Bluegrassrivals

Holy Cross senior-to-be Blake Tiberi dominated Northern Kentucky pitching this year on his way to a .560 batting average, good for tops in the area.
Now he’ll get the chance to see where he stacks up nationally, and possibly internationally.


After playing in the NKBCA Junior All-Star Game on Monday night at Dixie, Tiberi left for Cary, North Carolina on Tuesday morning for USA Baseball’s Tournament of Stars – an event that serves as a tryout of sorts for the 18U National Team.


“I got a call back in late-fall or early-winter of 2011, and it just told me I was selected to consideration of a tournament of stars in North Carolina, which is a 144-man tryout that selects the US 18 National Team,” Tiberi said. “I just waited a long time to be approved by the process, and I finally found out in March that I had been selected for the tryout.”
This year’s National Team will travel to Seoul, South Korea for the IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships from August 30 – Sept 8.


“First, it was just excitement, knowing that I was under consideration just to be down there and have a chance to represent the US,” Tiberi said about being selected. “Once I got selected, it was just a very humbling experience. Just to have a chance to wear red, white and blue in the world games is very exciting.”


There are eight teams in the tournament, which will start on Wednesday June 20 and run through the 24, represented by seven of the National Member Organizations and an at-large team, put together by USA Baseball. The organizations represented are AABC, American Legion, Babe Ruth, Dixie, NABF, PONY and RBI.


The tournament in Cary is the first step in the selection process for the 18U National Team. Out of the 144 players selected nationwide that will be participating, only 40 will make the first cut after the four day tournament. Those 40 will remain in Cary for an additional week of evaluation. In mid-August, 28 players will travel to Los Angeles for national team training, and 20 of those 28 will make the team.


“I’m not nervous. It’s more just a jittery excitement,” Tiberi, who will be playing with teammates from North Carolina, Florida, Texas and other parts of the country, said of competing for a spot against the nation’s top prospects. “I’ve played great competition in the summers, which has really prepared me for this. I just want to go down there and do my thing – not try to overdo anything, just do me and let them decide whether I make it or not.”


Tiberi added that playing for his country would truly be an honor.
“It’d be unreal, getting to go to Korea for two weeks and to wear the USA on my chest would be unreal. It’s a very humbling experience.”


In addition to the tournament games that will be played in Cary this week, Tiberi will also be participating in a skills evaluation where scouts watch the players go through drills to get a better evaluation on their physical tools.
“It’s a very long process and you just have to be patient,” Tiberi said of the skills day, which he has done at other camps and showcases. “It’s your time to shine. You run the 60-yard dash, you get some ground balls at short to show off your arm strength, and then you have to show you can swing it. You just have to be patient and focus in on when it’s your turn to step up.”
Tiberi’s approach heading into the week is simple.


“I just want to have fun, but still try and do my best,” the Louisville commit said. “You have to go all out. You can never go wrong with just hustling and going hard. I really just like to stay calm and relax – keep moving, don’t tense up. I just stay within myself and think of all the things I do right.”
http://nkysportsblog.com/2012/06/19/tibe...-of-stars/