In these COVID-tinged times, “wearing a mask” when it comes to softball can mean more about staying about from the deadly virus through a face covering off the field than what umps and catchers sport between the lines.
In two weeks, however, it hopefully will be more about creative costumes for Halloween as one of the top club softball tournaments before the end of the year will take place.
Fingers crossed, it looks more and more like life is getting back to normal in these scary COVID times and that’s good for college recruiters who, more likely than not, will be in Arizona in two weeks watching elite recruits.
The 2nd annual Arizona Fall Invitational Showcase will take place Halloween weekend—Friday, October 29 through Sunday, October 31, 2021—in Scottsdale and Gilbert, Arizona and will again have many of the top regional and national 14U, 16U, and 18U teams in the country.
Expect a lot of big-name college softball coaches to be there, too.
“Last Fall, due to the COVID restrictions,” Event Director Jim Barsalona of Team New Jersey Fastpitch Softball remembers, “college coaches couldn’t participate, but from all the information we’ve received from schools and attending teams, it looks like we should have a good turnout of coaches coming in to recruit.”
That’s good news for players wanting to be recruited and college recruiters looking for the next generation of talent.
“There’s a lot to like playing Fall softball at the end of October in Arizona,” Barsalona adds. “Great fields and competition and super weather with lots of things to do in the area after their games are done.”
One of the attractive aspects of the event is the format where, unlike some showcases that are on time limits and can go just four or five innings, the Arizona Fall Invitational Showcase will provide longer games.
“We give teams a five or six-game option with game times at 1 hour, 40 minutes,” Barsalona continues, “and a ‘Finish the Inning’ format with two-hour time slots. Most games go a full seven innings.”
Other things to like about the showcase: the quality of umpiring will be top-notch as the event organizers are bringing in top college from around the country and, for all; the tournament locations aren’t spread out, but instead featured a manageable 78-82 teams on 14-16 fields and—knock on wood they aren’t needed—experience trainers will be on-site at each location in case there is a health concern.
“All in all, it’s a great experience and destination for the kids and their parents,” Barsalona says.
There’s another key aspect of the event that shouldn’t go overlooked: with many events these days leaning one way or the other to being PGF or Alliance focused and sponsored, the Arizona Fall Invitational includes teams from both sides of the governing body fence.
“Some of these teams do not play each other in the Summer or Fall,” the event director continues, “maybe in Boulder, but the requests I’m getting for match-ups are really fun.”
Two weeks after the Fall Invitational Showcase, Team NJ Softball will be producing the 3rd annual Clearwater Fall Classic in Florida that gives Barsalona two highly anticipated events in warm weather states this Fall.
In January, 2020, Team NJ Softball will return to the Grand Canyon State on Martin Luther King weekend for the Atlanta Fastpitch Classic that will be played at the new 24-field Legacy Sports USA Complex in Mesa, Arizona.
“I was there two weeks ago to check out the progress,” Barsalona told Extra Inning Softball this week, “and it’s going to be the talk of youth sports for years to come… fastpitch softball included!”
The first of the trio of events, though, kicks off just two weeks from Friday and, as we detailed in an earlier article titled Jim Barsalona Back in the Events Biz in a Big Way with Arizona Fall Invitational Showcase, Clearwater Fall Classic, the East Coast-based promoter thinks this upcoming event could be a tentpole one for years to come.
The Arizona Fall Invitational is West dominated—although there are teams from as far away as Pennsylvania and Rhode Island—with many of the top teams in Arizona and California eager for a chance to play top competition this fall.
The Halloween event is full and will feature national championship-caliber teams in the 18U, 16U and 14U age divisions such as the AZ Storm, Suncats, Hotshots and Lil Saints within the state as well as Cali power like OC Batbusters, Firecrackers, Corona Angels, Athletics – Mercado, So Cal A’s, Lady Magic, Explosion West Bay Warriors and many more who will play five showcase games with two-hour game slots.
“I think it’s going to be quite the Fall event,” Barsalona concludes. “We’re done and finished with the teams and we hope it will be the big Fall event from now on, that’s my goal.”
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Here’s a look at the teams that are scheduled to attend the Arizona Fall Invitational Showcase…
18U
- AZ Hotshots Gold Davis/Downs
- AZ Hotshots Delsante
- AZ L’il Saints Gold
- AZ Oro Valley Suncats Gold Judge
- AZ Oro Valley Suncats Holland-Judge
- CA OC Batbusters Stith
- CA OC Batbusters Stith Maroon
- CA Corona Angels Slye
- CA West Bay Warriors McDonald
- CA Batbusters Gomes
- CA Batbusters Spingola
- CA California Cruisers Sievers
- CA Ohana Tigers Quarles
- CA Cal Nuggets Woods
- CA USA Athletics Gold Rogers
- CA Firecrackers Brashear/Hicks
- CA Athletics Mercado AJ
- CA Breakers Labs National Slimp/James
- CA Suncats Lopez
- CO Colorado Batbusters Smith
- IL Illinois National Softball
- MA Polar Crush Gold
- NJ Gators Premier Biasi/Coroneos
- NJ Pride Stern
- NJ SJ Mystics Jackson
- NJ Venom
- NY Empire State Huskies Porcelli
- NY Conklin Raiders Gold Bates
- NY Honeychucks Galati
- PA Chaos Gold Spina
- RI Thunder Gold Lotti
- TX Firecrackers DFW Martinez
- WA Washington Ladyhawks Millar
- WA Washington Ladyhawks Simpson-Hirai
- WA NW Batbusters
- WA Voodoo Reinhart
16U
- AZ Arizona Storm Beach
- AZ Oro Valley Suncats Holland/Judge
- AZ Impulse Neilson
- AZ Killer Bees Reedy
- CA Athletics Mercado
- CA Corona Angels Slye
- CA Corona Angels FTS
- CA Corona Angels Rogers-Edwards
- CA So Cal Athletics Wellbaum
- CA Cal Nuggets Woods
- CA West Bay Warriors
- CA Ohana Tigers Quarles
- CA USA Athletics Davis
- CA Cal Cruisers Sievers/Villalobos
- CA Batbusters Ching
- CA Bay Area Batbusters
- CA Firecrackers Brashear/Hicks
- CO Colorado Babtusters
- IL Illinois National Softball
- MA Polar Crush Capello
- NV Lil Rebels RC/Marshall
- NJ Pride Stern National
- NJ SJ Mystics National Machinski
- PA Chaos National Fricker
- RI Rhode Island Thunder Lotti Nt’l
- WA Washington Ladyhawks Millar
14U
- AZ Explosion AZ Mabrey
- CA OC Batbusters Stith
- CA OC Batbusters Lastrapes Sasaki
- CA OC Batbusters Coyle
- CA OC Batbusters Gomes Gann
- CA OC Batbusters RSM
- CA OC Batbusters GT
- CA OC Batbusters Fernandez
- CA OC Batbusters Hudson Stern
- CA Corona Angels FTS
- CA Corona Angels Perez Tyson
- CA Corona Angels McCullough
- CA Corona Angels Perez
- CA West Bay Warriors
- CA USA Athletics Rogers/Mathis
- CA Ohana Tigers Quarles
- CA Firecrackers Brashear/Hicks
- CO Colorado Batbusters
- RI Rhode Island Thunder Lotti
