By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

LONG BEACH, CA—With four games on the schedule for Day 3 of the 2015 Area Code Baseball Games, there was plenty to see, but the highlight of the day was undeniably in the fourth game. The Rangers (Texas) were facing the Brewers (Southern California)—a high-powered showdown between two talent-rich regions. LHP Nick Lodolo (Damien HS, CA) was pressing through his third inning of work, trying to get the final out. With two runners on, he was pulled and RHP Nathan Walker (Carlsbad HS, CA) entered with OF Jordan Wiley (Richland HS, TX) coming to the plate. Walker needed just one pitch—and some incredible defense—to close the inning. Wiley smoked a fastball to straightaway center field that sent OF Mickey Moniak (La Costa Canyon HS, CA) into a dead sprint for the wall. It looked like a sure triple for Wiley, who recorded an exit velocity of 102 mph, but Moniak stuck his glove out, 392 feet away from home plate and pulled the ball down with a catch that was reminiscent of Willie Mays. Needless to say, Moniak got a rousing ovation from the crowd. He also went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases and two runs scored.

They may not hold a candle to Moniak’s catch, but here are some notes and highlights from the rest of Day 3…

+ The White Sox (Midwest) rolled out a trio of arms on Thursday and LHP Ben Brecht (New Trier HS, IL) got the start. He pitched three innings, allowing an unearned run on one hit. He struck out four and didn’t walk any.