LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. — Baseball and softball took center stage in Lake Worth Beach on Saturday as kids laced up for Pitch, Hit & Run, a free event sponsored by Major League Baseball.
"It's a phenomenal opportunity for the youth in not only Lake Worth Beach but in the surrounding areas. To have a chance to receive mentorship from premier coaches,” said Stuart Sword, the assistant director of assisted services in Lake Worth Beach.
WATCH BELOW: WPTV's Kendall Hyde speaks with kids competing in the event
As the name suggests, the competition focuses on pitching, hitting, and running drills and gives kids a chance to sharpen their skills and advance through multiple rounds, with the grand prize being a trip to the World Series.
Each kid says that every event brought different challenges.
10-year-old Kolton Curtis finished first in his age group, calling the pitching portion the toughest but most rewarding.
“Pitching because it was so small, and it was really hard — it was a good competition,” Curtis said.
He’s now focused on advancing, with dreams of watching Major League players up close. “It’s really cool, they throw the ball hard, and they hit it like 400 feet.”
Other standouts included Ethan Cabrera, who said he enjoyed “the pitching, the hitting, and the running,” and Victor Marshall, who placed second in his age group. “I’m not that surprised, but I’m surprised — because that’s how I usually hit,” Marshall said.
But for some, the event was less about winning and more about community. Ricardo Sanchez-Berio summed it up by saying, “If I lose, I lose; it really doesn’t matter. If you lose, it’s just about having fun, and the point of baseball is to have fun, friendship, and get better.”
