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Summer Stampede
Baseball club combines two high school rivals
by Jason Stone

ANTHEM – It doesn’t take a weatherman to know that it’s hot outside. But it does take a special kind of person to brave playing baseball in those temperatures every single day.

Members of the North Valley Stampede club team aren’t like most of their peers. While most high school students choose to relax over the summer, the Stampede are working up a sweat for their summer vacations.

“I’m a native, so the heat doesn’t bother me,” pitcher Jake Conroy said. “It’s a lot better than other places.”

Conroy, a 2005 graduate of Sandra Day O’Connor High School, is one of a group of talented players for the Stampede, a club team based out of Boulder Creek High School. The team is comprised of players from Boulder Creek and Sandra Day O’Connor, as well as a few recent O’Connor graduates who now play college ball.

For the third straight summer, the Stampede are playing a simultaneous schedule of Connie Mack and American Legion games. Even in that regard, the Stampede are different.

“Because we’re playing in two leagues and an (out‑of‑state) tournament, we’re pretty much playing everyday,” said Ryan Ridenour, the team’s coach and Boulder Creek’s athletic director. “It’s a big commitment.”

It’s a commitment the players don’t seem to mind, however.

“I just want to play because it’s fun,” said Boulder Creek incoming junior Mike Ciombor. “I’ll play anywhere, everyday.”

Everyday is just about what it turns out to be for the Stampede. Because of the tricky scheduling of playing two leagues simultaneously, the team rarely has a day off. Often times they even play doubleheaders on some of those days.

Fortunately for the teams, most of the games are played at Boulder Creek, so travel is not an issue. That won’t be the case next week, however, when the Stampede travel to Oregon and California for a pair of tournaments. The Stampede will also host their own tournament when the Pro‑9 Invitational comes to Anthem July 6‑9.

By season’s end, the Stampede will in effect have finished a short Minor League season.

“It helps me stay focused,” said pitcher/outfielder Devon Ethier, an incoming junior at O’Connor, about the packed schedule. “It’s a little different than high school season.”

Of course, during the high school season, O’Connor and Boulder Creek are considered rivals in the Northwest Region. The summer team is where players from each school can boast bragging rights from the high school season.

“It’s a fun rivalry,” Ciombor said about the high school battles between the two schools. “We all want to do good during the high school season so we can talk about it (in the summer).”

Reach the reporter at jason@thedesertadvocate.com

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