Six AAA American Legion teams will be battling for one title as the Zone 2 Tournament begins today at the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex.
The host Blytheville ANC Casons (15-11 overall, 8-2 Zone), who won the regular season Zone championship, own the top seed coming into the tournament, thanks mostly to their sizzling start to the summer, when they won seven of their first nine.
Coach Blake Burnside's Casons will play the winner of fourth-seeded Mountain Home and No. 5 Fat City at 8 tonight, looking to snap a five-game losing streak. The first pitch of the Mountain Home-Fat City game is scheduled for 2 p.m. today.
Second-seeded Paragould will take on the winner of No. 3 Jonesboro Ricemen and No. 6 Batesville, who opened today's action at 11 a.m. Paragould's game begins at 5 p.m. today.
The double-eliminiation tournament will continue Friday, Saturday and possibly Sunday. The championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, but if it is the loser's first loss then the two teams will play again at 5 p.m. Sunday in the if necessary game.
Blytheville has had one of its best summers since re-establishing the program in 2001, when they played at the old Walker Park. The following year, in 2002, the club began playing at then brand new Blytheville Youth Sportsplex. Though they've had some solid seasons previously, this is the first year that the AAA Casons have won the Zone championship since restarting the program.
The former A Legion team, Blytheville Marine Terminal, won the state championship in 2005. BMT routed North Little Rock, 10-0, with MVP Jeremy Slaughter picking up his third win of the touranment that day. The team -- 30-10 that summer -- was coached by John Charles Rose and Joel Huffman, both former Blytheville Chickasaw stars. The state championship was Blytheville's only on the A Legion level and the first Legion championship since 1979. BMT was state runner-up in 2002. (Blytheville no longer fields a junior Legion team.)
The 2013 AAA Casons will try to make a state tournament appearance themselves by being one of the top two finishers in the tournament.
Blytheville is hosting the AAA Zone 2 tournament for just the second time since restarting the program. Fans are encouraged to come out to the ballpark.
Admission is $5 per game.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com