Babe Ruth regional returning to Holyoke
It’s been seven years since Holyoke hosted a Babe Ruth regional baseball tournament, but preparations have been going on since the start of the year for the upcoming tournament.
Qualifying tournaments were held in Colorado, Kansas and Missouri to determine which teams will be in Holyoke July 27-29 as part of the Midwest Plains Regional.
The Buckley Bombers, historically made up of players from Yuma, Wray, Haxtun, Sedgwick County and Holyoke, as well as Chappell, Nebraska, automatically qualifies for the tournament.
Organizer Tom Bennett said there are at least eight regional tournaments.
Bennett anticipates six teams in the Holyoke regional.
After three days of pool play and a one-day single-elimination tournament, the winning team qualifies for the World Series to be hosted by the Charleston Fighting Squirrels in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on Southeast Missouri State’s home field. The Senior World Series will be played Aug. 13-20.
Ten to 12 teams will attend from the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest, Southwest, Ohio Valley, Southeast, Middle Atlantic and New England regions and includes Canada, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Guam.
It will be Cape Girardeau’s first time hosting the World Series, which has been played in Mobile, Alabama, and Ephrata, Washington, in recent years.
Come enjoy the games
Bennett said the regional is in good shape for volunteers. At this point, he’s not looking for help, he’s spreading the word and recruiting fans.
There’s no admission to come watch the teams of 16-to-18-year-olds play.
Holyoke’s team was second when the town last hosted the tournament in 2016 and has made a trip to the World Series, Bennett said.
The opening ceremonies will be Thursday, July 27, around 6:30 p.m. to kick off the tournament.
A tournament picnic will be held for all players, coaches and officials free of charge at Holyoke City Park at 7 p.m. Friday, July 28. There will be a small charge for family and friends.
Bracket released
Round robin games begin Thursday at 10:30 a.m. with a matchup between Salina, Kansas, and Grand Mesa. At 1 p.m., the Missouri Aces will play the GCBC Blues out of Kansas. Grand Mesa will play the Sandlot Sluggers, also from Colorado, at 3:30 p.m. The Buckley Bombers, including players from Holyoke, will take to the field at 7:15 p.m. against the Missouri Aces.
Games continue Friday. The Sluggers will play Salina at 8:30 a.m., and Buckley will take on GCBC at 11 a.m. Seeded games will be played at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to determine who moves on to the single-elimination tournament.
The tournament will take place Saturday, with games at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and the championship game at 2:30 p.m.