By Adam Bouton, Midland Daily News
Cap tip Kyle Beane
Preparations are nearing completion as Midland prepares to host the 2012 International Softball Congress Men’s Fast Pitch World Tournament for the second time.
The tournament begins next weekend.
“Everything seems to be on track,” said Kyle Beane, co-chairman of the ISC committee. “We’re wrapping up some of the details. Everyone has done a great job of getting it ready. The fields are in great shape. That’s a huge part of it.”
Opening games for the ISC World Tournament are set for Saturday, Aug. 11. The official opening ceremonies for the tournament are Sunday, Aug. 12. All of the championship games are scheduled to be held the following Saturday, Aug. 18 at Emerson Park.
Beane said that a total of 71 teams are set to participate, which are about 10 more than when Midland held the ISC World Tournament in 2010. There are 47 teams involved in the world tournament, 14 teams competing in the 21-and-under tournament and 10 teams participating in the legend’s (50-and-over) tournament. There should be over 180 games played throughout the eight-day tournament.
Games are being played at three fields at Emerson Park and two fields at the Redcoat softball complex. The softball diamonds have been careful maintained and readied to handle the busy, week-long schedule of the ISC World Tournament.
“We redid the batter boxes and pitcher’s mounds with clay bricks,” Beane said. “It’s the same stuff they use at Dow Diamond for the Loons and other ballparks. We did it so that they would hold up for the week. The grounds crew and Midland Parks and Recreation have been getting the fields ready. It looks really good.”
Other featured events that are set to take place during the ISC World Tournament are a girl’s softball clinic, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11 at Currie Stadium. The free clinic, presented by the Gillis International Fastpitch Institute, features the University of Missouri softball head coach Ehren Earleywine as the guest speaker. There will also be an exhibition Special Olympics softball game at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15 at Currie Stadium.
With games set to start in roughly one week, Beane added that there’s always a need for more volunteers. More than 200 volunteers are expected to help throughout the ISC World Tournament.
“We could use scorekeepers, announcers and people for program sales,” he said. “Normally, what we do, if (people) are interested, we schedule a time and see if there’s openings. Normally, it’s a four-hour block of time.”
Interested volunteers may contact Kyle Beane at kbeane8@yahoo.com or 810-813-5178.
Beane said that planning to bring the ISC World Tournament back to Midland took months of planning.
“We finished the last tournament in August 2010 and I think probably in February 2011 we agreed to do it again,” Beane said. “It’s been a year and a half of getting (this tournament) ready. We have a great committee.”
Organizers have said that the tournament should generate more than $2 million into the local economy.
For more information including information on ticket prices, visit www.midland2012isc.com and for live updates during the tournament, visit www.iscfastpitch.com.