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Louisville’s run to Men’s College World Series in part due to Black baseball pipeline — Andscape

OMAHA, Neb. — Not all double plays are turned equally. When the Louisville Cardinals’ battery adroitly pulled off a successful 1-2-3 double play in the top of the sixth inning at Jim Patterson Stadium last week, complete with a fantastic stretch at first base to snuff out a bases-loaded situation and end the frame while […]

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OMAHA, Neb. — Not all double plays are turned equally.

When the Louisville Cardinals’ battery adroitly pulled off a successful 1-2-3 double play in the top of the sixth inning at Jim Patterson Stadium last week, complete with a fantastic stretch at first base to snuff out a bases-loaded situation and end the frame while keeping the score tied — whew — you felt it.

From there, they could smell Omaha and the Men’s College World Series.

If things like team yearbook reels were still a thing, there’s an argument that play could open the entire table of contents. It was bang, bang – it mattered and the crowd went nuts. Even the first umpire delivered a punchie for the ages. That’s the kind of special moment you almost have to have on a team to believe you’ve got a chance to win the whole thing.

But the man who put the Cards ahead, on a useful looper over the shortstop’s head that got just under the center fielder’s glove, was none other than Eddie King Jr. — a name that you might not know you remember.

“It was the first time I ever really signed autographs. And, you know, people kept coming up to me asking for pictures. I felt like a celebrity,” King said this week, describing his first brush with the spotlight in baseball, long before he became a household name in Atlantic Coast Conference baseball circles. “That was a really cool experience. Not too many people will ever get to do something like that. Then we met the president, too. So, yeah, that was also really cool for us.”

What many people look back on as an awful injustice that highlighted the fundamentally unfair nature of youth sports as it relates to participation, sportsmanship and the American Way, the senior sports administration major reflects on his younger diamond days with reverence.

King was the youngest player on the Jackie Robinson West team that was stripped of all its accomplishments as U.S. Champions at the 2014 Little League World Series after a rival coach started investigating the boundary limits of the league and its players, who were ultimately found to be ineligible. It was one of those cruel reminders that not only will some people do everything to make sure that some kids don’t succeed, but also that matters as trite as what addresses we hold can determine success.

King still wears No. 42 to this day. He was named Super Regional MVP, going 6-for-10 with two home runs, four RBIs, two doubles and a walk, while playing two outfield positions and designated hitter. The trophies haven’t taken the memories from him.

“We shared the dorm with the Australians [in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series]. That was fun, just being around them and seeing how they are,” King said. “That was also a really fun time. So now it’s like, I have a bunch of brothers that I know now from that [Jackie Robinson West] team.”

At the collegiate level, it’s easy to look at most talent as existing in the binary of either “raw” or “pro-ready,” but many around the program have seen firsthand how King has gone from the former to the latter right before their eyes.

Louisville Cardinals outfielder Eddie King Jr. (right) against the Clemson Tigers on April 19 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C.

John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“He is the most humble and at-ease superstar. He will sign your autographs. He’ll smile occasionally. He’s never too high, he’s never too low. But he’s also a guy at the plate that I think is our most astute hitter,” Sean Moth, play-by-play voice of the Cardinals for more than two decades, said Thursday at their workout day.

“He will see a change-up, maybe have a bad swing and miss, and it may not be that at-bat that he’ll turn it around and put it down the left-field line for a base hit. But later in the game, if he faces that same pitcher, he files it away. And he’s got a very cerebral approach to the game.”

There was a time when King’s future at Louisville was genuinely uncertain. Time, injury and circumstance nearly cost him his chance, but after a freshman year in which he literally did not play, he’s going from the Little League World Series to the College World Series with 6,000 people in the home crowd chanting his name all along the way.

“I sat him down in my office, just being real. Like, I don’t want to pat kids on the back and act like everything’s gonna be OK,” Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell said of that encounter with King years back. “I said, ‘Eddie, I honestly don’t know if you can play here, like I didn’t get to see anything your freshman year. I’m losing two senior outfielders. I need a centerfielder, and we projected you as a centerfielder. But man, [you’re] a guy that hasn’t played all year.’

