|Holyoke to host baseball tournament this summer|
|Written by Darci Tomky|
America’s favorite pastime is making its way to Holyoke this summer when Border League hosts the 2011 Midwest Plains Regional 13-15-year-old Babe Ruth Baseball Tournament.
This Aug. 4-9 event, which is the next level up after state tourneys, will be the last stop on the tournament trail before teams advance to the World Series.
Tournament director Tom Bennett encouraged community members to keep those dates open and plan to go to Holyoke Ball Park for some great baseball!
State champion teams from Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas and possibly Canada will call Holyoke home for a few days this summer.
One more team completes the bracket—the host team. Border League players on the local All-Star team will have the unique opportunity to experience some thrilling, top-level baseball action.
The Border League is made up of teams from Holyoke, Haxtun, Wray, Julesburg, Revere, Chappell, Neb. and Oshkosh, Neb.
Bennett said they have hosted numerous area tournaments in past years as well as the 13-year-old Babe Ruth State Tournament in 2004 and the 13-15-year-old Babe Ruth State Tournament in 2006.
“We’re taking it to another level,” said Bennett, noting Colorado only gets to host the regional tourney every seven or eight years.
One of the responsibilities of the host site is to find housing for all players during the August event. Bennett said he is looking for 25-30 families to host almost 100 boys with two, three or four players to each house.
Anyone interested in serving as a host family should contact Bennett at 854-2227 (day) or 854-5409 (night) or Theresa Tharp at 854-4514.
Besides the baseball games, Holyoke will also put on opening ceremonies as well as a picnic for players and their families attending the regional tournament.
Bennett hopes this exciting event will be a significant boost for the local economy as players and parents will be taking advantage of the wide range of local businesses and fun attractions in the area. “This is a great opportunity to showcase Holyoke!” he said.