Majors, Blue prepare for Memorial Tournament
May 27—The Majors begin their summer season on Thursday against the Mudcats at 3:30 p.m. at the Travelers Memorial Day Tournament in Woodward.
The Majors had a successful run in 2020, by becoming the first team from Oklahoma to win the South Plains Regional, and earning a berth to the Connie Mack Classic in Joplin. The regional win would've typically given the team a berth in the Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, N.M., but the event was canceled due to COVID-19.
Enid Majors head coach Kris Webb said he's excited to see how far his team can go this season.
"I feel like my roster this summer is just as good, if not better," Webb said.
He said the thing that excites him the most is the extra year of experience his players will have as they prepare to defend their regional title.
"We've got a good combination of division one guys, some (junior college) guys, and I'm excited to watch them all play," Webb said, although he admits that Thursday will be the first day he'll get to see this year's squad play together due to graduations and other events.
"The thing about them for the most part is they've played together throughout the summer, so they're pretty familiar with each other. I'm hoping we can get some team chemistry going pretty early and get this thing rolling."
Webb said the main goal for the team in the tournament will be to shake off some of rust and be ready for the Connie Mack Qualifier at David Allen Memorial Ballpark from June 16-19.
"We've just got to get back in the groove," Webb said. "The boys have been off for a couple of weeks, so it'll take them a minute to get their timing back and stuff like that, just kind of preparing for that regional qualifier."
The Woodward tournament will separate 10 teams into two divisions. The Majors will play four games starting on Thursday and ending on Saturday, and will be seeded and paired according to their record for the final game on Sunday.
The Majors play again on Friday against Marlow at 11 a.m. On Saturday, they'll have a doubleheader against the Shockers Red Team and Woodward with the first game starting at noon.
The Enid Blue summer team will also be playing in the tournament and begin with a doubleheader on Thursday against the Shockers Black Team and the OK Travelers. They'll be looking to build off a 14-4 run-rule win over Clinton that featured a grand slam from Garrett Shull.
According to Enid Blue head coach Brad Gore the team may be short-handed due to some players participating in the football team's Spring Game on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Masri is sports editor for the Enid News & Eagle.
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