Knock on wood

The ping of a metal bat will be replaced with the crack of “Old Hickory” this weekend for some Eufaula-area baseball players.

Several of the city’s top baseball players are taking part in wooden bat tournaments in Eufaula and Dothan. Fifteen and 16-year-old players will take part in the Dixie Pre Majors Future Stars Tournament at Old Creek Town Park. Thirteen and 14-year-old youth will take part in a similar tournament in Dothan.

“For the majority of these players, it’s the first time they’ve played with a wooden bat,” Eufaula Parks and Recreation director Keef Pettis said. “It’s something new.”

Most baseball players use metal bats from tee ball all the way to college baseball. Wooden bats are used in professional baseball.

The Eufaula tournament, which is in its second year, will begin tonight (Friday) with a dinner for the players and then a home run derby that is open the the public. It will begin at approximately 7 p.m. on the old side of Old Creek Town Park.

“Last year they had a blast,” Pettis said of the youth participating in the home run derby. “We had it on the new side (of Old Creek Town Park) and they hit them in the trees. I bet they lost 10 dozen balls.”

Tournament games will begin tomorrow morning. There will be games at 10 a.m., 1p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. There will also be tournament games Sunday at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m.

Pettis said there will be players competing from North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and central Florida, along with those from Alabama and the Bluff City. There is no cost to attend the home run derby or any of the tournament games.

Local 15 and 16-year-old players participating include: Ben Holloway, Dakota Hudson, Weston Jones, Sam Waters, C.J. Upshaw. Jeffrey Thornton and Joseph Bowick. Felix Galloway of Eufaula will coach the team that includes the local players.

Local 13 and 14-year-olds playing in Dothan include: Kyle Morris, Zack Dismukes, Nick Shelley and Drew Spivey.

Keith Spivey is the coach for the South team which plays at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday. The championship game will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

All star schedule

Old Creek Town Park will be busy for the next several weeks as three Dixie tournaments are planned for the Bluff City.

The Dixie Angels (ages 9-10) sub-district softball tournament will begin Friday, June 25. The tournament will last several days and include teams from the Wiregrass. The top team will earn a berth in the district tournament one week later in Dothan, and will have a chance to reach the state tournament which begins July 16 in Enterprise.

The Junior Dixie Boys (age 13) and Dixie Boys (ages 14) district tournaments will be held at Old Creek Town Park beginning July 5. There will be 10 to 15 teams participating in the tournaments, including a pair of teams from Eufaula.

However, the tournament that will likely generate the most local buzz is the O-Zone state baseball tournament (ages 11-12) which begins July 16 with an opening ceremony. Tournament games begin July 17.

The tournament will feature 12 teams from across the state, including a team from Eufaula. The winning team will earn a berth in the World Series.

The schedules for other teams include:

n Dixie Darlings (ages 7-8): sub-district, June 25, TBA; district, July 1, Dothan; state, July 16, Enterprise

n Dixie Ponytails (ages 11-12): sub-district, June 25, Troy; district, July 1, Dothan; state, July 16, Enterprise

* Dixie Belles (ages 13-15): district, June 25, Abbeville; district, July 1, Dothan; state, July 16, Midland City

* Coach pitch (ages 6-7): district, June 25, Troy

* Instructional (age 8): district, June 25, Brundidge; state, July 9, Enterprise

* Dixie Minor (ages 9-10): sub-district, June 25, Enterprise; district, July 9 (tentative), Troy; state, July 24, Troy

* Dixie Youth Rookie (age 11): district, June 25, TBA

More information on the tournaments will appear in an upcoming edition of The Tribune.