ESPN RISE

LONG BEACH, Calif.-- The 23rd annual Area Code Games kicked off Wednesday at historic Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif. All eight teams started the six-day event with a round of batting practice and SPARQ Testing (which measures speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness).

Batting practice is always a highlight for the approximately 400 MLB scouts and 75 college coaches who attend the Area Code games. Batting practice allows scouts to get a good look at players' mechanics and raw bat speed.

"You get to see players performing," one American League area scout remarked. "You'll see something that you might not during a game."

The two Milwaukee Brewers teams with players based in California opened up batting practice. Brewers Gray outfielders Joc Pederson (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Cory Hahn (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, Calif.) had solid batting practice sessions. Brewers Blue's Stefan Sabol (Aliso Niguel/Aliso Viejo, Calif.), a catcher, was turning on the ball nicely. Sabol also displayed his athleticism, recording the highest SPARQ rating among all participants.

The Washington Nationals, made up of players from the Pacific Northwest, went into the cage next. Area Code veteran Joshua Sale (Bishop Blanchete/Seattle) hit for the cycle during one of the 2008 Area Code games. Wednesday morning, Sale hit Blair Field's new scoreboard. Catcher Alex Sloan (Sumner/Puyallup, Wash.) and outfielder Drew Vettleson (Central Kitsap/Bremerton, Wash.) had some nice at-bats.

The New York Yankees, made up of highly regarded players from the Northeast, definitely made their presence felt. Catcher Greg Brodzinski (Bishop Eustice/Turnersville, N.J.) was one of many players on the club with good size that was hitting the ball well. Lefty outfielder Mark Podlas (Westhampton Beach/Remsinburg, N.Y.) made an impression with his bat, too.

The Bronx Bombers lived up to their nickname. First baseman Timothy Kiene (Avon Old Farms/South Windsor, Conn.) was the first lefty all day to hit one yard. Sean Coyle (Germantown Academy/Chalfront, Penn.), one of the top SPARQ testers this year, also hit one beyond the outfield wall. There were many impressive performers for the Yankees, but arguably the most impressive was shortstop Mike Antonio (George Washington/New York). The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder displayed quick hands and good bat speed, hitting three home runs in his short work.

The Cincinnati Reds, representing the Rocky Mountain region and Hawaii, had two players who hit the ball particularly hard. Catcher Christian Carmichael (Kamehameha/Mililani, Hawaii) showed some pop with his bat. Outfielder Jaycob Brugman's (Desert Vista/Phoenix) work at the plate prompted a National League area scout to say, "his bat makes a different sound."

The bats picked up as the afternoon went on. The Oakland A's, a team consisting of players from the Southeast region, had a few players make some noise, particularly third baseman Forrest Koumas (Elgin/Lugoff, S.C.), catcher Andrew Knapp (Granite Bay, Calif.) and outfielder Paul Kronenfeld (Woodberry Forrest/Greensboro, N.C.). Knapp was hitting well from both sides of the plate, and Kronenfeld was strong at the point of contact.

The Chicago White Sox (Midwest region) and the Texas Rangers (Texas and Louisiana) rounded out batting practice. Putting in work around the yard was infielder White Sox Kellen Sweeney (Jefferson/Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and outfielder Charles Jones (Boonville, Mo.). The Rangers didn't have their complete unit, but one player who did turn heads was 6-1,175-pound pitcher Tyler Green (Brazoswood/Lake Jackson, Texas), who hit the ball strong with nice backspin.

Day 1 Games

Editor's note: Acting coaches for the Area Code Games can substitute freely and can use a tenth batter, if agreed upon, to allow the maximum number of at-bats for the position players. All games are seven innings, unless noted.

Washington Nationals 2, Cincinnati Reds 2

There were a lot of fireworks in the opening game at Area Code, but the ending was a dud as the Nationals and Reds played to a nine-inning tie.

The Nationals got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. Sal Arena (Puyallup, Wash.) got things going with a hit, and he took third on a single by Sloan. Arena eventually scored on a fielder's choice.

