Local Teams Play Ball At Juniper
The Bayside Yankees and Midville Dodgers baseball organizations will be co-hosting the 10th Annual Columbus Fall Classic beginning on Saturday, Oct. 6 at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village.
This event is an opportunity for many of the top local baseball players to showcase their skills in front of college coaches and scouts from all over the northeast.
In what will be the 10th year, tournament director Marc Cuseta thought teaming up with the Midville Dodgers and bringing the tournament to Juniper Valley Park made sense, as the area is conveniently located and its fields are amongst the top public fields in New York City. Seventeen teams will be participating in the tournament from throughout New York State as well as Connecticut and Rhode Island.
In addition to the tournament, college coaches and Major League Baseball scouts will be on hand doing personal evaluations for tour- nament participants.
Even local ballplayers not participating in the tournament can get an honest opinion of how their abilities rate to collegiate coaches.
The Columbus Fall Classic has had over 2,000 of its past participants go on to play college baseball. More than 300 players have gone on to play professional baseball. Of those, local players such as Mike Baxter of the Bayside Yankees and Matt Rizzotti of the Midville Dodgers have played in the Columbus Classic.
Other notable players include former major leaguers Rocco Baldelli, Rick Porcello and former New York City standout and first round draft pick Pedro Alvarez.
Anyone interested in more information on the tournament can visit www.baysideyankees.com.
