Babe Ruth tournaments growing, successful

MOSES LAKE — When it comes to attracting baseball fans to the Basin, count Moses Lake's Babe Ruth League among the best.

The league recently wrapped up a pair of successful tournaments, drawing over 600 players, coaches and fans from across the Northwest and Canada. Babe Ruth will also host the Desert Lake Classic on June 15-17, a tournament publicity director Beth Lazslo thinks will be even bigger and better.

"At the last few tournaments we've had very good comments from the teams from Seattle and Oregon that have come over," Lazslo said.

The Lauzier Classic, which took place May 18-20, had 21 teams and Lazslo said last week that 26 teams have already signed up for the Desert Classic. Five teams are on standby in case any drop out, a sign of the tournament's popularity.

Moses Lake Babe Ruth began its tournament slate earlier this month with the May Classic. Over 220 players attended. Moses Lake Fire Chief Tom Taylor threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Seattle Select/Purple won the championship in the 13-and-under bracket, while Snohomish County Express won the 14-and-under division.

More than 300 participants were on hand for the Lauzier Classic, with Moses Lake Police Chief Dean Mitchell and the Moses Lake Pirate mascot throwing out the first pitches. The tournament added a third bracket for 15-and-under teams, with the Kent Bull Dogs/Blue winning the bracket. Other champions were Pride Baseball (14-U) and Seattle Select/Blue (13-U). The Moses Lake Diamond Dogs finished third among 14-U teams.

Laszlo said the league would have three age divisions again for the Desert Lake Classic, with teams coming from throughout Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Canada. The tournament will take place at the Paul Lauzier Athletic Complex and at Moses Lake High School.

Pete Doumit, father of Moses Lake native and Pittsburgh Pirate catcher Ryan Doumit, will be at the tournament to promote his new book about baseball. He'll be signing and selling copies, with a portion of the proceeds going to Babe Ruth, a non-profit organization.

"Really, more than anything, it's to cover the costs of the tournament," Lazslo said.

Babe Ruth is looking to spread word of the tournament's competitiveness. Lazslo said she's unsure how aware the community is of the players' skill levels.

"They're very, very good and very competitive and it's fun just watching teams from all over play," she added. "It's great experience for these boys who are either just going into high school or already in the competitive high school arena."

The league is looking for volunteers to help track scores, maintain updated brackets, sell T-shirts and other tasks. Anyone interested may contact Babe Ruth president and tournament director Phil Signorelli at 509-760-3673.