“So I said, ‘Here’s what we need to do. You need to go out this summer and you need to show us. If you go out this summer, and you can’t play, how can you come back to Louisville, right?’ And what I love about it was, he didn’t act like a baby, no entitlement. It was like right out of the chute, ‘I gotta earn it.’ And I give Eddie a lot of credit, because he went out, he was the MVP of the Prospect League.”

While King is a standout talent, he didn’t just come out of nowhere. It wasn’t happenstance that a Chicago kid ended up at Louisville. Coach Mac, as he’s known, has had a pipeline from Chicago for more than a decade. Coincidentally, it all started for the most part right there with a family member of Eddie’s: his older cousin, former Louisville outfielder Corey Ray.

“I didn’t know that I was related to Eddie until he committed to Louisville. My grandmother, who knows everyone, told me. She says, ‘Hey, you have a cousin that just committed to play baseball at Louisville,’ ” Ray said, with the quizzical tone you get when a relative drops some lore on you that you could have never imagined. “So naturally, he became one of my favorites.”

Ray, who was drafted twice in his amateur career, was one of the first players who made folks sit up and notice what was happening with this link between Chicago and Louisville. He started 19 games as a freshman and every game as a sophomore. That first year, the Cardinals went to Omaha. An incredible blur on the field, Ray was a must-see player in college baseball.

“We had had this pipeline going in Chicago, but Corey was a big name. And I think he knew what type of program we were, very aggressive on the bases, very aggressive, offensively fun. Fun type of system to be in,” McDonnell said. “I tell this story a lot to kids in our program. I said, ‘Players, what you got to understand is we’re not changing for you. You have to change and make the adjustment, and not for us, per se, but for the game of baseball. We’ve been doing this a long time, so you got to be able to adapt.’ Corey was one of those. He just didn’t look like he was making the adjustment, not being stubborn, but just mechanically. He was so athletic and so talented.

“He was low maintenance. Wasn’t any drama. Punched the clock every day. His first start, [we] were, like, 40 games in, and I finally said, ‘I gotta give Corey Ray a chance here,’ ” McDonnell said. “And he gets two hits. Oh, another chance. Gets two hits, and Corey starts, I think, like every game. I think we lose in the conference tournament finals, and then we host a regional. We win a regional. We host a super regional; we win a super regional.

“Now he’s a starting freshman, hitting in the six hole, but just very quietly didn’t exaggerate his struggles, didn’t make a big deal about it. Just started to make the adjustments little by little, and one day, man, it clicked, and he didn’t come out of the lineup for two and a half years.”

Why does that matter? Because now, it seems like at least one organization understood that Ray’s understanding of the game is just as important as his ability to round the bags. He only play one career game in the big leagues (in 2021 for Milwaukee), and in that game he did score a run.

The year after his pro ball dreams ended, the Chicago Cubs hired him as their Single-A bench coach with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Now, he’s a coordinator and field manager with the franchise and does quite a bit on the player development side.

Trust me, it is not easy to find your way into the coaching ranks in baseball even if you had a robust pro career, so for a guy who’s still relatively young (30), Ray is well on his way to being a skipper somewhere. Reminder: If you think the number of Black players on the field is small, try looking into a dugout when the team is on the field. You’ll find even less of us as coaches and managers.

At the risk of getting into a lengthy sidebar about how diversity in the game is as much of a trickle-up process as anything, seeing a college program that regularly attracts Black talent as a Power 4 school is refreshing. To know that it’s coming from an actual place of connectivity and not just availability makes it feel more genuine. To think that one of its more well-known alums is breaking the plaster coaching ceiling, albeit one step at a time, feels like real progress.

Louisville Cardinals outfielder Corey Ray takes a swing in June 2014 at the College World Series in a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

Dennis Hubbard/Icon SMI/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

McDonnell vividly remembers the moment he realized Ray would make a good educator of the game and leader of men. When Ray would return for offseason workouts at Louisville during his pro career, the college guys would listen to him when he gave them pointers.

