What began as a fun baseball event hosted by the Prescott Crazy About Baseball (CAB) Company and the Prescott Fastpitch Association quickly turned into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a local third grader and his dad.

Jaren Patnode, 8, is a third grader in the Prescott School District who competed in the Pitch, Hit and Run National Finals after game two of the World Series in Houston on Sunday, Oct. 30. Patnode qualified for the National Finals after winning the Minnesota Twins Regional Final and the Prescott Pitch, Hit and Run competition earlier this summer.

Jaren Patnode’s father, Shawn Patnode, spoke about getting an all-expenses-paid trip – thanks to Major League Baseball – to the World Series in Houston, where he and Jaren got to watch game two between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros on Saturday, Oct. 29. Jaren Patnode competed in the National Finals on Sunday morning at Minute Maid Park as a representative of the Minnesota Twins where he earned a third- place finish.

"He was extremely excited to go. It was something he wanted because he’s very competitive and he wanted to go down there and compete. He was ecstatic to get to go,” Shawn Patnode said. “It’s pretty much a once-in-alifetime opportunity. Very rarely does somebody go twice, so to do it once is amazing. It’s a huge accomplishment.”

The Pitch, Hit and Run competition is an annual Major League Baseball-sponsored event. Communities all over the country hold preliminary competitions at the local level where kids in diuerent age demographics compete for a chance to qualify for one of the 30 Team Championships. Jaren Patnode had one of the top four scores in the country based on his results at the Minnesota Twins Team Championship, which was held at CHS Field in St. Paul, Minn., this sum mer.

Youth competitors receive points based on their ability to demonstrate necessary skills in the game of baseball and softball. Prescott CAB Company President Chuck Block is one of the organiz – ers for the local Pitch, Hit and Run competition, which was held at Fire Hall Field in Prescott this summer. That's where Jaren Patnode quali – fied for the Minnesota Twins Team Championship and be – gan his run to the National Finals at the World Series. Block spoke about the rules of the competition and outlined the basics of the event.

"You get five pitches at a target and depending on if and where you hit the tar – get you get points for that," Block said. "You get five swings ou of a tee from home plate and there are diuerent zones where you have to hit it. There is also running, they run 90 feet and depending on the time for that, they get points for that. That's how you get the score." Jaren Patnode competed in the Baseball 7-8 Age Divi –

sion. Other brackets includ – ed Baseball 9-10, 11-12, and 13-14. Softball had a sep – arate bracket that included 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, and 13-14 age demographics. Shawn Patnode spoke about Jaren's win at the local competition in Prescott and his success at the Minnesota Twins Team Championship, which earned him a spot in the National Fi nals.

“I thought he could com- pete well in Prescott, and then he won and I wasn't really surprised, but I didn't think he would win easy no problem either," Shawn Pat node said. “We heard that he made the Minnesota one and that was cool. When we went there, I was just hoping he could compete there as well." While winning a small competition in Prescott wasn't a huge surprise for Jaren Patnode, taking down competitors from throughout the Midwest at the Minneso –

ta Twins Team Champion – ship was going to be a huge challenge. Shawn spoke about his son competing in

that regional championship at CHS Field.

"I was kind of surprised he won. I knew he did well, but there were a lot of other good athletes at that one as well," Shawn Patnode said. "It was the first year we'd ever done it, so I wasn't sure if he was going to get a topfour score." Shawn Patnode alluded to getting a top-four score.

It doesn't mean a top-four score at the Minnesota Twins Team Championship, it has to be a winning score at the team level and then having that score be one of the four best in the entire country for his given demographic. That was the only way to qualify for the National Finals and get a trip to the World Series in Houston – that's exactly what Jaren did.

"Once he won that one, I wasn't sure if he was going to have a top-four score. I knew it was going to be a very divcult task because they only take four in the en – tire nation," Shawn Patnode said. "Then we got the email that said he got it and it was really cool for him to be able to experience that." Major League Baseball paid all of the expenses for Jaren and Shawn Patnode's trip down to Houston, which included tickets to game two of the World Series, a view –

ing party, and other experi ences.

“We got to do all of the stuu in terms of the World Series game, the practices, viewing parties, that kind of thing that they had down there. That was just for the athlete and one guardian," Shawn Patnode said. "My wife and oldest daughter came down as well, they were able to see a little bit of Houston and they were able to go to the event to watch him compete." While the stakes certain – ly got higher as Jaren got deeper into the competition, one thing never changed – he was playing for fun and the love of the game. While the experience was likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportu- nity, that won't stop Jaren from trying to make it back to the National Finals next year.

"As parents, we're ex tremely proud of him for the work he put in and the achievement he made," Shawn Patnode said. "It's exciting and he's looking forward to competing next year. He's going to want to play again, especially at the one in Prescott." Chuck Block confirmed that Prescott will be hosting another Pitch, Hit and Run competition next summer at Fire Hall Field where kids from Prescott and surround – ing communities will have another chance to win and advance to the Minnesota Twins Team Championship and potentially the World Series.

Prescott third grader Jaren Patnode was all smiles at Minute Maid Park in Houston on the day of the National Finals of the Pitch, Hit and Run competition, where he represented the Minnesota Twins. Patnode earned a third-place finish on Sunday, Oct. 30. Photo courtesy of Shawn Patnode