Sun, Jul 05 2009
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Published July 17, 2008 01:28 am - There’s no place like home. At least that’s the thought for the seven local teams participating in the Ohio Jaguars ASA Summer Showcase in Jefferson this weekend. There’s no place like home Fastpitch tourney to begin Friday BOB ETTINGER Star Beacon There’s no place like home. At least that’s the thought for the seven local teams participating in the Ohio Jaguars ASA Summer Showcase in Jefferson this weekend.
“With the (Ohio Jaguars 18-and-under team), we have traveled a lot,” tournament director Scott Francis said. “It’s nice to stay close to home. The girls’ families and friends will be able to see them play, and it’s nice for the girls to have them there to cheer them on. “A lot of people from the county come out to watch and that’s nice to see. Softball has gained a lot of interest in recent years with the College World Series and the Olympics.” The tournament will feature 49 teams in five age groups from all over Ohio and Pennsylvania and some from as far away as Canada. “That’s a pretty good number of teams,” Francis said. “We had something like 60 teams two years ago and last year, we had around 30. Next year, we hope to have more. It’s a matter of building up from here. “(The building numbers) has a lot to do with us going back to ASA and then last year we got good. That got our name out there. When other teams see you’re a decent team, you start to get more teams because they know you want to play better teams.” The event will be held at the JAGS Complex, Havens Complex and Memorial Field starting Friday and continuing on through the championship games Sunday afternoon. “The people at JAGS and Havens have been great as far as accommodating us,” Francis said. “They like having us there. They don’t like those fields to just sit idle. They put a lot of work into those fields and they like people to get out and use them. They have a lot of pride in those complexes. They do a nice job keeping them up and they like that they get to show them off. “And, of course, we’re happy to come and use them, too.” The 10-, 12- and 14-and-unders will mainly play at the Havens Complex and the 16- and 18-and-unders will play at the JAGS Complex. Memorial Field will play to host to a mixture of all of the age groups. Each of the 49 teams will play three games in pool play on Friday and Saturday. They will also play at least one game on Sunday in the single-elimination championship tournament. The winner of each age group will receive a berth in the ASA Eastern Nationals in York, Pa. Area softball fans have more than just the local teams as a reason to make the trek to Jefferson this weekend. The quality of competition all the way up from the 10-and-under teams through the 18-and-unders is spectacular and provides for plenty of good softball. “(The fans) will able to watch some very good softball teams from all over Ohio,” Francis said. “There will be teams from the west side of Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Erie and even some teams from Canada. They’re going to see some very good softball teams. There are a lot of similarities between fastpitch and baseball. The advantage it has over baseball is it’s a faster-paced game.” Fans will be treated to seeing the best softball players from each area represented by the teams competing. 
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