Wheeling to host national softball tourney
The Amateur Softball Association will hold its men's Class A 16-inch national slow pitch championship tournament at Wheeling's Heritage Park beginning Friday.
The draw for the 32-team tournament will be held Thursday evening with the first games scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday at the newly renovated park, which features four lighted fields - all with synthetic turf fields.
The championship game is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, with Labor Day as a rain day.
The majority of the teams competing will be from Iowa and the Chicago area, according to ASA Chicago Metro commissioner Tom O'Neill. The format is double elimination and a 22-member All-America team will be chosen.
"These are 32 of the best slow pitch teams in the country," O'Neill said. "There is no admission charge and we hope a lot of people will come out to see what promises to be great competition."
O'Neill said one of the top teams in the Northwest suburbs, Punch from Mount Prospect, could contend for the championship. He also said Young Guns from the Chicago Washington Park area and Crush from Cicero are top teams competing in the tournament.
Heritage Park is located at 222 S. Wolf Road in Wheeling.
For further information, call (708) 906-0351.