Patriots 4th of July Tourney Opens Friday Night
Defending champ Keating Fitness Center of Wilkes-Barre is among the eight teams in the field of this year’s Allentown Patriots’ 4th of July Classic. The 41st annual tourney — it began in 1965 and has been held every year since except 1976 — begins with a pair of games Friday night at Pates Park. The KMV Rise play Bob Hoffman’s of Reading, a new team in the field, in the 7 p.m. opener. That game will be followed by the host Pates Petro Kings taking on PA Power of Harrisburg.
The round-robin tourney, sponsored by Allentown Beverage, Coca-Cola of the Lehigh Valley and the Allentown Patriots, continues with 10 games throughout the day on Saturday — two at Percy Ruhe Park — and then concludes Sunday with the semifinals in the morning and the title game at 12:30 p.m.
Keating is led by the pitching of Bill Hillhouse and Ontario native Gregg Garrity, last year’s tourney MVP. Mark Smith, Dave Martin and Justin Stock highlight the offense.
The KMV Rise, last year’s tourney runner-up, feature the 2005 most valuable pitcher, Tom Vogel, as well as veteran stars Matt Daley and Allentown native Mike Smith.
The Rise won the Niagara Snapper tournament earlier this month and is ranked No. 5 in the latest ISC II world rankings.
The host team could also be a factor. The Pates, led by Jeff Hess, Bob Thomas and Tom Stinner, have already qualified for the ASA Class C nationals in Georgia.
Other potential favorites include TNT South Lebanon, which features the pitching of Jeremy Tracey and Scott Adams and the offense of Bob Wengert, Mike Rohrer, and Paul Batt.
PA Power won last year’s ASA Class C national title and Mattarazzo Brothers is the defending ASA men’s 40&over national champions and feature Whitehall’s Reno Lato.
All-series tickets for the tourney cost $7 and daily tickets cost adults $3, seniors $2.