ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- A unique baseball tournament, expected to generate millions for Elizabethtown, is coming to the city's Sports Park next week.
Baseball for All is brining the largest girls' baseball tournament in the United States to Elizabethtown for the first time.
The tournament is expected to bring more than 500 girls, making up 35 teams, to compete.
Elizabethtown Sports Park
Baseball for All partners with the the Cal Ripken Experience. Created by MLB Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken Jr., the organization aims to improve and upgrade the baseball experience for young players. The Elizabethtown Sports Park announced its partnership with the Cal Ripken Experience in April, playing a part in bringing the tournament to Kentucky.
The Bluegrass Banshees from the Lexington-area will represent Kentucky next weekend. Brought together within the last three months the 12U team is looking forward to competing.
"I'm looking forward to being able to beat up on the boys and show them girls can play this sport to," said player Maggie Hombirg.
The team spent Thursday night getting reps in and played a scrimmage game against a boys team.
"Girls and boys should be able to do both things instead of just like one, like boys just playing baseball," said Hombirg.
Many of the girls split their time playing with the Banshees and all-boys teams in the summer. But the team is already hitting out of the park as coach Dwayn Chambers puts it.
"They're used to only interacting with the boys but when they got together it was like they found their clan," Chambers said. "It was immediate, they became best friends."
The Banshees have high hopes to win it all in E-town next week.
"Our first game is against the team that won it all last year, so we're going to put our best girl out there and win the whole thing," Chambers said.
With hundreds of players, including the Banshees coming to town, Elizabethtown's executive director of tourism, Janna Clark, expects it to be a busy time.
Players will arrive Wednesday morning and compete until Sunday.
Clark said the Ripken experience has brought several large-sized tournaments to the city.
"It has paid dividends for us. We're breaking records when it comes to hotel revenue, restaurant revenue, our attractions are all seeing record numbers of visitors," said Clark. "And by the end of next week, the Baseball for All event will have generated over $2 million in economic impact for Elizabethtown."
The Baseball for All organization launched in 2015. Its first tournament hosted 12 teams.
Baseball for All founder, Justine Siegel said girls interested still have time to sign up and join a team.
"We give opportunities for girls to play and coach and lead," Siegel said. "We just want people to know that girls play baseball too, you know, they don't want to just be fans, but they want to be in the game as well."
Players will be travelling from states Alaska, Florida, Massachusetts, and California. As well as countries like Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.
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