Baseball diamonds and softball fields across Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Foley are gearing up to host thousands of young athletes and their families this summer as several major youth tournaments return to the coast for what organizers are calling a normal, full-scale season.
The Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Sports & Events group is preparing to welcome more than 1,000 baseball teams for the Perfect Game Gulf Coast World Series and roughly 500 softball teams for the USSSA Fastpitch National Championship between June and August. The scale of the events is expected to translate into a significant boost for local hotels, restaurants and shops as teams, coaches and extended families travel in from across the country to compete.
Organizers say the return to a full tournament calendar carries extra significance after the disruptions of 2020, when the region was forced to navigate both the COVID-19 pandemic and a damaging hurricane. Officials with the sports and events group describe this year’s slate as a chance to once again showcase the area’s beaches and sports complexes to thousands of visiting families.
The Perfect Game Gulf Coast World Series, previously known as the USSSA Global Sports World Series, is spread across eight separate tournament windows at sports complexes in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Foley. With a couple of series already completed, remaining dates run June 22-26, June 29 through July 3, July 6-10, July 14-18, July 21-25, and July 28 through August 1.
On the softball side, the USSSA Fastpitch Recreation Series is scheduled for July 8-10 and will include six different age divisions. That event leads directly into the USSSA Fastpitch National Championships, which run July 11-17 with five age divisions and July 18-24 with 12 age divisions, all held at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex.
The Wharf, the shopping, dining and entertainment complex along Canal Road, is once again serving as the site for the tournaments’ opening ceremonies. The venue’s nightly summer entertainment lineup gives visiting teams and families additional options for evenings off the field.
Youth sports are only part of the busy summer calendar tied to the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Sports & Events group. Additional events include the Gulf Coast Region Beach Volleyball Series Grand Championships on July 10-11, the Dream All-American Series for soccer, baseball and softball athletes on August 6-7, and Alabama’s Strongest Man competition on August 14.
Meanwhile, Mobile County is hosting its own share of youth baseball action this summer. The 8-and-under Alabama State Tournament is scheduled for June 25-29 at the Theodore Sports Complex, with an opening ceremony set for 9 a.m. that Friday followed immediately by the first game. The 10-and-under Alabama State Tournament runs the same week, June 25-29, at Semmes Community Park, also opening at 9 a.m. Friday with first pitch at 10 a.m.
The 14-and-under Alabama Invitational Tournament is set for June 24-29 at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, marking the first time that particular tournament has been held in Mobile County.
Later in the summer, regional Babe Ruth tournaments will bring even more traveling teams to the area. The Babe Ruth 10-and-under Southwest Regional Tournament is scheduled for July 16-20 at Westside Park in Mobile, drawing teams from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The 12-and-under Southwest Regional Tournament runs the same dates at Union AA Ballpark in Grand Bay, with overflow games possibly played at Amelia Park in Saraland, and will feature champions from the same seven states.
The summer schedule culminates August 1-7 with the Babe Ruth Baseball World Series for the 16-to-18 age bracket, doubling as the Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken world youth baseball tournament. Nine teams from across the country will compete at Hank Aaron Stadium. The event was last played locally at the University of Mobile in 2019 before being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
In other state government news, Governor Kay Ivey has appointed Kevin Savoy, a Mobile native who now lives in Dothan, to the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board. Savoy fills the seat vacated by Patrick Cagle of Montgomery, whose six-year term had expired.
Savoy, a 1991 Auburn University graduate, currently serves as vice president of Great Southern Wood Preserving and Greenbush Logistics. He said the appointment was an honor and pointed to Alabama’s natural resources as a reason to take the role seriously, noting he looks forward to working alongside fellow board members to strengthen conservation efforts statewide.
Ivey also reappointed four sitting board members to new terms: Gary Wolfe of Fairhope, Joseph Dobbs Jr. of Birmingham, Brock Jones of Tuscaloosa and Grady Hartzog of Eufaula.
The Conservation Advisory Board plays a key role in shaping policy for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, reviewing all of the department’s rules and regulations. With a two-thirds vote of members present and the governor’s approval, the board can amend, change or repeal existing rules, or create new ones. The board also helps publicize the department’s programs and activities to the public.