Bailey, Cavell Try Out For Junior Olympic Team

Two area baseball players will have the chance to show their stuff at the Junior Olympic Tryouts in Tucson, Ariz.

Lance Bailey, a junior at Tippecanoe Valley High School, and Casey Cavell, a junior at Wawasee High School, will take the field for the Mid-America Baseball Association 16 and under team from Indiana.

The Mid-America Baseball Association will be one of 64 teams from around the country competing at Hi-Corbett Field in Tucson. Players from those 64 teams will be selected for the Junior Olympic Team that will travel and play teams around the world.

"Our team is made up of kids from Indiana, most of them are from the Indianapolis and Bloomington area," said Cavell. "There is another team from Indiana, but they have players from six different states."

That other Indiana team, the Hoosier Diamond team, will compete in Tucson as well. However, people in Anderson got a preview of the competition when the Mid-America Baseball Association team took on the Hoosier Diamond team at Anderson University. The Hoosier Diamond team came out on top of both games.

"I think the coaches got to see how we played Saturday," said Cavell. "Now I think they will move people around in different positions to try them out in different situations."

Bailey has been looking forward to this event since October, when he found out he was one of 19 players to make the Mid-America team. Bailey plays pitcher, third base and shortstop.

Bailey competed in a tournament sponsored by Hoosier Diamond last year and received MVP honors. Then he got information regarding the tryouts held at Hamilton Heights High School in August. The rest is history.

But Cavell's wait was not quite as long.

"I was in a showcase in Indianapolis, and that's how I got information about the tryouts," said Cavell. "Then I tried out in Carmel last summer and had to re-tryout at Indiana University in January. Two weeks after I tried out in January, I found out I made the team."

While Cavell played shortstop for Wawasee this season, he will play second base or center field for the Junior Olympic team.

Now that Bailey and Cavell, both 16, have made the team, they are looking forward to seeing good competition in Tucson.

"I expect to see very good competition and some really aggressive baseball players," said Bailey. "A lot of the guys out there have dads who are professional players. I've never been in this type of atmosphere before. It's some of the best kids in the country who will be playing out there. I'm honored to be playing with these kids."

"I really expect to see good baseball with good players," said Cavell. "There will be a lot of quality baseball and quality players. There will be very good teams there."

Cavell and Bailey will get the chance to see their competition soon. They left for Arizona this morning. The tournament begins today and continues through June 30.