Temple Terrace Hosts Four-Day Pony Baseball Tournament

Players from around West Central Florida will begin a four-day Thursday evening with the final championship games held Sunday.

The Southeast Region Sectional All Star tournament begins at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Temple Terrace Youth Sports Complex, 10369 U.S. 301 North, just north of Harney Road. The tournament will continue Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

This year 39 teams, many from the Tampa Bay area, will compete in this round of the All Star championships, including six teams from Temple Terrace Pony Baseball. Other teams in the tournament include Forest Hills, Town & Country and North Tampa.

Each team has between 10 and 15 players.

Last year, the , with players 11 and 12 years old, finished second at the tournament  and went on to the regional competition.

The tournament will include teams from age divisions starting with players 4 and 5 years old and up, said Angel Thompson, secretary of Temple Terrace Pony Baseball. Games will be played on all five fields of the sports complex.

On Thursday and Friday, games will begin at 8 p.m. and generally last about two hours each, though there is no time limit on games that typically last seven innings, Thompson said. Organizers hope to finish three games each night.

Semi-final games start at 8 a.m. Saturday and run all day.

The championship games begin at 8 a.m. Sunday. There will be a $5 admission charge to the tournament, but parking is free, Thompson said.

 Each of the five age divisions will have winners that progress to regional tournaments later this month.

Starting in late July and running into August, teams from around the country will compete in the Pony Baseball World Series.

Temple Terrace Pony baseball is open to 3- to 14-year-olds. Rules are slightly different than Little League play, such as at a certain level, runners are allowed to steal bases and take leads.

Thompson likes the local teams’ chances.

“We’re going to take it all,” she said.