“It gets to the point where you’re like, you’re wanting these guys – the pro guys – to be around, you know, because when they speak it’s like the Holy Grail. I speak, I’m like the old dad,” McDonnell said, laughing. “But when the pro guy or the big leaguer speaks, it’s like, ‘Corey Ray said I need to.’ We’re like, ‘Yeah, we’ve been saying that for three months.’ ”

In all seriousness, McDonnell’s got another guy in Chris Dominguez who turned into a coach as well and actually faced off against Louisville in the super regionals (Dominguez, 38, is an assistant coach for Miami who played for Louisville from 2007-09).

“While Corey was moving up the ranks and pro ball, I thought, ‘Man, this guy’s gonna be a good coach one day.’ And that’s cool. He’s phenomenal,” McDonnell said of Ray. “The Cubs are blessed to have him. Every time he comes back, he’s just thirsty to share. I’m very confident he will be a great college coach. I’m not saying he wants to or he will cross [over to the NCAA], but, yeah, I definitely see it because he’s got great personality, a great smile. I know he’ll connect with college kids. I know parents will trust him.”

The ACC, where Louisville has landed after stints in the Big East and American Athletic Conference, has never had a Black head baseball coach.

As for Ray, he’s someone who likes what he’s seeing from his alma mater.

“Zion [Rose] and I have talked a lot in the past year or two about what to get out of the experience at Louisville, why it’d be beneficial for him to stay. He’s a really good player,” Ray said. “He gets pulled in a bunch of different directions, and it’s a testament to Coach Mac and coach [Eric] Snider. They’ve been able to keep him there, and he loves being there. He’s glad that he stayed there.

“Zion is one of my favorites. Eddie’s one of my favorites. The center fielder who broke my stolen base record [Lucas Moore] is one of my favorites. I like the team as a whole. I think that the offense is very versatile, and I think the team spending time there on campus this summer and this spring is kind of a mirror of how we were when we were there in the early stages, right? We don’t care who we’re playing. We don’t care how much money you’re making.”

Louisville Cardinals infielder Kamau Neighbors during an NCAA regional game against ETSU on May 30 in Nashville.

AP Photo/John Amis

McDonnell isn’t exactly a funny guy, per se, but he knows how to make people laugh. He also knows how to make them think. He also knows when to keep his mouth shut. As a man of Christian faith, he holds nothing back when discussing his identity.

“​​You don’t have to be a Christian in our program. If anything, our whole motto is to love and to serve. So you can be any religious faith. You can be any nationality. It doesn’t matter. We’re just going to love on you. We’re going to serve you. That’s what we’re called to do,” McDonnell said Thursday following his team’s practice.

“But I’m sure we attract a lot of spiritual kids from spiritual families. But like I said you don’t have to. So that presence, maybe even in the transfer portal, bringing some older kids, 22-, 23-year-olds, that not only have a strong faith but you’re much more mature than you were probably at 18 and 19. And so it’s just who we are. It’s impressive. I think about that age. I wish I had more wisdom, a stronger faith and made better decisions. They know from me at least, when we talk about being a Christian, they know I’m not perfect. They see my best and they see my worst.”

One of those kids is Kamau Neighbors, who transferred from Cal State Northridge and was named a team captain. For McDonnell, it’s something that’s gained him trust in a lot of spaces. You don’t just walk into living rooms and start telling families, particularly Black ones, that they need to turn down real money to trust him with their son. And it doesn’t always work out for everyone, but when it does, it’s as much an outcrop of McDonnell just being himself, a guy with world experience.

We’re talking about a guy from upstate New York, who played at The Citadel, a military school in South Carolina. Now he’s been a longstanding head coach in a baseball-loving state, the only one of which at this MCWS actually has two teams, if you include Murray State.

The concepts of faith and family that extend to his team are a large part of why certain players get chances. That’s how the Chicago pipeline got started to begin with, to an extent. For Kenny Fullman, who helped start the Chicago White Sox Aces program, the process of creating a relationship wasn’t dumb luck.

Coaches know coaches, coaches know players, players have families and those families put faith in people. After a while, taking their kids to camps all over the country, eventually the Aces and Louisville had a clear connection that was helped by a little, well, spirited cajoling, shall we say.

