Daily Sitka Sentinel

Play (Mud)Ball! 30 Teams, Rain Lined Up

By TOM HESSE
Sentinel Staff Writer
    It’s Mudball time in Sitka, and 90 softball games will be packed into the Labor Day weekend tournament.

    The 38th annual event kicked off Thursday night with the beginning of round robin play. More than 30 teams signed up for this year’s classic, with 14 of them coming from outside of Sitka. That’s a better than average showing for visiting teams, tournament organizer Dallas Peavey said.
    “I’m just glad we have 14 out-of-town teams. We average anywhere from 8 to 12, on a yearly basis, and it’s just nice to have the out-of-town teams come,” Peavey said. “And they even help our economy a little, for the weekend. You figure a team is 12-15 people per team and they all have to have someplace to stay and eat.”
    For the second year Sitka will have the all-turf Moller Park available for the tournament. The field stays dry, but Peavey said action at the dirt fields in the Kimsham complex, along with this weekend’s rainy forecast, should provide enough of a mess that the tournament won’t need a name change.
    “Kimsham will be going all weekend, too, so we’ll have plenty of mud. I’d rather it be nice, but what are you going to do,” Peavey said.
    The weather forecast calls for rain to continue throughout the weekend.
    The 33 teams are split into six different divisions. They’ll all start with round robin play where their records will determine seeding for the bracket round of the tournament.
    “It’s going to be a busy weekend, that’s for sure,” Peavey said.
    Information on the divisions and game times is included below.
    Men’s Division I
    The men’s division I includes six teams with four from Sitka and one representative team each from Juneau and Ketchikan. The round robin pool play starts Saturday to determine the seeding for the bracket round. The top team from both pools will get a bye into game three. Game one will be played between the second seed from pool B and the third seed from pool. Game two will be the second seed from pool A and the third seed from pool B.
    Pool A includes F/V Carole D and Devil’s Club from Sitka and First City Softball from Ketchikan. Pool B is made up of Sitka Islanders and House of Liquor as well as Latitude 58 Real Estate from Juneau. Men’s division games will be played at the Kimsham complex. Kimsham field three is the lower large field and Kimsham 1 is the upper large field.
    Saturday
Game 1: Kimsham 3, 5 p.m.
Game 2: Kimsham 3, 6 p.m.
    Sunday
Game 3: Kimsham 1, 1 p.m.
Game 4: Kimsham 3, 1 p.m.
Game 5: Kimsham 3, 2 p.m.
Game 6: Kimsham 1, 2 p.m.
Game 7: Kimsham 3, 3 p.m.
Game 8: Kimsham 3, 4 p.m.
Game 9: Kimsham 3, 5 p.m.
    Women’s Division I
    The women’s division I tournament features one pool for round robin play. Three of the five teams competing are from Sitka while the other two made a trip over from Juneau.
    The top three teams from pool play earn a bye. The bottom two teams open game one for the chance to play the number one overall seed. The Grind and Willie’s Tough Cookies are visiting from Juneau while the 907 Bawlers, House of Liquor and The Cellar are representing Sitka in their home tournament. Their games will be played at the lower, small Kimsham field.
    Saturday
Game 1: Kimsham 4, 6 p.m.
    Sunday
Game 2: Kimsham 4, 1 p.m.
Game 3: Kimsham 3, 2 p.m.
Game 4: Kimsham 4, 3 p.m.
Game 5: Kimsham 4, 4 p.m.
Game 6: Kimsham 4, 5 p.m.
Game 7: Kimsham 4, 6 p.m.
    Coed Division I
