With the Sports at the Beach complex closing its doors on softball, the Lower Sussex Little League and the Pyle Center in Roxana have agreed to pick up the slack and will host two national United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) softball tournaments and the final two rounds of the state tournament this spring and summer.
Coastal Point • FILE PHOTO
A past District III player is up to bat with a crowd full of spectators at Roxana’s Pyle Center.
The Sports at the Beach complex had hosted USSSA tournaments for the past six years, according to USSSA official Bill Dowell, and the decision to move the event to Roxana’s Pyle Center was relatively easy: their facilities are top-notch and they’ve proven they can handle the heat that goes along with hosting large events, such as the Senior League Softball Little League World Series.
According to Dowell, the Heat at the Beach (May 17-18), which is the first of the two national softball tournaments to be held at the Pyle Center this year, will draw about 50 teams from the Mid-Atlantic region. And the second tournament and largest USSSA tournament of the year, the Blast at the Beach (June 13-15), has historically drawn more than 100 teams. According to Dowell, that number could swell to the 140 range.
In addition to the Pyle Center, USSSA will also use utilize several other complexes in the surrounding area (Salisbury, Willards, Berlin Little League, Northside Park in Ocean City, Stephen Decatur High School and Showell Little League) to accommodate tournament play.
Of the fields at the Pyle Center, five of them will be used non-stop for the duration of the tournament, which means that Lower Sussex Little League stands to make a good deal of money through their concessions, which would go to defray some of $140,000 it takes to run the Lower Sussex Little League. Long-time Lower Sussex Little League council member and President Bruce Layton estimated a figure between $4,000 and 5,000 in concession sales per weekend was very possible and noted that it would go a long way for the Little League group.
“There’s a lot to it,” Layton breathed deeply. “You have to fertilize and seed the fields, painting and maintenance to be done, new equipment to be bought for the kids and umpires, and then there’s insurance for the kids and complex.”
And to achieve the league’s economic goals, Layton is calling on the local community for their support. Layton acknowledged that the planning that goes into events like these USSSA tournaments or the Senior League Softball World Series takes an immense toll and emphasized that responsibility doesn’t stop until the last car leaves the parking lot on the last day. Fortunately, for Layton and the rest of Lower Sussex’s Little League officials, they have a great supporting cast of volunteers from the community.
“The community has been great for us in the past,” Layton said. “It takes a lot of hands to run something like this and we couldn’t have achieved all that we have without them.”
Currently, Layton said, he needs volunteers to work in the concession booth and field maintenance teams, and he is also still looking for businesses to sponsor teams for the up-coming World Series games. Advertising space along the outfield walls is currently available.
As far as the final two rounds of the high school softball state tournament, the schedule is tentative, according to Kevin Charles, executive director of Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association.
“It depends on who the match-ups are,” Charles said. “If there are two upstate teams playing in the semi-finals, then the game will probably be played up north. But the championship game will definitely be played at the Pyle Center, and there’s a possibility that both games could be played there.”
Umpire-in-chief of the USSSA Eastern Shore Tony Defazio said he was fond of the Sports at the Beach complex but noted that there wouldn’t be any drop-off due to the hosting of the final two rounds in Roxana.
“Roxana stood right out at us,” Defazio said. “They’ve held the World Series there and handled it very well. Sports at the Beach was the best site I’d ever seen, but I think Roxana will be right there with them.”
Defazio mentioned that Shutte Park was considered for the honor of hosting the final two state championship softball games but was ruled out because it lacked running water.
The semi-final game will be held May 28, with the championship game following on May 31.
Lower Sussex Little League sign-ups for 2008 will be held at the Pyle Center starting Feb. 2 and for the very first time, will be available on-line (www.lowersussex.littleleague.org) until Feb. 29. Opening day will kick off at 8 a.m. on April 19.