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Runyon Sports Complex

'Nuch Tournament

2024 'Nuch Tournament Schedule/Results

 2024 'Nuch Tournament Champions - Post 22, Rapid City, SD)

 All-Tournament Team:Logan Bumgarner, Woodward (OK); JJ Barger, Azteca Red; Cannon Utz, Parker (CO); Keyan Lundvall, Marrucci's (CO); Javien Baca, Azteca Blue; Sawyer Morgan, Greeley (CO); Ryan Kopp Burkburnett (TX); Reece Hodges, Victus (CO); Jaydon Moreno, Post 22 (SD); Edgardo Cubero, Azteca Red; Landon McAnelly, Cheyenne (WY); Zach Murray, Marrucci's (CO); Donovan Robinson, Azteca Blue; Nolan Horton, Cheyenne (WY); Jax Pfister, Victus (CO); Alex Dietrich, Post 22 (SD). Most Promising Pitcher Award: Lee Neugebauer, Post 22 (SD); Golden Glove Award: Mason Tafoya, Cheyenne (WY); MVP Hitter Award: Hayden Holec, Post 22, (SD); Tournament MVP: Harrison Good, Post 22 (SD); Tournament Coach Award: Kelvin Torve, Post 22 (SD): Title Game: Post 22 (SD) 8, Cheyenne (WY) 4

Jim DiIorio Memorial Award: AJ Robinson; Ike Crowell Most Improved Team Award: Greeley (CO); Josh Faris Memorial Award: Colton Calderon, Azteca Blue; Scott Elizondo Memorial Award: Ethan Ayaya, Azteca Blue; Mark Vunovich Memorial Award: Roy Higinbotham, Azteca Blue; Pete Giadone Memorial Award: Bobby Bonner; Dr. Tony I. "Reskie" Oreskovich Award: Adrien Roberts, Post 22 (SD); Bill Wright Umpires' Catcher Award: Hayden Swaen, Cheyenne (WY); Tom Milner Most Promising Player Award: Phillip Bentz, Post 22 (SD).

Boxscores

Socoticket and sports radio personality JJ Valentine will broadcast the championship game of the 44th Annual Tony Andenucio Memorial Championship game, live from Hobbs Field at The Runyon Field Sports Complex. This year's title game will feature Cheyenne, WY and Post 22 from Rapid City, SD - making their first ever appearance at The 'Nuch.

Carrillo Bestowed with Carrie Andenucio Memorial Award

Diane Carillo poses for a photo with the Andenucio Family after receiving the Carrie Andenucio Award during the 2024 'Nuch Tournament

Carrie AndenucioOn Saturday night, June 15, 2024, Diane Carrillo was selected as the fifth recipient of the Carrie Andeuncio Memorial Award. The award is presented yearly to the most inspirational contributor dedicated to the sport of baseball. The four previous winners were Terri Kallish (2023), Jan Fullerton (2022), Judy Hildner (2021) and Deborah Sperry (2019).

'Nuch Tournament BBQ in Pictures

The night prior to the start of the 44th Tony Andenucio baseball Tournament, players and fans were treated to a hotdog BBQ and a change to watch the Spradley Collegians take on the Boulder Collegians on Hobbs Field. Below are pictures courtesy of Cara Siegel, Marketing Coordinator from the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce.

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Runyon Sports Complex

'Nuch Tournament

The 'Nuch In The News

Azteca's miracle run in the 42nd 'Nuch tournament ends in championship game
BY CHRIS ABDELMALEK | The Pueblo Chieftain | JUN. 20, 2022

A slugfest plus a pitching gem send Pueblo Azteca to 'Nuch Tournament semifinals
BY CHRIS ABDELMALEK | The Pueblo Chieftain | JUN. 19, 2022

After a doubleheader split, Azteca's hopes of reaching the 'Nuch semifinals still alive
BY CHRIS ABDELMALEK | The Pueblo Chieftain | JUN. 18, 2022

Pueblo's 'Nuch baseball tournament holds special memories for Chieftain sports writer
BY JEFF LETOFSKY | The Pueblo Chieftain | JUN. 15, 2022

Anthony "Tony" Andenucio Honored at Runyon Field
BY JOHN BARKER, JR. | Runyon Field Media Relations | JUN. 15, 2022

Pueblo players set to showcase their skills in annual Andenucio baseball tournament
BY CHRIS ABDELMALEK | The Pueblo Chieftain | JUN. 15, 2022

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Runyon Sports Complex

'Nuch Tournament

Pueblo players set to showcase their skills in annual Andenucio baseball tournament

BY CHRIS ABDELMALEK | The Pueblo Chieftain | JUN. 15, 2022

The 42nd annual Tony Andenucio Memorial Baseball Tournament is set to take place June 16-19 at Runyon Field Sports Complex in a showcase of some of the best young talent from across Colorado and beyond.