“You make Louisville seem like it’s great, when where we grow up and we play in the snow and it’s cold and we’ve got to play a game in 30 degree weather in March. You go to Louisville and it’s 50, it feels like it’s spring. And so [McDonnell] is taking advantage of making Louisville seem like it’s South,” Ray said, with enough of a wink to remind you that the distance between those places is less than 300 miles.

Another thing that doesn’t come without some level of intention: For lack of a better term, you ain’t gonna get far trying to separate Black families. We know that experience generationally and even in good faith efforts such as baseball, that’s one you’ve got to get right to make sure that people feel safe.

“He likes the parents to be able to be within a day’s drive at the ballpark. So you know, Friday afternoon, if they take off work, they can make it down to [Louisville], catch a game, maybe stay overnight, catch another game Saturday and be able to get back. And so luckily for us, depending on traffic, you’re about a five-hour skim right up to get in the Chicago area,” Moth said.

Why every Major League team doesn’t have a travel program like Ace is beyond me. That’s perhaps another story for another day, but they don’t turn out losers.

As for family, both Ray and King have had two influences that are impossible not to acknowledge, and McDonnell hasn’t gotten in their way and wouldn’t think of it. When Ray was considering his options in baseball, there was a lot of thought in his family that going pro was a better option.

Except for one person: his older sister.

“I always give Corey sister a lot of credit. As a guy, I’m all about the dads and how much they pour into their sons. But like Eddie’s sister, she’s sharp,” McDonnell said regarding the recruitment of Ray. “She was in grad school, and here’s her younger brother, about to start college. We’re sitting at the table, and she is very engaged, very involved. And I’m like, ‘you know, I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I’ll walk out of somebody’s house and I’ll call our assistants, and I’ll be like, man, I don’t know if that dude’s showing up, right? … I walked out of Corey’s house. Bop into my car. I called our assistants. I said, ‘Hey, man, Corey Ray’s coming to school, how about that? I feel as good about him as I’ve ever felt.’ And they’re like, ‘Why you say that? ‘And I said, ‘the sister is all about education. She’s all about him getting his degree. She sat at the table. She was engaged, she made it sound like there’s no way we’re letting Corey sign [pro].’ ”

Back in Omaha, however, King — Louisville’s current star — has fans everywhere. The ones in his own home – -the people back at Ace who’ve seen him grow since he was 10 — are most happy to see show up. Fun fact: Eddie has a twin sister, who also goes to Louisville.

“I’ve been knowing the family, like I said, since Eddie was 10, and they’re just great people, man. The dad is a lot of fun to be around, and the mom is just extra-supportive,” Fullman said. “Always have been. And I looked on the TV today, the mom and daughter were in the front row.”

Like many Chicago folks who’ve come through Louisville, they had faith and found a family.

“I’m not worried about the color of their skin, man, I’m just not,” McDonnell concluded. “And I’m not going to act like, you know, I’m trying to break racial barriers and I sought to do that, okay? Just, you know, I just, I see people, and I love on people.”

In 2025, that seems like an effective method for success.

Clinton Yates is a tastemaker at Andscape. He likes rap, rock, reggae, R&B and remixes — in that order.



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INDIANAPOLIS — Thousands of young fans gathered at the Fever game Wednesday, eagerly awaiting a chance for a Caitlin Clark autograph.

“We are big Fever fans! We love coming here,” said one excited fan.

Kids from across the Hoosier State filled the stands, cheering for their favorite players. “It’s fun! I like to watch basketball!” Youssef Samaan screamed.

Wednesday’s match against the Golden State Valkyries was special. Dubbed “Kids Day,” the WNBA event invites summer camps to attend a day game, making it more accessible for all children to see live basketball.

Carrie Crandley, from Heartland Hall Child Development Center in Carmel, shared that this was their eighth year participating in Kids Day.

“It’s important for the kids to see what we are all about. It’s excitement, and it’s a great place for them to get all their energy out while becoming part of Indiana Fever basketball,” Crandley said.

Among those in attendance was Clark, making her anticipated return following an injury.

