In baseball, boys find their sport of choice

RATHDRUM – For 8-year-old Rathdrum resident Wyatt Setian, what started out as a friendly competition ended up to be a young boy’s dream come true. Wyatt, along with fellow Rathdrum baseball player Dylan Piva, traveled to Safeco Field in Seattle this summer to participate in the Major League’s Hit, Pitch and Run competition.

“We just happened to get a flier (about the competition) and thought it would be fun,” said Wyatt’s mother, Lisa Setian, who homeschools Wyatt and his sister.

Dylan and Wyatt started the competition at the local level in Rathdrum. Dylan competed in the 9- and 10-year-old group while Wyatt was in the 7- to 8-year-old category. The competition awards points based upon the accuracy of pitching, the speed of running bases and the distance and accuracy of hitting a ball.

“We have discovered that the accuracy in the pitching is what makes or breaks the score,” said Lisa Setian.

At the local level, both boys finished first, allowing them to advance to the sectional competition in Moscow, which included kids from all over North Idaho. Once again, Wyatt and Dylan finished first in their respective age groups. Their overall scores were then compared with those of participants from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, and the top four all-around winners were chosen to attend the Mariner’s game in late June. They both finished in the top four.

Both boys say they practiced with help from their fathers to prepare for the big competition.

And when they arrived at Safeco Field, Wyatt said, he was filled with anticipation.

“I was so excited,” he said. “Running was the hardest part because I almost tripped over third base.”

Both boys were accompanied by their fathers and were treated to free tickets to the game along with certificates for free food. All participants also received a shirt, hat, bat bag and plaque.

Wyatt was the smallest boy on the field, but his size did not matter as he finished first in his age group at Safeco Field. His score was compared with the top finishers in ball parks across the country. He narrowly missed becoming one of the top four in the nation in his age group, the award for which is a trip to the All-Star Game. His success, along with his enthusiasm for the sport, has encouraged him to enter the competition again next year.

“Next year we will know more what to expect,” said Lisa Setian. “He loves to compete.”

Knowing what to expect was an advantage that Dylan had entering this year’s competition. Having already placed at the sectional competition two years ago, Dylan, the son of Dan and Cheryl Piva, competed in Seattle in 2005 and again this year.

A student at Garwood Elementary School, Dylan is the pitcher for both his Little League team and the all-star team. But his athletic ability extends far beyond the pitching mound.

“I really like gymnastics, too,” said Dylan, who has been on the boys competitive team for Funtastics for four years and has won the state championship twice.

Although he is involved in many sports, including basketball and football, Dylan said he enjoys baseball the most and says that former player Mark McGwire is his favorite player. As for teams, he likes the Cardinals and adds he would like to play Major League baseball one day.

“I’d play for just about any team,” said Dylan. “Anybody but the Devil Rays.”

He said the hardest thing about the Hit, Pitch and Run competition was that it is different from just playing a baseball game.

“It involves a lot of accuracy,” said Dylan, who hit a ball almost 200 yards in the competition in Moscow.

In the competition in Seattle, Dylan, who said he was nervous, finished in second place and wants to continue to enter the competition hoping to make it to Seattle for a third time next summer.

Dylan is also enrolled in Strive, the gifted and talented program in the school district. He says he especially enjoys science.

“I like reading about things,” he said.

But whatever the future holds for these two young athletes, baseball is likely to remain a part of their lives.

“Baseball is a huge passion for Wyatt,” said Lisa Setian. “A batting cage I’m sure will be up (in our yard) by next summer.”