Update: Westwood won the tourney in extra innings, reports Jennifer Reynolds.
Wow! It was hot and getting hotter at Victor Ashe Park on Saturday as neighborhood groups competed in a wiffle ball tourney. The tournament was set to feature seven teams: Burlington (in red), Forest Heights (in royal blue), Island Home (in navy), Oakwood Lincoln Park (in black), Westwood (in light blue), West Hills (in orange) and Timbercrest (in green).
A batter for the Island Home Runners
By 10 a.m. the first round had ended and four teams were lined up for round two: Island Home vs. Timbercrest on the far field and Westwood vs. West Hills up close. The team from Forest Heights likely won its first game because members were sitting on chairs and blankets in the shade of the big rock at the park’s entrance.
Forest Heights’ team rests between games.
The tournament was the brainchild of Jennifer Reynolds, a resident of Timbercrest and a member of the city’s Neighborhood Advisory Council. According to city publicist Kathleen Gibi, Reynolds saw the event as an opportunity to strengthen ties between Knoxville neighborhoods through sports.
Reynolds was keeping score for her Timbercrest Mountain Lions. “This is the work of lots of people including the Parks & Rec department, the Office of Neighborhoods, and Public Works,” she said.
The field was simply lined with red spots chalked in for bases. Wiffle ball is played with almost stick-like bats and a plastic ball. Fielders don’t wear gloves, and they can get an out by hitting a base runner with a ball.
Concessions were available, hopefully with lots of ice. The temperature was climbing by 11 a.m. when the teams took the field for round three.