Hard to believe that spring is already upon us, and the start of the 2004 Town & Country Youth Baseball season is just around the corner! We certainly appreciate everyone’s involvement that helped make last year a successful one, and look forward to the same support in ’04!

   We wanted to take this opportunity to review some of the results & changes that took place in ‘03 that we hope to build upon as we venture into this season & beyond.

New Enhancements in 2003:

EXPANDED TOURNEY FORMAT

   Both the Senior and Junior Division tournaments had new looks for 2003.
   In an effort to better balance the brackets and eliminate bye-rounds at both the Semi-State & State levels of the tournament, each of those levels saw a total of eight teams advance instead of the traditional six.
   Essentially, what it meant was that each District level of the tournament sent it’s ‘Final Four’ to the Semi-State level, which were then seeded and the brackets set up with each District winner (#1 seed) playing the #4 seed from the other District. Then, the #2 seed from one District would then play the #3 seed from the opposite District.
   The theme was also followed at the Semi-State levels as each of the ‘Final Four’ participants advanced to the State level & were seeded in the same fashion.
   We thought this change went over extremely well & not only accomplished the intended objectives, but also allowed a few teams & players to extend their seasons a bit.

Inaugural Minor League Tournament

   The Town & Country Baseball League also added a state-sanctioned Minor League (7-8 yr. olds) for the first time in 2003.  Initial rounds of the tourney were hosted at both Mentone & Walton, with the top four from each site advancing to the State finals in Mentone. As expected, the tourney was very well received by the participants & had a large following at each location. Although we got a late start in both planning & coordinating this event, we were very pleased with the result & look forward to a greater tournament with more participants in 2004! We invite you to join the excitement!