Fun in the sun

Published 12:00 am Saturday, June 30, 2001

Sixteen teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin and even our neighbors to the North – Canada – began play in the 23rd Annual Austin International Youth Baseball Tournament Friday morning with one simple theme in mind: to have fun.

Saturday, June 30, 2001

Sixteen teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin and even our neighbors to the North – Canada – began play in the 23rd Annual Austin International Youth Baseball Tournament Friday morning with one simple theme in mind: to have fun.

Email newsletter signup

But that won’t stop teams from trying to win just the same. The first four games of the day, all of which began at 11:30 a.m. at Todd Park’s North Complex in Austin, were decided by three runs or less.

Baseball – win or lose – is fun, and it showed through during the first day of the annual tournament.

Four hours after losing to Current River, one of four Canadien teams in the tournament, Austin Jaycees players invited friends of theirs from the Current River squad to join them in the dugout for the final inning of play. Austin was again defeated, this time by Lomira, Wisc., but the idea behind the tournament made its mark.

And how fitting was it that Austin’s first game – against the Canadien Current River squad – went into extra innings, where the teams extended gameplay under "international rules."

The only girl player in the entire tournament also played for Current River. Jolene Slobojan was a catcher and pitcher for the Canadien team, bringing a new interpretation of "international" into the field of play.

But win, lose or draw, the first day of the tournament succeeded in its goal to keep the spirit of the game alive for those who count the most – the kids.

Local All-Stars

The Austin Jaycees squad got out to a rough start on Friday, struggling to an 0-2 mark with a pair of two-run losses. Current River, Canada, posted a 10-8 decision in the tourney opener, and Lomira, Wisc., stole a 3-1 win behind its unrelenting defense.

No doubt that Austin’s 12-and-under baseball squad gave its best in both games. In their final at-bat in each game, Austin had the tying or winning runners on base or at the plate to afford themselves a shot at the win.

But baseball is baseball, and sometimes the bounces don’t go your way.

Call Ross Thede at 434-2234 or e-mail him at sports@austindailyherald.com.