The ‘Nuch has long been known as a proving ground for young athletes with aspirations to play at the next level.

This year's tournament features teams from New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, and Colorado, one of which is the local team, the Pueblo Aztecas.

Tournament teams are split up into two divisions, the American and National, each of which has six teams. This year, the Aztecas will compete in the American division while defending tournament champions 4C (4 Corners) will be in the National division.

More on the annual 'Nuch:Heading to Pueblo for the 'Nuch? Here are some of the top places to go and things to do

Former 'Nuch player returns to tournament as a coach
The Aztecas are coached this year by Dylan Gavin, who also coaches baseball at Pueblo County High School.

In his first year as the team's coach, he’s said he's looking forward to his first ‘Nuch as a skipper after competing in the tournament as a player.

“I was fortunate enough to play the ‘Nuch twice,” Gavin said. “My junior year of high school and then after my senior year of high school and … not only is it just a great experience, it's great to build memories with your teammates and coaches and get that experience of playing at the highest level.”

The ‘Nuch is a rare opportunity for young players to be seen.

There are typically college scouts at the tournament and it’s the perfect place for a player to showcase their skills. Players such as Jace Barger and Michael Casillas of the Azteca team said it’s not an opportunity to be taken lightly.

“This is my first time playing in this tournament,” Casillas said. “So this is a good opportunity if you want to go to the next level because there's going to be college coaches that are going to come down here and see what you're made of and see what you can do.”

This year will be Barger’s second playing in the tournament.

"I think it's a great program for kids to get an extra opportunity to go to the next level,” Barger said. “Especially with these coaches, because they know what it takes to get to the next level."

Michael Casillas gets ready to toss a strike to the first basemen after fielding the ball during practice ahead of the Tony Andenucio Tournament which will begin on Jun 16, 2022.

'Just play baseball'
While Casillas knows the ‘Nuch will offer him a chance to get noticed by scouts and coaches, it’s also a high-pressure environment where mistakes can have a negative impact on a player’s recruitment.

“I'm looking to just do my thing, just be fluent,” Casillas said. “Don't get overstressed because there are scouts there. Just be yourself. Just play ball. That's all you can do, pretty much. Keep it calm. Don't try to exaggerate everything ... just play baseball.”

Gavin said that because the tournament only happens once each year and team rosters constantly change from one tournament to the next, it's hard to gauge how this year’s games might go.

“That is one difficult thing about travel in summer baseball,” Gavin said. “Each year, you get a new group of kids and you are expected in a short amount of time to get them to mesh, to get them to really play together, to get them to learn from one another how they play on the baseball field.”

Playing and coaching six games in four straight days will be difficult, but the Aztecas' players are up for the challenge.

This year with Gavin at the helm, the team’s players seem to have built a favorable rapport with each other and their coach.

“I like coach Gavin,” Casillas said. “He's a really good coach. He knows a lot from his background from going to the next level and stuff, I just like playing with this team.”

While Gavin’s coaching is helping to bring out the best in his players, he said that growth is a two-way street.

"Just having that impact on the kids, being able to be around them, they don't understand how much I learn from them on the daily and I hope they learn things from me as well that they can carry on," Gavin said.

"We're very thankful that a lot of these coaches that do an outstanding job with these kids at their high schools, they trust us enough to develop in the summer and send them back to their high schools with further skills, more knowledge of the game, more mature skills and different things like that."

What to expect at this year's 'Nuch
Local baseball fans should be excited to see some fast-paced, high-level competition over the course of this year’s tournament. If the Aztecas hope to make it to the finals, they will have to play their best baseball.

“There's a huge difference between trying and competing,” Gavin said. “That's what you'll see in this tournament. You'll see teams with a lot of pride that are competing for their programs that are competing for bragging rights, and it's something that you always look forward to.

“You know you're going to get the other team's best arms. You know you're going to get some tough at-bats. Four straight days and six games for each team. Teams (will be) getting after it and competing at a high level.”

The Aztecas will play their first game on Thursday, followed by doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. All of the team's games will take place at either 5 or 7:30 p.m.

For the entire schedule of the tournament, including all teams and matchups, visit runyonfieldsportscomplex.org.

Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on twitter @chowebacca

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'Nuch Tournament

A slugfest plus a pitching gem send Pueblo Azteca to 'Nuch Tournament semifinals

BY CHRIS ABDELMALEK | The Pueblo Chieftain | JUN. 19, 2022

The third day of the 42nd annual Tony Andenucio Memorial Baseball Tournament saw the home team Pueblo Azteca needing two wins for a chance to play Sunday's semifinals.

With the tournament on the line, the Azteca swept their pair of Saturday games to move into second place in the American Division and advance to a Sunday semifinal matchup and a chance to play in tournament championship.

The Azteca will take on the defending champions 4C Prime at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Hobbs Field.