The two most exciting plays of the first day were turned in by Nationals' left fielder Sale. He knocked the leather off the ball during batting practice, but the first spectacular play Sale made was with his glove and arm.

Trevor Allen (Corona Del Sol/Tempe, Ariz.) hit a double and looked to score on a single by pitcher Marco Gonzales (Rocky Mountain/Fort Collins, Colo.), but Sale cut down Allen at home plate with a perfect one-hopper to the catcher.

The Reds scored as infielder Marcus Littlewood (Pine View/St. George, Utah) scored on a sacrifice fly hit by catcher T.C. Mark (Pinnacle/Phoenix). Sale then gave the Nationals a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out, solo home run over the 387-foot sign near right center field. The blast was near the same spot Sale hit his home run during last year's Area Code Games to complete the cycle.

After Sale's homer, the Reds were able to manufacture the tying run when Gonzalez scored on an error by the Nationals' shortstop, who dropped a pop-up and allowed Spencer O'Neil (Southridge/Kennewick, Wash.) to take second. O'Neil stole third, but was unable to safely cross home plate.

The Nationals had their chances to win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, putting a runner in scoring position after an error in left field. But righty Tito Nava got the Reds out of the mini-jam, striking out Sale and the side to close out the ballgame.

Chicago White Sox 5, Texas Rangers 5

After seven innings were in the books, it looked like the Sox would roll to an easy victory over the boys from the Lone Star State.

It wasn't to be, as they allowed the Rangers to score five runs and tie the game after not allowing a hit through seven innings. After two games and 18 innings at Blair Field, all four competing teams were tied.

Righty Dylan Bundy (Owasso/Sperry, Okla.) threw three spectacular frames, striking out seven, allowing no hits and no runs, even though he hit a batter and had two fielding errors behind him. Defense led to the White Sox's late-inning collapse, as they had a total of five errors in the game.

Southpaw Jordan Shipers (South Harrison/Bethany, Mo.) threw one scoreless inning for the White Sox and 2011 prospect Archie Bradley (Broken Arrow/Muskogee, Okla.) kept the Rangers off the base paths in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Shipers, a 6-4 righty, was hitting 95 mph on the radar gun, and is also a major prospect as a quarterback.

Shaky Texas pitching allowed the White Sox to score two runs in the first inning and another in the second to take a quick 3-0 lead. The White Sox scored on a variety of mistakes: passed balls, wild pitches, double steals and fielder's choices.

In the top of the sixth inning, the White Sox tallied what they thought would be two insurance runs, as shortstop Jacob Rice (Union/Tulsa, Okla.) scored on yet another passed ball. Catcher Michael Maddle (Tell City, Ind.) then drove in infielder Sweeney on a double down the third base line. Maddle's run-scoring double was one of the best hits of the day.

It took two fine defensive plays in the infield to keep the no-hit bid alive through six innings, but outfielder Kendrick Perkins (La Porte, Texas) finally broke it up with a liner to center field on an ill-advised breaking ball with an 0-2 count to lead off the bottom of the eighth.

The Texas Rangers made the White Sox pay after loading the bases with no outs.

Third baseman Spencer Davis (The Woodlands, Texas) hit a two-run single to left center. First baseman Jared Lakind (Cypress Woods, Texas) then scored after two errors on a single play -- an errant throw by the catcher to the first baseman after a passed ball on a called third strike. Shortstop Matt Lipka (McKinney/Frisco, Texas) then hit a clutch two-run single to tie the game. He was thrown out trying to advance to second base to end the inning, but the damage was already done. Neither team could muster anything in the ninth.

Although the Texas Rangers pitching generally struggled, righty John Simms (College Park/Woodlands, Texas) displayed a wicked curveball in the late innings.

Ronnie Flores is a senior editor of ESPN RISE. For more information on SPARQ testing and results, check out the ESPN RISE baseball blog. For Area Code updates, follow us on Twitter. For more information on Area Code Games, click here.