By MARK MAYNARD - The Independent
ASHLAND — The Cliff Webb Memorial baseball tournament has taken several different directions this week.
Ashland Post 76 coach Paul Lewis has redone the schedule two or three times while trying to deal with the concert series of Summer Motion, which this year is in Central Park adjacent to Ernie Chattin Field.
“We got together and decided to try not to take any chances of cutting it too close,” Lews said of a baseball game being played when a concert is starting.
Two teams have dropped out of the original field, Lewis said, so the new format is round-robin.
The tournament started Thursday with two games at Boyd County High School.
There are actually two tournaments, one for junior teams and one for senior teams. Four games will be played in the park today starting at 9 a.m. with the last one going off at 3:30 p.m. Two late games at 6 and 8 p.m. will be played at Boyd County.
On Saturday and Sunday, all the action returns to the park. There are seven games on Saturday and six on Sunday.
“I do think it will be a good tournament,” Lewis said. “I’ve heard from a lot of college coaches after they got the revised schedule. There are some kids they’re definitely interested in.”
Two of those are Post 76 players Eric Craft and Josh Wilson, who remain unsigned.
“Everybody is wanting to know what game Josh is going to pitch and if Eric is going to be there,” Lewis said.
Wilson will be pitching against Gallipolis on Saturday night. Post 76 plays the 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. games.
The park curfew has been lifted for the tournament, Lewis said.
“This has just been a lot different for us with Summer Motion being in the park this year,” he said. “We’re all trying to work together on it.”
Lewis credited assistant coach Greg Martin with working out the final version of the schedule.
“I was just getting so frustrated with it, I gave it to Greg and asked him to take a look at it,” Lewis said. “He called me back with the final schedule.”
Webb tournament
Senior tournament (Ashland Post 76, Capital City Elite, Fairmont Post 17, Gallipolis Post 27, Pikeville Bombers)
Junior tournament (Ashland Athletics, Boyd County, Louisa, Huntington Hounds, Portsmouth Post 23, Paintsville).
Today
Central Park
Hounds vs. Paintsville, 9 a.m.; Athletics vs. Paintsville, 11 a.m.; Gallipolis vs. Fairmont, 1 p.m.; Gallipolis vs. Capital City, 3:30.
Boyd County
Boyd County vs. Portsmouth, 11 a.m.; Hounds vs. Portsmouth, 1 p.m.; Pikeville vs. Fairmont, 3:30 p.m.; Athletics vs. Louisa, 6 p.m.; Post 76 vs. Pikeville, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday
Central Park
Louisa vs. Hounds, 9 a.m.; Athletics vs. Portsmouth, 11 a.m.; Boyd County vs. Hounds, 1:30 p.m.; Capital City vs. Pikeville, 4 p.m.; Louisa vs. Paintsville, 6:30 p.m.; Post 76 vs. Gallipolis, 9 p.m.; Post 76 vs. Fairmont, 11 p.m.
Sunday
Central Park
Pikeville vs. Louisa, 9 a.m.; Boyd County vs. Louisa, 11:15 a.m.; Gallipolis vs. Pikeville, 1:30 p.m.; Fairmont vs. Capital City, 4 p.m.; Post 76 vs. Capital City, 6:30 p.m.; Athletics vs. Hounds, 9 p.m.