    Six teams are signed up for the division I coed tournament. Pool A includes Sitka teams Ernie’s, El Tiburon and from Juneau, Devil’s Hideaway. Pool B is made up of Gaurdian Flight and E.L.I., from Sitka, and Nizich Dental from Juneau.
    The bracket part of the tournament starts early Saturday Morning with the second seed from pool B playing the third seed from Pool A. The inverse matchup starts game 2 and the winners of those games will take on one of the top seeds from pool play. The coed division will settle their championship game on Sunday at 9 p.m. at Moller Park.
    Saturday
Game 1: Moller Park, 10:30 a.m.
Game 2: Moller Park, 11:30 a.m.
Game 3: Moller Park, 8 p.m. 
Game 4: Moller Park, 9 p.m.
    Sunday
Game 5: Moller Park, 7:30 a.m.
Game 6: Moller Park, 8:30 a.m.
Game 7: Moller Park, 9:30 a.m.
Game 8: Moller Park, 10:30 a.m.
Game 9: Moller Park, 11:30 a.m.
Game 10: Moller Park, 9 p.m.
    Men’s Division II
    Only three of the half-dozen teams in the men’s division II bracket are from Sitka this year. Halibut Point Marine is the only Sitka team in pool A against the Prince of Wales Bombers and the Rounders from Juneau. Pool B includes Sitka’s E.L.I. and Ernie’s in addition to T&H Bad News Bears from Juneau.
    The pool play will setup the bracket round in the same way as the division 1 men and coed brackets with bracket play starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The division II men will play all of their bracket round at Moller Park except for the championship game.
    Saturday
Game 1: Moller Park, 5 p.m.
Game 2: Moller Park, 6 p.m.
    Sunday
Game 3: Moller Park, 1 p.m.
Game 4: Moller Park, 2 p.m.
Game 5: Moller Park, 4 p.m.
Game 6: Moller Park, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Moller Park, 5 p.m.
Game 8: Moller Park, 6 p.m.
Game 9: Moller Park, 7 p.m.
    Women’s Division II
    Sitka based teams Ernie’s and Ice Cold Pitchers join Juneau’s Latitude 58 Real Estate as the only teams in the Women’s Division II bracket.
     The small group will play all of their round robin games on Saturday and play their bracket out on Sunday. The top team from pool play earns a bye in the first round.
    Sunday
Game 1: Kimsham 1, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Kimsham 1, 4 p.m.
Game 3: Kimsham 1, 5 p.m.
    Coed Division II
    The largest tournament is the coed Division II group with eight teams competing. Half of those teams – G.A.P., Good Guys, That Team and Sitka Dental Clinic – are from Sitka while Off the Cuff, Team Blackout and Louie’s Douglass Inn are Juneau-based. First City Softball from Ketchikan rounds out the group.
    The teams will play their games between Moller Park, the upper large Kimsham field (Kimsham 1) and the lower large field at Kimsham (Kimsham 3).
    No teams earn byes in this bracket which starts elimination play Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The championship game will be played Sunday evening at Moller Park.
    Saturday
Game 1: Kimsham 1, 10:30 a.m.
Game 2: Kimsham 1, 11:30 a.m.
Game 3: Kimsham 3, 10:30 a.m.
Game 4: Kimsham 3, 11:30 a.m.
    Sunday
Game 5: Kimsham 1, 7:30 a.m.
Game 6: Kimsham 3, 7:30 a.m.
Game 7: Kimsham 3, 8:30 a.m.
Game 8: Kimsham 1, 8:30 a.m.
Game 9: Kimsham 3, 9:30 a.m.
Game 10: Kimsham 1, 9:30 a.m.
Game 11: Kimsham 3, 10:30 a.m.
Game 12: Kimsham 1, 10:30 a.m.
Game 13: Kimsham 3, 11:30 a.m.
Game 14: Moller Park, 8 p.m.

    Championship Monday
    Four championship games will be settled on Monday with all of them to be played at the Kimsham complex.
Men’s Division I: Kimsham 3, 9 a.m.
Women’s Division I: Kimsham 4, 9 a.m.
Men’s Division II: Kimsham 3, 8 a.m.
Women’s Division II: Kimsham 4, 8 a.m.