By Myra Bean

J. P. Hudson Memorial Park was the setting last weekend for the North State Dizzy Dean fastpitch softball tournament.

Under the unrelenting sun and temperatures reaching close to 100 degrees with the heat index upward of 105 degrees, 38 teams battled for the top spot in six age groups.

The double elimination tournament started on Thursday afternoon and culminated in championship games Sunday afternoon.

Batesville had six teams in the tournament in five age groups. The 8 and under division had two Batesville teams but Batesville did not field a 16 and under team.

All Batesville teams won their first round but all lost second round games and dropped to the losers’ bracket. The Batesville 8 and under Bratz and the 14 and under Mississippi United were the only teams to make it to Sunday’s championship rounds.

The 14 and under placed third after falling to Houston 8-6. The Bratz came in second place and earned a trip to the World Series in Southaven in two weeks with a 20-9 win over Southaven and a 10-4 loss to Hernando in the championship game.

Baseball

The All-Star baseball teams were in Horn Lake and Grenada for state championships.

The 10-year-old Batesville Bandits remained undefeated through the weekend and played for their second straight championship Monday afternoon in Grenada.

The 8-year-old Batesville All-Stars dropped to the losers’ bracket in Winona and in an elimination game Sunday, lost to Grenada by two runs. They ended the tournament in fourth place. Next weekend the 8-year-olds will play in a tournament at Horn Lake and in two weeks in the World Series at Snowden Grove in Southaven.

The 12-year-olds played in the state tournament at Horn Lake and Monday morning lost their final game for third place overall in the tournament.

Last year, J. P. Hudson hosted the softball games and part of the baseball but this year did not put in a big enough bid to get any of the baseball games.

Board president David Aven said they have some plans in place to help them secure a bid next year.
“It is an economic boost for us to host this tournament,” Aven said.