The 39th annual Busch Softball Classic will have its largest field of teams this weekend.
Tournament director Clint Albright said there will be 180 teams from 15 states in the three-day event, which starts at 7 tonight and runs through Sunday.
At a glance
WHEN Today-Sunday
WHERE Sherwood Sports Complex, Burns Park (North Little Rock), Dupree Park (Jacksonville)
NOTEWORTHY EVENTS Home run derby, 8:30 p.m. today (at Sherwood Sports Complex); CARE Central Arkansas Rescue Effort for Animals adoption event, 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Saturday (at Sherwood Sports Complex)
DIVISIONS Men’s: Major, C, D, E; Women’s: Women’s Major, D
CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES All games are scheduled for Sunday (10:20 a.m., Women’s Major division; 11 a.m., Men’s Major division; 2:15 p.m., Men’s Class C division; 3 p.m., Men’s Class D division; 4:10 p.m., Men’s Class E division; 4:30 p.m., Women’s Class D division)
Games will be held at the Sherwood Sports Complex, Burns Park in North Little Rock and Dupree Park in Jacksonville.
There are six divisions in the tournament -- Men's Major, C, D and E, and the Women's Major and D divisions.
Over the history of the tournament, Albright and his staff have welcomed the Wounded Warriors softball team as well as having a battle of the sexes and battle of the ages competition.
"You have to keep it fresh," Albright said. "We try to be creative and give the tournament a talking point."
This year, the home run derby, which is in its 11th year at the Busch Classic, has been moved to 8:30 p.m., three hours from its typical 5:30 p.m. start time.
The home run derby is expected to last two hours and Albright said he expects at least 70 hitters to participate. Tonight's winner will have a hit-off competition with Cory Briggs, who plays for the Smash It Sports team and is considered one of the top home run hitters in USSSA softball.
"We decided to do it in prime time and make it a bigger event," Albright said. "We see on the social networks and the crowds that people still like that [the home run derby]. We said, 'Let's make it the center of attention this year.'"
Also, for the first time at the Busch Classic, there will be an adoption event. The CARE Central Arkansas Rescue Effort for Animals will be on site from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Saturday at the Sherwood Sports Complex, where fans can interact with dogs and possibly take one home.
The Busch Classic is one of 20 USSSA World Series qualifiers and provides a berth in the Women's World Series in Orlando, Fla.
Albright hopes for another successful Busch Classic, which has been taking place since 1980.
"It's a labor of love," Albright said. "We enjoy doing it."
Sports on 07/06/2018