“She’s the best player,” fan Abigail Workman screamed, highlighting her impact on the game and its viewers. Hazel Rickard from Little Red Door Cancer Agency said with a smile on her face, “I’m excited.”

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WRTV

Before the game, Clark reflected on the importance of allowing kids to see women’s sports.

“I think it’s really cool for them to be able to see how amazing it is and have role models they can look up to,” she said.

As the game came to a close, spectators recognized that this experience could open doors for the young fans.

“It’s important to get kids out from behind the T.V. Let them be kids, have fun, and if you make it fun, learning is really easy,” added Crandley.

Despite the Fever’s loss, the day was about more than just basketball.

“I just hope they have a wonderful time. That this is the best day of their summer,” Clark said.

Kids Day continues to serve as a tradition within the WNBA, offering summer camps from across Indiana a unique opportunity to experience the thrill of live basketball.





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Rose Park field featured in ‘The Sandlot’ renamed to honor longtime supporter

SALT LAKE CITY — Neil Draper may have grown up in the Heber Valley, but he always called Rose Park his second home after taking over a Phillips 66 gas station in the 1960s. And while his colleagues around him may have had money for boats and nice vacations, he would often spend whatever additional […]

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SALT LAKE CITY — Neil Draper may have grown up in the Heber Valley, but he always called Rose Park his second home after taking over a Phillips 66 gas station in the 1960s.

And while his colleagues around him may have had money for boats and nice vacations, he would often spend whatever additional money he came up with on youth sports, with a fondness for baseball.

“Daddy was buying baseball jerseys, hats and making sure there was a snow cone waiting for them after their games,” said Susan Draper Marshall, remembering her father. “No matter where we were in this world, there was always someone who would come up and say, ‘Neil Draper, I played on your baseball team.'”

Draper, who died in March, a week after celebrating his 94th birthday, was a community fixture whose business — Neil’s Pro Service — is still in the Salt Lake neighborhood today, remaining within the family. His legacy as a youth baseball supporter is now being honored by the city, as well.

Members of the Salt Lake City Council approved a resolution Tuesday night to rename the northeast baseball field in Riverside Park “Neil Draper Field” in his memory.

“The Draper family has repeatedly invested (in Rose Park), making sure that the strength of our youth, the talent of our youth, the promise of our youth has an outlet,” said Salt Lake City Councilwoman Victoria Petro, who is a Rose Park resident.

“So now for us to be able to turn around and make sure, going forward, your family name, your patriarch’s name is seen, read, remembered and honored for what you’ve done for us — thank you for giving me a place to raise my family,” she added, as she spoke to members of the Draper family before the vote.

The vote follows a Salt Lake City parks master plan in 2022, which suggested renaming some parks or park features to recognize Indigenous names and community leaders. When it came to naming the northeast ballpark at Riverside Park — made famous as a filming location in “The Sandlot” — Draper’s name came to mind.

Neil’s Pro Service is a “landmark” in the neighborhood in its own right, Petro explained. She shared stories of how the business has helped her and her neighbors time and time again.

But his contributions to youth sports were equally instrumental, leaving a “meaningful mark on the neighborhood,” Salt Lake City Parks and Public Lands officials wrote in a document outlining the proposal.

Draper supported Granite and West high schools, as well as other schools in the region that his grandchildren would attend, no matter the sport. Yet, Rose Park Baseball was always his “pride and joy,” Marshall said. He’d proudly display team photos on the wall of his front office.

The recognition also comes as Rose Park Baseball celebrates its 70th anniversary, which has already included support from some members of “The Sandlot” cast. Some of the organization’s leaders came to Tuesday’s meeting to see the resolution pass.

“It is a name that is revered,” said Kristina Cook, a board member of the youth baseball organization. “I think (it’s) the greatest honor that could ever be bestowed on someone.”

Petro delivered flowers to Draper’s widow before the formal vote. The City Council also posed for a photo with members of his family who also attended the meeting after it adjourned.

It was an evening that the Draper family will never forget.

“We will hold this forever in our hearts,” Marshall said. “What a legacy for his grandchildren and great grandchildren — and soon to be great-great grandson.”

