BASEBALL: Cal Ripken 10s state tournament begins Thursday

Kennewick National will play host to the Cal Ripken 10U Southern Washington state tournament today through Saturday.

Opening ceremonies for the tournament will begin 5:30 p.m. today on Field No. 2 at the Kennewick National’s baseball complex, on 4th Avenue, and will be followed in the evening with an ice cream social and a skills competition featuring an around-the-horn relay, a base-running relay race, an accuracy throw and a home run derby.

Pool play begins at 9 a.m. Thursday, with Kelso facing Puyallup, and play continues throughout the day with Kennewick American and Kennewick National each playing twice.

The Americans will face Western at 1 p.m. and Black Hills at 4 p.m. The Nationals will take on Castle Rock/Toutle Lake at 2 p.m. and cap their day with a 5 p.m. game against Hoquiam.

And on Friday, National concludes the round-robin format with a 1 p.m. game against Central, and the Americans will battle West Lewis County at 3 p.m.

“The pool play is set by the state committee and they did a very nice job of balancing it out,” Tournament director Carlos Latorre said. “Every pool is going to have multiple battles to get to the first or second spot.”

The top two seeds from each pool will advance to the single-elimination bracket, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the first pitch of the championship slated for 4 p.m.

Gates open 30 minutes before the first game each day. Admission is free for children 12 and under, $3 for ages 13-18 and seniors over 60 and $5 for adults.

2012 Southern Washington State Cal Ripken 10-year-olds tournament

Pool-play schedule

Thursday —Kelso vs. Puyallup, 9 a.m.; West Lewis County vs. Black Hills, 10 a.m.; Central vs. Hoquiam, 11 a.m.; Mt. Rainier vs. Cowlitz, 12 p.m.; Kennewick American vs. Western, 1 p.m.; Kennewick National vs. Castle Rock/Toutle Lake, 2 p.m.; Puyallup vs. Mt. Rainier, 3 p.m.; Black Hills vs. Kennewick American, 4 p.m.; Hoquiam vs. Kennewick National, 5 p.m; West Lewis County vs. Western, 6 p.m.

Friday —Puyallup vs. Cowlitz, 9 a.m.; Central vs. Castle Rock/Toutle Lake, 10 a.m.; Black Hills vs. Western, 11 a.m.; Kelso vs. Mt. Rainier, 12 p.m.; Central vs. Kennewick National, 1 p.m.; Hoquiam vs. Castle Rock/Toutle Lake 2 p.m.; West Lewis County vs. Kennewick American, 3 p.m.; Kelso vs. Cowlitz, 4 p.m.

This story was originally published July 4, 2012 at 12:26 AM with the headline "BASEBALL: Cal Ripken 10s state tournament begins Thursday."