Windtalkers looking to win D-backs tournament for outgoing coach

WINDOW ROCK

The 23rd Annual D-backs Inter-Tribal Tournament will be Lester Nez’s final one as the head coach for the Chinle Windtalkers.

In a couple of months, Nez will be walking away from coaching the Chinle traveling team after being involved with the game for 30-plus years as a player and coach.

“Baseball is always going to a part of my life,” Nez said. “But I feel like it’s time for me to be with my two little girls and concentrate on them and be with my family a little bit more.

“But I’m happy with my decision,” he added. “I just told the team that we’re gonna give it our all this year.”

The Windtalkers is sending three teams to the D-backs tournament, which starts on Sunday and ends on Wednesday with the baseball and softball action taking place at various sites in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Nez will have two teams competing in the 12U tournament and one in the 15U tourney with pool play slated for the first three days.

Last year, the Chinle-based team had a pair of runner-up finishes in two divisions. With that Nez believes his 15U and 12U team has a chance to make some noise this year.

“I think I have two solid teams,” he said. “We have a deep pitching rotation on both squads, and some of my 15U players have some high school experience.

“We’re going to rely on their leadership to get us through so we should be good,” he added.

Nez said Duane Ayze will be the team’s ace pitcher on the 15U team as Ayze played on the Chinle Wildcat varsity team this past season as a freshman.

Other top players include Noa Watson, McKaden Arthur and Jakobe Nastacio as they were part of last year’s reserve champion team.

Nez has high expectations for his experienced 12U team as that club took second last week at a tournament in Bloomfield, losing the finals to the Bloomfield Dingers 4-3.

“That was a good game,” the Windtalkers coach said. “We had a little mishaps on both side and there were a couple of close calls that could have went either way.”

Nez said they played the Dingers down to the wire with the Bloomfield-based team capitalizing on a Windtalkers error in the bottom of the seventh.

The 12U group is headed by ace pitcher Delaine Shorty, Ethan Begay and Christian Ibarra.

“They’re my top leaders,” Nez said of the trio with Begay hitting three homers over the weekend.

Of the tournament entries, Nez said they’re looking out for the New Mexico Pack, a team coached by Patrick Aspaas. The NM Pack team had its 12U and 11U team play in the finals of the D-backs tournament last year.

“Their older group won it last year,” Nez said of the NM Pack club. “They’re in our pool this year and I think we match up with them pretty well.”

Nez said his team and the NM Pack both play in the Four Corners league, but they have not played each other yet.

As for his other team, Nez said his 10U group is going to be gaining experience playing against other 12U teams.

The top teams in each pool will advance into the bracket portion with the finals set on Wednesday.

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