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



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Lamar Odom plans for a second academy in Shreveport

Lamar Odom’s academic plans continue to grow just one week after announcing major plans KILLEEN, Texas — A week after announcing his plans for the founding of a K-12 academy in Killeen, two-time NBA champion Lamar Odom revealed that he is planning to do the same in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana. Partnering with retired NBA veteran and […]

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Lamar Odom’s academic plans continue to grow just one week after announcing major plans

KILLEEN, Texas — A week after announcing his plans for the founding of a K-12 academy in Killeen, two-time NBA champion Lamar Odom revealed that he is planning to do the same in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana.

Partnering with retired NBA veteran and Shreveport native, Stromile Swift, Odom intends to replicate his vision with a second Lamar Odom Academy.

“Hopefully we can make this happen, and create some talented, confident young people in this world,” Odom told KSLA News.

This news comes after the former Laker confirmed his plans for a Killeen-based youth sports academy called the Lamar Odom Academy last Thursday.

The Killeen-based academy, as well as the one in Shreveport, aims to focus on basketball, e-sports and a variety of STEM programs to help kids interested in science, technology, engineering and math.

Odom intends for the academies to prevent crime and offer better alternatives for the youth in the area, emphasizing the importance of “giving the kids more baskets to fill” through his diverse lesson plans.

Lamar Odom also plans to film a reality show while in Killeen.

Why did Lamar Odom choose Killeen?

When asked why he chose Killeen, Odom’s response was simple: why not?

“I love it,” Odom said about Killeen. “No offense to anyone, this is a Black city. So, me being a Black man, if I could have an imprint in that community, I’d be stupid and I’d be sinful not to do it.”

Odom hopes the academy serves to keep kids off the street, saying the community has a problem with substance abuse and homelessness.

“I’ve done a lot of wrong in my life,” Odom said. “So through everything I’ve been through, why not start giving back in the city of Killeen?”

According to Odom, the academy will be open to students from all economic backgrounds.

“I’m just trying to fulfill the need…I love people,” Odom said. “My grandmother, who raised me, was 57 years older than me. So I have a lot of wisdom and hopefully I can pass it down to the youth in the city.”

Odom said he’s unsure where the academy will be, but that he has two locations in mind near State Highway 190 and another off State Highway 195. He hopes to open his academy as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Odom also confirmed plans to move to Killeen, so he can begin filming his reality show “Mayor of Killeen.”



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KVHS football’s youth camp set for July 28-30 | Sports

WHEATFIELD — The Kankakee Valley High School football program will hold a youth camp on July 28-30 at the high school field. Instruction will be held from 7-8 p.m. each night. Kids will learn offensive position skills, defensive position skills, tackling and positioning drills. It will be conducted by KVHS head coach Kirk Kennedy and […]

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WHEATFIELD — The Kankakee Valley High School football program will hold a youth camp on July 28-30 at the high school field.

Instruction will be held from 7-8 p.m. each night.

Kids will learn offensive position skills, defensive position skills, tackling and positioning drills. It will be conducted by KVHS head coach Kirk Kennedy and his staff and many of the Kougar football players.

The cost is $40 per player, which includes a t-shirt. The deadline to sign up is July 11.

Monday’s session will feature offensive position drills for quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and the offensive line. Tuesday’s season will introduce players to defensive position drills for defensive backs, linebackers and the defensive line.

The session on Wednesday night will be devoted to tackling and position drills, which will emphasize safe and effective tackling fundamentals.

For more information, contact coach Kennedy at jkennedy@kv.k12.in.us.



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Share your youth sports photos, videos with WSFA!

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – WSFA 12 News wants to help highlight your youth baseball tournaments! If you have photos or videos from a game you would like to share, upload them in the Youth Sports section of our website, or by adding them in the photo section below! Once approved by our team, your team […]

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – WSFA 12 News wants to help highlight your youth baseball tournaments!

If you have photos or videos from a game you would like to share, upload them in the Youth Sports section of our website, or by adding them in the photo section below!

Once approved by our team, your team will get some much-deserved publicity!

Congratulations to all the teams, and play ball!

Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!



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