.

    Teams are only grandfathered into this exclusive, high end event.  In addition to the Junior Fall Classic, Headfirst will begin to attend the Sophomore Fall Classic in 2020 and also pursue the elusive bid to the Senior Fall Classic.