Local ballplayers looking for chance

      Charles Ingram has always dreamed of playing professional baseball.
      Two weeks ago, the 34-year-old gave it his best shot.
      Flanked by 59 others -- a majority of which were teen-agers -- Ingram participated in a tryout at Cashman Field for the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau.
      "I'm just not out here to be here, I want to play" Ingram said. "Even if it's rookie ball, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't even try."
      Ingram, whose uncle was Chicago Cubs' Hall of Famer Billy Williams, said he has been active in adult baseball leagues and he had no doubt he could hang with the finest prospects in Southern Nevada.
      "It's something I should have pursued early on," Ingram said. "You've got to go for your dreams at some point ... God bless me for keeping myself in shape. I thought I might have a problem with the running, but once we got out here, I was fine."
      Ingram said although it was only a tryout, the thrill remains at a high level knowing he was analyzed by professional baseball representatives.
      "I get a little buzz from it," he said. "But being that I'm a little older I can handle it. I know if I don't make it I have to get up and go to work in the morning. I'm just glad for the opportunity to come out here more than anything else."
      Tom Valcke, who ran the event, declined to comment on which players stood out or what percentage would even have a chance, but did say the information obtained is put into a centralized database with the league and provided to all 30 Major League Baseball organizations.
      "This is for the kids who were passed over and (for juniors) who want to get things going for next year," Valcke said. "Plus, if you never knew how you could stack up, this is a chance to see what you got against the best out there."
      Near the middle of the wide-range of ages in attendance, 23-year-old Brian Beeghly said he felt as if he had the "chance to bring back the glory days of high school ball."
      Beeghly has spent the past five years playing in adult softball leagues, but wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to be a part of the sport he has always loved.
      "Being young, I feel I still have that shot," Beeghly said. "It brings out the kid in me. No matter the age of the person, it's the love of the game that keeps us going."
      Scott Yahrus, one of the Southern Conference's hardest throwing right-handed pitchers, graduated from Durango High School two nights prior to the tryout and wanted to gain a bit more exposure before embarking on his college career at Creighton University.
      Yahrus said he was likely overlooked in the recent amateur draft because he told scouts he was attending Creighton.
      "For them to draft me would have been a wasted pick," Yahrus said. "I guess, there is really no point (of attending the tryout), but to be in the computer and have my stuff on file can't hurt any."
      Aside from league scouts, representatives from the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals were on hand for the tryouts, all of whom declined comment.
      Several Major League clubs hold local tryouts and are expected to do so throughout the summer.
      "I would advise anyone to come out here and give it a shot," Ingram said. "There are 30 ball clubs and I figure someone could use me.
      "I know I wouldn't be upset if I didn't make it, but I would be more upset if I didn't try. It would kill me."