Fans watch Pittsylvania County, Pa., vs. CBC of Richmond in Tuesday night's early game. (David Boraks photo)

If you drive down South Street any night this week, you’ll see an unusual amount of mid-summer activity on McEver Fields, across from Davidson Elementary School. It’s high season for youth baseball, and our town is playing host to two tournaments: the Pony East Zone South Region Tournament, for 13-14-year-olds, and the Bronco zone championships for 11-year-olds.

The Pony 13-14 tournament began Monday and continues through a championship game Friday night at 8 o’clock, according to tournament chief and regional coordinator Eugene Ervin. If needed, there could be a final on Saturday at a time to be announced.

Games are nightly at 6 and 8 p.m.

Mr. Ervin said the town is fortunate to be a tournament host again this summer.  The tournaments are hosted by Davidson Youth Baseball Association and the Town of Davidson.

Altogether between the two tournaments, the 10 teams account for 150 players, 30 coaches and many other parents and fans.

“That’s a real impact on the community,” Mr. Ervin said.

Many tournament-goers are staying at Davidson’s Homewood Suites hotel, off Exit 30, while others are at hotels in Cornelius.

LOCAL TEAMS

The Davidson-Cornelius teams in the tourney – DC Force Blue and DC All-Stars – had both fallen into the losers bracket of the double-elimination tournament as of Tuesday. DC Force lost 6-5 to Pittsylvania County, Va., in Monday’s opening round, while DC All-Stars lost to Rockingham, N.C., 11-3.

Either team could still advance to the final, however, by winning the rest of their games in the losers’ bracket.

The winners advances to the zone tournament in Brockton, Mass.

DC All-Stars, led by manager Joe Pearn and coach Scott Goins, include many players returning from last year’s 13-and-under team that went to the Pony World Series in their age bracket. (See DavidsonNews.net’s coverage of last year’s tournaments at tag “Pony Baseball.”

Play continues Wednesday, with DC All-Stars playing at 6 p.m. and DC Force playing at 8 p.m.

BRONCO TOURNEY

Meanwhile, the DC All-Stars under 11 team, coached by Rob Carroll, will compete against teams from Swansea, Mass.; Washington, Pa.; ad Southampton-Sussex, Va., in the Bronco under 11 East Zone Tournament beginning Thursday (July 23), with games at 6 and 8 p.m. on the lower diamond at McEver Fields on South Street.

The title game is schedule Saturday at 2 p.m. The winner will advance to the first-ever Bronco-11 World Series in Richmond, Va.