The weather couldn’t have been any better for the opening day of the USSSA A-B State Tournament on Friday.
Fans commenced to Columbus to see some of the top youth fast-pitch softball teams in the state all weekend, with the ages ranging from 10-and-under to 18-and-under. The tournament runs through Sunday.
It is the friendly atmosphere and competition among the teams that makes this event fun to enjoy every year.
“With our organization, Demand Command, we’re always looking for developing these girls. We’re looking to challenge them,” Demand Command 16U coach David George said. “Wins and losses are great. Nobody was more competitive than myself and these girls and being able to play high-caliber competition. Being so lucky to have an organization like USSSA to bring together this kind of talent together, it is going to be a fun weekend for all of us.”
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Indiana Hustle 16U coach Scott Bottoms says it is a great experience for the kids.
“These girls are still young. Most of them are 15 and still have at least three years of travel ball left,” Bottoms said. “We see some of the girls in the fall, but you don’t see how well they are because they start high school softball in January or February to do conditioning. So you’ll see the girls get better during the summer. The team we played today (02 Indiana Astros), we played them in the fall and both teams were sloppy, but you can see a big difference today in the way they played.”
Seven of the nine Columbus- or-Hope-based teams started play Friday with two other teams, Indiana Dreams-Foster and Indiana Hustle 18U in the 18-and-under A division, beginning play today.
On Friday, in the 16-and-under B Division, Indiana Nitro fell to Her-ricanes 6-5, Demand Command lost to Indy Edge 04 11-6 and Indiana Hustle fell to the 02 Indiana Astros 5-4.
In the 14-and-under B division, Southern Indiana Impact 05 lost to Indiana Intensity 12-5. In the 10-and-under B division, Demand Command 10U Mac won against Indiana Primetime 13-1.
Tournament play resumes at 8 a.m. today.
