Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 14, 1995 TAG: 9505150060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Folks will be coming from miles away to see the NCAA Division II softball championship.
And those are just the ones who will be running the tournament.
There won't be much of a local angle to this year's softball championship, which makes its first appearance at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem this week. The tournament runs Thursday through Sunday.
Even though there won't be any local schools or local players taking part in the double-elimination tournament, and even though the host school - Longwood College - is a three-hour drive from Salem, the Division II championship still will be a boon to Salem, according to Carey Harveycutter, the Salem Civic Center's manager.
In the next two weeks, Salem will be the site of the softball championship and the NCAA Division III baseball championship. For a city that already has the Stagg Bowl (the Division III football championship) and will become the site of the Division III men's basketball final four in 1996, the softball tournament adds to Salem's burgeoning image as a viable championship site.
``The tournament is great for us because it allows us to maintain our relationship with NCAA and even build upon it,'' Harveycutter said. ``We're not expecting huge crowds, since there are no local schools involved, but we'll still have people coming here, spending a couple of nights and spending money here. There are a lot of benefits. We'll get national press coverage; not like [cable channels] ESPN or Home Team Sports, but we'll still get good exposure.''
Salem, which served as host for the Division III softball tournament last year, offered to hold the Division II and III tournaments this weekend, but the NCAA balked at the idea. Salem will have the Division III tournament next year.
The Division II softball championship first was played in 1982 and has been held in Shawnee, Kan., the past three years. Deb Nelson, an NCAA assistant director of championships, said the NCAA prefers moving the tournament at least every three years.
``The Division III [softball] people had glowing reports about Salem,'' Nelson said. ``They had excellent facilities, great administrative support - everything ran like clockwork. ... There will be some additional travel costs this year, but probably not that much more.''
Since regional tournaments were being completed this weekend, the pairings for the eight-team field won't be known until later today or early Monday.
Harveycutter said he hopes the rising popularity of fast-pitch softball in this region will lead to a better-than-expected turnout of local fans. Girls' sSoftball has been one of the fastest-growing sports at Southwest Virginia high schools.
``More girls are playing softball in school than ever before,'' he said. ``I think folks will enjoy watching some of these teams play.''
by CNB