From today’s Fall River Herald News:
FALL RIVERThe inaugural Lizzie Borden Softball Classic will take part at Durfee High School this weekend as Fall River plays host to its first-ever summer girls’ softball tournament.
Five teams, the Somerset Cyclones, Walpole Rebels, R.I. Thunder, Connecticut Challengers and Braintree Blue Diamonds, will take part in the three-day, Under-16 tourney.
“It’s the first softball tournament Fall River has ever hosted,” said tournament director John Ferreira, who is also the Durfee High School softball coach. “A lot of people are surprised to hear that. We’re hoping to get it off the ground this year. We’re trying to have people see what tournament play is like without them having to travel.
“I’m trying to bring something into Fall River. I’ve hosted tournaments in Somerset for 10, 12, 14 year olds. Nobody has ever taken the bull by the horns in Fall River, so I’m trying to get it going.”
The tourney will open with one game Friday night between Somerset and Walpole at 6 p.m., and Saturday will feature games beginning at 10 a.m. and ending with a 4 p.m. doubleheader (the Durfee jayvee field will also be in use for the tourney).
The Friday and Saturday games will be used for seeding purposes and Sunday will be a single-elimination event with one game beginning at 8 a.m., followed by a doubleheader at 10 and the championship game taking place at noon.
The tourney is hoping to serve two purposes.
“It’s a shame there’s no program for softball in Fall River – no feeder system,” Ferreira said. “PAL doesn’t do travel anymore. At Durfee, I had 43 freshmen sign up for softball and I’m lucky if three or four have played before. There’s not enough out there in Fall River to entice them to play.”
The tournament will also be a fund-raiser to help offset some of the cost of sending the Mass Titans, an under-18 team out of Fall River, to the Nationals in Virginia Beach in August.
“There’s no admission, but we’ll be having hot dogs, burgers on the grill,” Ferreira said. “We’ll also be selling drinks, t-shirts.”
Next year, Ferreira is hoping to host this same tournament, but include that Under-18 division, using other area schools as tourney sites.
