By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The second annual Arkansas South Cal Ripken Pitching Machine State Tournament begins Friday at Sherwood.
Kevin McReynolds Sports Complex will host the tournament for 7-8-year-old teams from across the state.
Last year 34 teams made up the double elimination style bracket. That number has grown this year.
Bob Pennington, long-time coach in the Sylvan Hills youth baseball program said the tournament is "one of a kind."
"I have been told it was the first in all of Babe Ruth Baseball..." Pennington said. "I had to make a presentation on it at the regional meeting last October."
Rusty Trail, who coached the Taylor-Casbeer Minor League team this summer in the Forrest City youth baseball program, takes the Forrest City APAC/Travelers into the Sherwood tourney while Rob Johnson is taking the Forrest City All-Stars into the action. Johnson coached the Dr. Beasley team in the Forrest City Minor League this past year.
The Travelers are coming off a second-place finish in the Searcy Invitational Tournament played last weekend.
The Travelers lost to Jonesboro 10-8 in Monday's championship game after losing their first game of the tourney and working their way back through the loser's bracket to get to the finals.
Both teams are slated to play Friday evening in first-round games. The tournament will run through the weekend.
Sherwood will also be the site for several girls' state softball tournaments, also beginning Friday.
The men's and women's adult softball leagues will be in action tonight at the Sports Complex.
The men are still in the regular season portion of their schedule while the women are playing rain out games.
Poison leads the men's league while the Odd Sox are in first place in the women's league.