
Westwood High School baseball jerseys hang in the dugout at the school’s varsity baseball field for the ‘Very Special Baseball Game.’ (Photo by Andres Armenta/Cronkite News)
MESA – Chants and signs filled the Westwood High School varsity baseball field stands Saturday morning. Parents cheering from the stands typically make themselves heard at a varsity baseball game, but as the February sun shone on the signs, those cheers were for something similar but completely different.
The excitement from the stands surrounded the 11th annual “Very Special Baseball Game” at Westwood High, showcasing the talents of special education classrooms at Westwood High School and Red Mountain High School. Students who typically don’t take the field were the stars of the show.
Baseball players from each school’s varsity team accompanied a special needs student in the field of play during the baseball game. Students hit the ball, ran the bases and scored runs.
The game was shortened to three innings, but that didn’t stop everyone involved from having a good time.
“It’s just like a no-stress day for the fans,” Westwood varsity baseball coach J.R. Langston said. “We had great people here in the stands. These kids have an opportunity to do something that they wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to do. And then my players, our players, just have an opportunity to give back a little.”

Westwood High School teacher Jane Dutcher-Pagel helps students walk up to the plate during Saturday’s annual ‘Very Special Baseball Game.’ (Photo by Andres Armenta/Cronkite News)
Opportunity is a major factor in fueling the original idea for the game. Langston is the event’s originator and pitched it to Jane Dutcher-Pagel, a special education teacher at Westwood High School.
Since the game’s debut, Dutcher-Pagel has planned and executed it with joy. Every interaction on the diamond is filled with a smile and kindness. It’s an event and day that she genuinely holds dear to her heart.
Behind her smile Saturday, there was some sadness. Dutcher-Pagel plans to retire after this school year after 36 years, and Saturday’s contest marked the last one she will coordinate.
“I cried about 10 times today,” Dutcher-Pagel said Saturday. “Lots of mixed emotions, but mostly just joy. I mean, I don’t know how you cannot feel joy. Watching all of our students, I always tell everyone it’s like their World Series, the smiles on their faces, the high-fives, the pumping the crowd up.
“I’m really sad. There’s a huge part of me that’s sad.”
After more than three decades of teaching, time has flown by for Dutcher-Pagel. The end hadn’t hit Dutcher-Pagel yet until she started to clean out her desk during lunch period the other day. It was an emotional moment.
“I’ll see you next year,” she tells her students at the end of each school year. Not this May, as she closes her classroom door one final time.
“Having a student say a longer sentence,” Dutcher-Pagel said about the experiences she will miss. “We’re trying to increase their utterances instead of pointing or just trying to get one word, and then all of a sudden, they bust out a sentence. So I think these daily celebrations are what I’m really going to miss. Seeing the students grow and mature, and I love to watch the friendships they develop.
Over the past 11 years, the game has grown into a beloved community tradition. No matter how big the event becomes, its core will always be centered around the community Mesa shares. The game’s growth over the past decade has been remarkable for Dutcher-Pagel. Berge Toyota has even become a sponsor and provides pizza for everyone after the game.
Regardless of the growth, this event is fueled by the community and family. When Langston and Dutcher-Pagel needed another high school to participate, Red Mountain was an obvious option.
Dutcher-Pagel’s husband, Ross Pagel, coached the Red Mountain High School baseball team. It was a match made in heaven, but the roots go back even deeper.
Pagel coached Langston back at Mesa High School when Langston was a player, and years later, all parties involved came together to put on a meaningful event.
“I think that makes it special,” Langston said. “It makes it something that we can continue to do because we have a closeness. If there wasn’t that closeness, maybe it would have been a one-year thing.
“But really, because we are connected, we’ve been able to keep this thing rolling, and it’s just been really good for me and my baseball program.”
About 15 members from each roster participated in Saturday’s event and collaborated with the students to ensure they had a good time. Red Mountain varsity assistant coach Mike Runge believes the event is one of the program’s best.
Unlike a regular season game or practice, players gain the experience of giving back to their community. He mentioned that some of his past players still talk about their time participating.
“What stuff can we do to help, and in the end, that’s what baseball is about,” Runge said. “It’s not about winning or losing … It’s about how we treat people. So later in life, they’re going to help someone else out, or someone’s going to get help from them.
“And that’s what we try to do at Red Mountain Baseball.”
In the end, it’s not about Dutcher-Pagel, it’s not about the players who help out–it’s all about the students who participate in this event. It’s the reason why Dutcher-Pagel made sure this event came to life.

Westwood High School teacher Jane Dutcher-Pagel participates in an interview with Berge Toyota during Saturday’s ‘Very Special Baseball Game.’ (Photo by Andres Armenta/Cronkite News)
She mentioned that the game is the students’ “World Series.”
“I was so pumped when I got here,” Westwood student AJ Pagan said. “I was so happy and excited the entire time. My emotions always get happy when I’m in a good mood. …My favorite part was going back-to-back, doing single runs.”
Pagan’s dad, Alberto, is proud to see his son come out of his shell around people and be comfortable with himself. Pagan shared a ton of laughs and excitement as he ran the diamond. For his family, it is a special feeling seeing their child on the dirt.
“We’re a baseball household,” Alberto said. “Trying to teach him how to learn baseball since he was a kid, since he was a baby, so he’s grown to love it, and he’s grown to see me and the family watch it at home. Him being a part of it is great. … It’s always fun seeing him in his element. Socializing and just having fun with his peers. He was so excited about this game, and he’s been talking about it the entire week.”
All of this is possible by the spirit of one individual leaving behind a legacy, an event that surely will continue for years to come. She still plans to attend the game after retirement.
But while she won’t plan the game in the future, her fingerprints will still be all over it.
“It was about the students,” Dutcher-Pagel said. “I think the word spread about how much joy there is on that field. … You just plan this fun day, and you don’t think it’s really going to turn into anything else, but it always does. It just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. But just the overall joy, and I think it’s probably gonna be even bigger next year. … It’s just joyful. It’s just so fun to be out here. My face hurts at the end of the day because I’ve smiled so much.”