09/12/2026
Last weekend, Regulators Baseball traveled to Mesa, Arizona, to compete in the Perfect Game Wood Bat Fall Kick-Off.
Our boys competed against four Majors-level teams and finished pool play with a 2–2 record. Only the top four teams advanced to bracket play on Labor Day, and at the conclusion of pool play, three teams were tied at 2–2.
According to Perfect Game’s published tiebreaker rules, Rule #3 states that when three teams are tied, if one team defeated both of the other tied teams, that team advances. That would place RB at third place.
Regulators Baseball defeated both of the other teams involved in the three-way tie.
Despite that, the PGWestNational director Race Gardner informed us that Rule #3 would not be applied because the other two teams had not played each other. Instead, Rule #4 was used. That decision dropped Regulators Baseball to the #5 seed and eliminated us from bracket play.
We challenged that interpretation because Rule #3 appeared clear: we had defeated both teams we were tied with. Whether those two teams played each other would not change that fact.
After several emails and public discussions regarding the situation, Perfect Game has now acknowledged that the tiebreaker rule was not applied correctly. A PG representative has offered Regulators Baseball a $250 credit toward a future PG tournament, and we do appreciate the gesture.
However, we do not believe $250 adequately addresses what happened.
Our players and families traveled from El Paso to Arizona and paid tournament fees, hotel expenses, fuel, meals, and other travel costs with the expectation that the published rules would be applied correctly. Because they were not, our boys were denied an opportunity they had earned on the field.
What makes this situation even more concerning to us is that Regulators Baseball was the only team in the tournament from outside Arizona. Given the circumstances surrounding the decision, we believe there are legitimate questions about why the published rule was disregarded despite our head-to-head victories over both tied teams.
We are not asking for special treatment. We never have.
We are asking for accountability, transparency, and fair application of the rules.
Our boys traveled to Arizona, competed against Majors teams, went 2–2, and did what the published tiebreaker required them to do.
They earned their opportunity to advance on the field.
Unfortunately, our concerns surrounding this tournament did not end when we left Arizona.
Several Regulators families have now discovered fraudulent charges on credit and debit cards used in connection with this trip. The amounts reported by our families have already reached thousands of dollars collectively.
A common factor among the affected families is that accommodations were booked through EventConnect, the service used in connection with Perfect Game’s mandatory Stay-to-Play policy.
We are moving forward with escalating the tournament issue to Perfect Game at the national level.
Separately, due to the amount of fraudulent credit card charges affecting multiple families from our team, we will also be contacting the appropriate law enforcement authorities regarding the matter.
Perfect Game USA
Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona
