City will still host softball tourney

Published 12:14 am Wednesday, July 1, 2009

A 6-under Babe Ruth softball tournament will still be played in Andalusia this week, Director of Leisure Services Dwight Mikel confirmed Tuesday evening.

Mikel said the event will not be an officially sanctioned Babe Ruth Softball tournament, but will still allow three Alabama teams and one Florida team to compete for a title.

“We’re just going to play and let the teams have a chance to have some fun,” he said. “This is a show of appreciation to the teams who stood by us and the girls who worked hard for this tournament.”

Originally, Andalusia was set to host a 24-team Babe Ruth Softball regional tournament for the 6-under division, and the games would have begun Thursday. However, Monday morning, Mikel said the decision was made to cancel the event because only four teams had confirmed they would be able to come.

Tuesday, Mikel said the city realized it could still host a small tournament for those four teams. Games will be played at the Andalusia Sports Complex on Friday and Saturday.

There is no gate charge for the games, and concessions will be available at the complex. Following play Saturday, there will be an awards ceremony, ice cream social and fireworks.

The schedule for the 6-under softball tournament is as follows:

Friday — Opp vs. Altamonte Springs, Fla., 5 p.m. at the Coca-Cola Field; South Alabama (Andalusia) vs. Covington County, 5 p.m. at the PowerSouth Field; Florida vs. South Alabama, 7 p.m. at the PowerSouth Field

Saturday — Florida vs. Covington County, 5 p.m. at the Winn-Dixie Field; Opp vs. South Alabama, 5 p.m. at the PowerSouth Field; Covington County vs. Opp, 7 p.m. at the PowerSouth Field.