The Helper Merchants will enter the 19U Utah State American Legion Tournament as the No. 3 seed as the field of 16 begin the final stretch of the 2019 summer season.

After dropping back-to-back games to Salem Hills to end the season, Helper will be matched up with Taylorsville in the opening round on Friday, July 26 at 10:00 a.m.. The winner of that game will square off with either Herriman or Springville Saturday evening.

“We’ve got to show up, be ready to play, hit the baseball and field the baseball,” said manager Dakota Cisneros. “We need to be positive with what we are trying to accomplish and I think we’ll win some baseball games.”

Playing for the right to represent Utah at the Regional Tournament in August, the 16 teams from around the state will battle in a double-elimination format. Games will take place at Salt Lake Community College, Pleasant Grove High School and Kearns Field.

The tournament will take place over a week’s time, with the championship game being held on July 31 and possibly Aug. 1. The lone day off will be on Sunday, July 28.

By finishing inside the top three, Helper avoided the play-in round, which take place this past weekend. During the time off the Merchants worked on fundamentals and getting back to basics.

“We just need to get back to Helper baseball and that’s having fun,” said Cisneros. “I talked to my guys about simplifying the game, having fun and playing loose. We need to get back to being focused and prepare for sits ahead of us.”

Helper wrapped up the regular season with a league record of 12-4-1. The team’s first round opponent, Taylorsville, finished 10-5-0. Friday’s meeting will be the first between the two teams this season.

Stay tuned to Castle Country Radio for updates as soon as they become available throughout the tournament. Click below for a complete look at the 2019 bracket.

Utah-State-American-Legion-Bracket

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