Ansell excels in Pitch, Hit & Run competition

Like many young baseball players, 13-year-old Ryland Ansell hopes to one day play professionally.

Unlike many young players, Ansell has competed on the perfectly manicured playing surface of a big-league field. Nor did he merely compete there. He excelled.

Ansell traveled from his home in Richmond to Nationals Park in Washington on June 20 to participate in the championship round of Major League Baseball's Pitch, Hit and Run program -- a competition that tests some of the most fundamental individual skills of developing players.

As Ansell entered the stadium, he strolled alone around the confines for a few minutes just "taking everything in."

A short time later, with parents Temple and Richard, and brothers Forrest, 15, and Spencer, 9, cheering him on, Ansell made his way to the pristine playing field.

"The last time I had been to a major-league baseball park, I was 4 or 5, too young to remember it," he said. "Then, when I got on the field [at Nationals Park], I was just like, 'So this is what it's like.'"

And as if the experience of playing on lush grass with flawlessly chalked lines wasn't special enough, Ansell turned in a first-place finish in the 13-14-year-old age group at Nationals Park.

He and the other competitors were asked to:

• Throw six pitches at a target 45 feet away.

• Take three swings at a ball on an adjustable batting tee. Results were measured for distance and accuracy.

• Make a timed dash from second base to home.

Though specific participation numbers were unavailable, Matt Hilley from Pitch, Hit and Run headquarters said roughly 600,000 young players took part nationwide. Hilley said "it would be fair to estimate [Ansell] was facing upwards of 100,000-150,000" nationwide in his division.

Another Richmond resident, Will Parcell, placed second in the Nationals' 11-12-year-old division.

After the championships concluded, the Ansells received news that was a little unexpected: Ryland had earned 11th place nationally in his division, just eight spots shy of moving on to nationals.

"I think it almost surprised Ryland that he got [that] far," Temple said. "Not that he didn't think he was good enough, but I think that sometimes things like that happen and you're like, 'Wow, this is great.'"

The top three championship finishers from each division earned a trip to Tuesday's All-Star Game in St. Louis where they competed in the PHR finals. Ansell is hopeful that next year he will be a part of the 13-14-year-old trio that travels to the All-Star Game in Anaheim, Calif.

"[This year I was] in the 13-year-old, younger age group," he said. "Next year, I'll be a 14-year-old top dog."

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