By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

LONG BEACH, CA—Friday’s action at the 2014 Area Code Games saw each team playing one game with the Reds (Four Corners, HI, NV) and Nationals (Southeast) wrapping up their event schedule. Three games are scheduled for Saturday, starting at 8:30 a.m. PST, with the White Sox (Midwest) and Brewers (Southern California) wrapping things up in the afternoon. I will only be able to catch the first two games, as I have a flight to catch and I don’t feel like gambling on Los Angeles traffic and the absurdity that is LAX.

Anyway, let’s talk baseball. Here are some notes from Friday…

+ The Royals (Northwest) struck out 12 times and committed four errors in nine innings against the Brewers, but still prevailed 4-3. Ethan Paul (International School, WA) and Morgan McCullough (West Seattle HS, WA) are two of the brighter spots for the Royals. Both middle infielders, Paul is a rising senior while McCullough is just a junior. Paul reached base three times in four at-bats today and scored two runs. He walked, reached on an error and was hit by a pitch. The error could have easily been ruled a hit as Paul squared the ball up and forced the defense to attempt a tough play. He scored two runs and flashed some pop for a smaller guy (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) by sending a long fly ball to the warning track in right field.