Greenwood's Stribling Park will be invaded this weekend by some of the best youth baseball teams in Mississippi.
The Battle Between the Rivers, a state-qualifying USSSA baseball tournament, will start at 6 p.m. Friday in Greenwood and run through Sunday. Twenty-eight teams will be competing in five different age groups in the first-ever USSSA event at Stribling Park.
"USSSA baseball is the growing thing in the nation. This is a big deal for Greenwood, and we hope to turn this into an annual event," said Harold Young, tournament director. "There will be some dynamite baseball being played here this weekend, especially in the 11- and 13-year-old divisions."
Greenwood will be represented with one team in each age division (9-13), with 23 out-of-town teams making up the rest of the field - which has Greenwood's Anthony Ola smiling for several reasons.
"It's good from a competition standout point for all of our Greenwood teams, and it's going to have a positive economic impact on Greenwood. The tournament could draw as many as 900 people from out of town. Those people are going to stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurant and, hopefully, shop our stores," said Ola, coach of the Greenwood 11-year-old traveling team and president of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce.
"It's an opportunity to showcase our town. If people like it, they'll come back to Christmas shop and shop for back to school."
Also, Ola says the baseball facilities at Stribling Park - owned by the Greenwood Exchange Club, which runs the city's largest recreational league - will also benefit since all tournament proceeds will be used for field improvements.
Teams from Southaven to Jackson will be playing in the tournament, which Young thinks has unlimited potential for growth in the future.
"Greenwood is two hours away for most of these teams coming in here. Jackson and Memphis are both hotbeds for USSSA baseball, so Greenwood could be the middle ground for some awesome teams that are separated by a four-hour drive," said Young, coach of the Greenwood Storm.
The Storm is one of the top teams in 13-year-old division in the Battle Between the Rivers. The team has been together for six years and has competed in three USSSA World Series.
The Storm's toughest competition, according to Young, will likely come from the Chesterville Wolves, the McGehee (Ark.) Diamond Dawgs and the Mississippi Heat of Brandon.
Young says at least three teams in the 10-year-old division are ranked in the top 10 in the state, including the Delta Crush from Greenwood and Starkville.
The 11-year-old bracket is loaded, according to Young, led by D.C. Elite of Hernando. The team is the only USSSA major squad in the tournament and is coached by former Greenwood High School baseball standout Chris Purnell.
Admission is $3 per day. Play starts at 9 a.m. Saturday with 35 games on tap. The latest of which are scheduled for 9 p.m.
Semifinal games in each age division will start at 1 p.m. Sunday, with championship contests set for 5 p.m.
