SHERIDAN — A field of 18 American Legion teams will converge on Sheridan this week for the Peoples Bank Wood Bat Classic that begins today with eight teams taking aim at the title.
The event will have four pools with five teams in Pools A and C and four teams in Pools B and D.
In the tournament opener, Benton will square off against two-time winner Cabot at 5 p.m. in Pool C action at Oliver Williams Field while PBNB will face Lake Hamilton at Babe Ruth Field in Pool B.
Host Sheridan and Stuttgart will play at Oliver Williams at 7:30 p.m. in Pool A and Simmons vs. Rose Bud will be at Babe Ruth in Pool D.
Sheridan High School baseball coach and tournament director Mike Moore said the event continues to be one of the premier wooden bat tournaments of the year.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We are definitely putting together some competitive teams,” Moore said. “But the main thing is it draws our community out. They really rally around it and come out of the woodworks to help put it on. There are so many people involved and it wouldn’t be as successful without them.”
Moore said the event raises money for the high school program.
“We usually make some money so we can do some things for the kids,” he said. “Like when we do go to state, we can take them to eat or get hotel rooms. It’s just a good way to help keep our community involved. It brings recognition and provides funding for things we want to do.”
Moore said the event, which he started about 15 years ago, continues to grow.
“It started out pretty small then Peoples Bank got involved,” Moore said. “They’ve been doing this for the past 10 years or so. It really helps us keep the money we take in at the gate and in concessions. We have other sponsors too that make great contributions. That’s what it takes to put on this type of event.”
Moore said Sheridan, which won the Freddie Wetzler Wood Bat Tournament at Taylor Field last week, would be considered as one of the favorites to win the event.
“I could see six or eight teams winning this thing but I would have to put us in there too,” Moore said. “There are some really good teams going to be here and when you are playing with wood bats you have to play real baseball. You have to bunt when you’re supposed to bunt and move runners around when you need to. It really takes the game back to playing fundamentally sound.”
Moore noted the North Little Rock Colts, Texarkana and Simmons among favorites.
J.R. Ware, who coaches the Sheridan program during the summer, saw a couple of the entries during the Wetzler event.
“I thought PBNB was probably the toughest team we saw at the Wetzler,” he said. “But Jacksonville is always going to bring a good team and so is Texarkana.”
Jacksonville is in the same Pool A lineup with Sheridan while PBNB is in the four-team Pool B with Lake Hamilton, Quitman and North Little Rock. Simmons is in Pool D with Rose Bud, Conway and the Little Rock Blues.
Pool play will continue Thursday, Friday and Saturday with Sunday’s championship game slated for 4:30 p.m. Activity begins at noon on Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday on both fields. There are no time limits on games and no pitching limitations.
Moore said the facility allows spectators to see all the action.
“You can stand in one spot and see everything that’s going on,” he said. “This is a great place for the event and our parks and recreation guys do a great job of maintaining the fields and keeping things moving. We encourage everyone to come out and support these kids.”