1st Tri-City Baseball Classic set for this weekend

Patterson High School baseball coach Ryan Jensen said he always has had envisions on expanding his tournament. Morgan City baseball coach Tim Vidos said Morgan City was losing teams from its annual tournament for unexplained reasons.
Together, both have combined forces and tournaments this year to form the inaugural Tri-City Classic.
The 18-team tournament, which will kick off Thursday and continue through Saturday, will feature games at three sites — Morgan City, Berwick and Patterson high schools.
In addition to Patterson, Morgan City and Berwick high schools, the field also will include Central Catholic High School and Hanson Memorial to represent St. Mary.
Others in the field include H.L. Bourgeois, Northside, New Iberia, Covenant Christian, South Lafourche, E.D. White, Bunkie, Thibodaux, Central Lafourche, Rayne, Thomas Jefferson, St. Paul’s from Alabama and Ellender.
St. Paul’s is a school where Vidos once worked. He said they were a semifinalist in Class 5A in Alabama a year ago.
Before combining the tournaments, Jensen said he had 12 teams committed to his tournament and knew he would need multiple sites to play at.
Knowing Morgan City had its tournament, he said he asked Vidos about combining the tournaments into one.
Vidos agreed and the one, large tournament was formed with and includes 18 teams.
Vidos said Tuesday night that the long-time Morgan City tournament was having trouble filling its bracket because many teams had pulled out.
However, he said the new format is working out and he likes the tournament.
“It’s bringing the community together, and that’s one thing I really want to see,” Vidos said.
In the new tournament format, games will be played at multiple prep baseball facilities in the Tri-City area.
“We are very fortunate to have so many top notch facilities in this area to host games,” Jensen said. “This is something that I have been wanting to do for some years now, and the opportunity finally presented itself to make it happen. All of the schools in the Morgan City, Berwick and Patterson area have a good relationship with each other and would do whatever is necessary to help the other out, so I knew this would not be very difficult to put together.”
Jensen said the event is an opportunity for this year and the future to bring different teams from different areas and “sort of showcase baseball here in the bayou region.”
It’s something he hopes can be grown in the future with one or two more playing sites.
“I think with all of us working together, the sky really is the limit with this thing,” Jensen said. “I hope that the community embraces this event and finds some time to make their way to all of these sites and take in some great games. This area has always been a big baseball community, and I look forward to seeing some great crowds at the parks.”
Vidos said he would like to see the tournament grow as well and include more schools on the west end.
“There’s no reason why we can’t make this thing bigger and just make everything better for the whole parish,” he said.
Jensen thanked the local companies who have helped with organizing the event.
The event’s title sponsor is The Sports Medicine Center of Thibodaux Regional.
“They have certainly made the preparations for this event much easier,” Jensen said.
Other sponsors include Cardinal Lumber, Cleco, Vida Paint and Supply, and S&S Renovators.
On Thursday action will begin at Patterson when Central Catholic and H.L. Bourgeois will meet in a 3:15 p.m. contest, while Northside and Patterson will follow at 5:30 p.m. and New Iberia and Covenant Christian will conclude the day with a 7:45 p.m. matchup.
At Morgan City Thursday, New Iberia and Thibodaux will meet at 3:15 p.m., followed by E.D. White and Rayne at 5:30 p.m. and Central Lafourche and Morgan City at 7:45 p.m.
At Berwick on Thursday, South Lafourche will meet Berwick at 5 p.m., followed by Ellender and Hanson at 7:15 p.m.
On Friday at Patterson, South Lafourche will meet E.D. White at 3:15 p.m., followed by Covenant Christian and Central Catholic at 5:30 p.m. and Bunkie and Patterson at 7:45 p.m.
At Morgan City, Thomas Jefferson and Morgan City will play at 5:30 p.m., while Hanson and St. Paul's will meet at 7:45 p.m.
In Berwick, New Iberia and Berwick will play at 3:30 p.m., while Thibodaux and Northside will meet at 5:45 p.m.
On Saturday, Thibodaux and Hanson will open the day’s action in Patterson at 9 a.m., followed by Central Lafourche and New Iberia at 11:15 a.m., Northside and Central Catholic at 1:30 p.m., Rayne and Central Lafourche at 3:45 p.m.; E.D. White and Thomas Jefferson at 6 p.m. and Covenant Christian and Patterson at 8:15 p.m.
At Morgan City, South Lafourche and St. Paul’s will play at 11:15 a.m., while Thomas Jefferson and Ellender will meet at 1:30 p.m.; St. Paul’s and Morgan City at 3:45 p.m.; and Ellender and H.L. Bourgeois at 6 p.m.
At Berwick, Rayne and Berwick will play at 11:15 a.m., while H.L. Bourgeois and Bunkie will meet at 1:30 p.m. and Bunkie and Berwick at 3:45 p.m.