An early slugfest for Pueblo
The bats were hot in Pueblo's first game against the Woodward Travelers, which Pueblo ultimately won 10-5.

The Travelers jumped out to an early 1-0 led on pitcher Jake Olguin-Pacheco. Then in the bottom half of the first, the Azteca scored two of their own. Andrew Plutt and Pacheco both scored in the inning and the Azteca led 2-1 after one.

The Travelers scored four off Pacheco in the second with a series of seeing-eye singles up the middle and left side of the infield. However, not to be outdone, the home team scored three of their own in the bottom half of the inning with Pacheco helping his own cause by doubling with the bases loaded to bring home all three runs for the Azteca and tie the game at 5-5.

Pacheco then settled down and had a scoreless third inning of work. But the offense kept up its effort and outfielder Braxton Vail and infielder Mike Casillas both had RBI singles in the third. Plutt drove in a run on a fielder's choice to give Pueblo an 8-5 cushion.

The fourth inning was quiet for both teams. Then the offense for the home team put the game out of reach with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth with Mike Casillas and Plutt both scoring. With the lead at 10-5, Pacheco was able to finish off the last two innings with relative ease.

Just need one
With the win over the Travelers in the books, the Azteca put themselves in a "win and you're in" scenario. The home team needed to win the game and not give up more than three runs in order to advance on tiebreakers over the Travelers. Their opponent was a tough team from Burkburnett, Texas, the Blacksocks.

With a 4-1 win on Plutt's solid pitching, mission accomplished.

After Plutt gave up the Blacksocks' lone run in the top of the third, Azteca tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Cade Bleeker singled to right field which to score Jace Barger. In the fifth inning, Plutt was pulled with a man on second and first with only one out. Mike Casillas came in and got a strikeout and pop-out to end the Blacksocks rally.

The Azteca offense came through in the bottom of the fifth. Plutt reached first and second on two errors before scoring on a third that allowed Pacheco to reach first base safely. Pacheco promptly stole second to give Gage Martinez, the catcher, the opportunity to hit an RBI single to put the home team up 3-1.

Barger came in to pitch at the top of the sixth and after giving up a single to the first batter, struck out the next three. The Azteca added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-1 before Barger closed out the game with a scoreless seventh.

“It feels amazing to watch when your team is making plays behind you, not just when I was out there pitching and just making sure that we could get them out,” Barger said. “... I mean, not only did I get us there but Andrew Plutt got us here and Michael Casillas got us here. I mean, I'm just ecstatic that we pulled that game out.”

Utility player Matt Casillas, who played all over the field during the tournament, echoed his teammate.

“Jeez, it just gives us so much confidence, it takes so much stress off of our shoulders just knowing that we are that Pueblo team that made it to the semifinals, and there hasn't been a team like that in I don't know how long,” he said. “It just feels amazing just knowing that we were that Pueblo team make it.”

Coach Dylan Gavin talked about how that final game ended.

“It is fun and that game right there I told them right before that's everything that you want in a baseball game,” Gavin said. “Energy from both sides, a good crowd for a nightcap I don't know what more you can ask for.”

With the win over the Blacksocks, the Azteca knotted a three-way tie with Cheyenne and Woodward at 4-1 in the tournament. The tie-breakers settled the American Division with Cheyenne taking first place and Azteca taking second. The Travelers ended up in third due to run differential.

“We get to keep playing baseball,” Barger said. “It's one of the best sports in the world, but I mean it is 90% failure, 10% success, so we got to just keep that 10% success in our mind and be able to play and do the easy stuff.”

 Gavin also spoke about what it meant for the home team to make it to the semifinals.

“You know it means a lot for the town, it means a lot for the people that have played before us, it means a lot for the people that will play after us," he said. "It's a great representation of how we do things in Pueblo and that it's never giving up and sticking with it until the very end.”

Matt Casillas added to what his coach and teammates had to say about playing in the semifinal.

“We got to know that each team that we play tomorrow is going to be tough and we're going to have to come out with our 'A' game each game,” he said. “Every single inning, every single pitch, we just got to be ready for anything that they at throw us.”

The Azteca will face defending champions the 4C Prime team from New Mexico at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on Hobbs Ffield. Cheyenne will face Victus Recruits at noon on Hobbs Field. The winners will play in the 7 p.m. championship.

The rest of the tournament played out as well and teams from both divisions scrambled to get into the semifinals.

4C Prime lost its only game of the tournament but had done enough in the first two days to solidify its semifinal spot out of the National Division. Colorado BST defeated 4C 11-3 on Saturday.

CBST also defeated the team from Rio Grande, 12-3, ending their round-robin tournament in third place in the National Division. Second place went to Victus Recruits, which won Saturday games over Cherry Creek and Grand Junction 6-4 and 8-5, respectively. The Recruits finished 4-1, but 4C took first on run differential.

Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on twitter @chowebacca