Blue Jacket Park to host end-of-summer baseball tournament
It was not quite what was hoped for, but the area’s high school baseball players were able to get some action in this summer. And they will cap it off with a three-day tournament beginning Wednesday at Blue Jacket Park in Bellefontaine.
Bellefontaine, Benjamin Logan and Indian Lake were able to put together abbreviated summer schedules after the high school spring and Acme seasons were canceled because of coronavirus concerns.
“Overall, I’ve been pleased with what we were able to accomplish,” said Bellefontaine head baseball coach Mark Brunswick. “We went from possibly having nothing to being able to put a few weeks of games together. The crowds have been great and the support from the community has been really good. It’s been fun to see kids from not only Bellefontaine but from the surrounding communities as well being back out there playing baseball.”
The Comstock-Smith Memorial tournament will be a single-elimination format event which runs through Friday night. It will feature six teams. Along with Bellefontaine, Ben Logan and Indian Lake, the field includes Southeastern, Mechanicsburg and Springfield Shawnee.
“With the Acme season being canceled, we thought it would be fun to throw together a little tournament to provide another opportunity to get the local communities involved,” said Brunswick.
The tournament is named in honor of the families of Craig Comstock and Robbie and Wyatt Smith.
Comstock, an officer with the Bellefontaine Police Department, passed away unexpectedly in April. His son Cole is a member of the BHS baseball team.
Brothers Robbie and Wyatt Smith, students and athletes at Ben Logan, were killed in a car crash in November.
“Those families are a big part of our local baseball community and this is a way to reach out to them and honor the memories of the loved ones they lost,” said Brunswick.
The tournament begins with Ben Logan battling Southeastern at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Mechanicsburg will match up with Springfield Shawnee in the nightcap at 8:30 p.m.
Bellefontaine will then host the Ben Logan-Southeastern winner at 6 p.m. Thursday, with Indian Lake facing off against the Mechanicsburg-Shawnee winner at 8:30 p.m.
The championship game is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday.