By Richard Polen
sports@joplinglobe.com
The Austin, Texas Wings slugged their way to a 15-6 baseball victory over the Rawlings Legends in the Premier Incoming Freshmen Championship on Sunday at Joe Becker Stadium.
Afterward, Austin’s players celebrated in the traditional way _ by drenching coach Wylie Campbell with a cooler of ice water.
“My hat’s off to this whole community,” Campbell said. “The field at Seneca was under water and they had four other fields waiting for us.
“We felt like the pool we were in was the best in the tournament. We were battle tested,” said Campbell, who declined to name a most valuable player. “Our weakness coming into the tournament was pitching, and we had three complete games. That’s what saved our pitchers.”
The tournament was held in Joplin for the second consecutive year. The Premier Junior World Series, a 31-team tournament that has been held in the Joplin area the past four years, is scheduled for July 21-26.
“It has been a very good tournament,” said Patrick Tuttle, executive director of the Joplin Sports Authority. “We’ve had the typical challenges with the weather, but the boys have played real well.
“We lost some of the games at Baxter Springs and Seneca. It’s nice to have three fields in town.”
Other game sites were Joplin High School, the Joplin Athletic Complex and JayCee Field in Lincoln Park at Pittsburg, Kan.
In estimating the economic effect the tournament has in the area, Tuttle said the authority figures an average of $135 a night per person, which includes the cost of hotel rooms, taxes, meals and shopping.
In addition, about 1,200 athletes were in Joplin this weekend for an AAU track and field meet at Fred Hughes Stadium.
“We go through the numbers,” Tuttle said. “Baseball typically brings more families than other sports do. Seventeen teams are living out of hotels.
“We have an excellent infrastructure with the hotels and restaurants,” he said. “The organizers of the tournament recognize that. Over the Fourth of July weekend, we had a ton of volunteers helping out. We’ve had a lot of support from the community, and we couldn’t do it without them.”
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