Experienced Desert Oasis Aces ready for legion regional

Experience is sometimes a problem for summer baseball teams, who often play without their recently graduated seniors.

The Desert Oasis Aces have no such issue.

Not only do the Aces return some recent grads, like UNLV-bound shortstop Bryson Stott, but Desert Oasis also welcomed back a pair of 2015 graduates in Keanu Van Kuren and Dominic Paratore, who recently completed their freshman seasons at McCook Community College in Nebraska.

The Aces hope that experience gives them an edge when they begin play in the American Legion Western Regional at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Boulder, Colorado.

“It’s worked out good,” Desert Oasis coach Paul Buboltz said. “The two guys that could come back decided they wanted to come back. They were young enough to play again this summer. Everybody knows each other. The majority of the guys have been playing together.”

Van Kuren, the team’s leadoff man and center fielder, has batted .421 with 51 runs and 36 RBIs this summer. Paratore, who hit clenaup in three of the team’s four state tournament games, is batting .356 with a team-high nine homers and 50 RBIs. Stott (.466, 8 HRs, 45 RBIs) and fellow 2016 grad Brett Brocoff (.413, 5 HRs, 50 RBIs) also offer experience and pop to the lineup.

The double-elimination tournament, which includes state champs from California, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Hawaii and Arizona, continues through Sunday, with the champion advancing to the American Legion World Series, Aug. 11-16 in Shelby, North Carolina.

Desert Oasis ousted high school champ Basic in the American Legion state final to earn a trip to the regional. Buboltz thinks his team matches up well with the other squads in the regional.

“If we play like we did against Basic in the championship game, I like our chances,” Buboltz said. “It’s going to come down to pitching and timely hitting. I think Basic is a pretty good team, and I think the competition is going to be pretty good here, but we’re battle tested.”

Brocoff (6-2, 1.76 ERA) was named the outstanding pitcher of the state tournament, but pitched nine innings in the final on Saturday, so he probably won’t throw until Friday. Cole Schaefer (7-0, 1.41 ERA) will get the ball in the opener, with Van Kuren (1-1, 2.94 ERA) expected to get the nod in Game 2.