MP 11's to Play for District 3 Title

The MPTLL 11-year-old All-Star team will play Dilworth tonight at 7pm in the 10-11-year-old NC District 3 Tournament Finals at CoulOak. Myers Park is without a loss in this double-elimination tournament, so if they were to lose tonight, the two teams would play again at the same time tomorrow night.

A win would mean back-to-back 10-11-year-old district titles for Myers Park. And it would be a second banner for this team, coming on the heels of their recent TOC win. The last time Myers Park played Dilworth in a Little League district final, things went well for MP, with the 2010 12's winning 7-0 and going to Morganton for the State Tournament. This year, the 11's State Tournament will be played in Forest City.

Tonight is what MPTLL summers are all about. So come out to CoulOak and cheer them on. It's an easy drive, so let's get a big MP crowd out there to support the 11's. The park is located at 170 Coulwood Park Drive, Charlotte, NC 28214, just off Bellhaven Blvd. in northwest Charlotte. Anyone unable to attend can follow the game on Twitter.

District Tournament Brackets

The official NC District 3 Tournaments begin this weekend for our 9, 10 and 11-year old All-Star teams. This is the start of the official Little League tournament path for each age group. Survive and advance. So check out the schedules linked below and go support our MPTLL teams.

The 11-12-year-old District Tournament is scheduled for July 6. Myers Park is hosting both the District and State Tournaments for the 12's.

11-12-year-old District Tournament - July 6 at Myers Park
10-11-year-old District Tournament - June 22 at Coul Oak
9-10-year-old District Tournament - June 22 at Mint Hill
9-year-old District Tournament - June 22 at Weddington

MP 8's and 11's Win 2013 TOC

Congratulations to the Myers Park 8- and 11-year-old TOC teams for winning the Tournament of Champions. Myers Park had all five age groups make the semifinals this year. Three of them made the finals and two won their tournaments. These teams had a lot of support from the MP faithful - many were following the games on Twitter if they could not attend in person.

Updated TOC Schedules

Come out and support our Myers Park Trinity Tournament of Champions (TOC) teams. Schedules are below. Check here or on Twitter for updates.

12-year-old TOC at Coul-Oak 
11-year-old TOC at Myers Park
10-year-old TOC at Mint Hill
9-year-old TOC at Weddington
8-year-old TOC at Steele Creek

Follow MP Games on Twitter

Myers Park Trinity fans, if you're ever going to join Twitter, now is the time. Summer baseball tournaments are what we created our league account for. Get live TOC and All-Star game updates delivered straight to your smart phone, tablet or computer as they are happening at various locations across our district and hopefully beyond.

It's very easy. Go to www.twitter.com and sign up for your own personal account. Then go to www.twitter.com/mplittleleague and click "Follow." Or you can just search for "mplittleleague" and follow. Downloading the Twitter app to your smart phone is a highly recommended next step. It's simple and convenient, and you don't have to post anything yourself. Just sit there and get the info you want delivered to you instantly. 

This is the best way to follow all the action. And there is so much that is not on the league website or this blog - pictures, scores, commentary, announcements.... So sign up today. Tournaments are about to begin. Let's have another great summer of baseball. GOMP! 

MPTLL Postseason League Tournaments

It's tournament time at Myers Park Trinity. Click on the links below for the updated brackets for each division. Final games will be played at 12:00 on Saturday, just before Closing Ceremonies. Good luck to all the teams.

Major League Tournament

National League Tournament

American League Tournament

Al Browne Wins Major League Title

Al Browne clinched the 2013 Major League championship on Wednesday with a 16-4 victory over Christ Church in the final game of the regular season. The offense was led by Avery Schwartz, who went 4 for 5, including his 2nd HR of the season.  Raul Beltran had 3 hits and his 3rd HR, while Darnell Craig added 2 hits, including his 1st career HR over the left field scoreboard. Henry Merchant handled the bulk of the pitching, allowing 2 hits over 5.1 innings.

Congrats to the players of Al Browne, who led the team out of a late season slump to finish on top. This is the team's 6th league title in the last 9 years.

Cooperstown Team Fundraiser

Stop by the table set up at the center of the park on Wednesday night to support the MP Cooperstown team fundraiser. They are selling entries for a "golf ball drop" that will take place on Closing Day, June 1st. All of the balls purchased will be loaded into a container, which will be raised above the outfield at closing ceremonies. The balls will be dropped at once over a golf cup cut into the field.

Closest to the pin wins up to $3,000. Furthest from the pin wins up to $400. Entries / golf balls cost $20 each. If less than 1,000 balls are sold, prizes will be 15% and 4% of the total proceeds respectively. The balance of the proceeds after payouts will help fund the MP team's trip to Cooperstown Dreams Park for a week of tournament baseball against 100 other 12U teams from around the country.

So stop by on Wednesday and support the team.

T-Ball: Still the Same After All These Years

Legendary Charlotte sports writer, Bob Quincy (left), was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame last night. He was a World War II veteran, five-time N.C. Sports Writer of the Year and spent a long and distinguished career in sports media.

But he was also part of the MPTLL family at one time. While he usually wrote about bigger and better things, back in 1980 he wrote about us. More specifically, T-Ball, which at the time was still being played on the Eastover Elementary School playground. There were winners and losers back then. Only two years prior, there had been an actual championship game - played on our crown jewel, E.C. Griffith Field on Randolph Road, no less. I know - I was a 5-year-old on that team and we cut our beach vacation short to come back and play in it.

Otherwise, it's amazing how little has changed about T-Ball in 33 years - the tears and tantrums, the clover picking and helicopter watching. And as Quincy said, "...unless one has the patience to deactivate a time bomb, he never should consider running a T-ball team." Still true. Enjoy, straight from the scrapbook: "No One Left Holding The Bag In T-Ball" - Bob Quincy, Charlotte Observer, 1980.

Concessions Duty

Like prepping the fields and cheering at games, concession stand duty is another essential way we support our children and our league. It is a fun and gratifying community service for all. Team moms will be reaching out via email to fill spots for each team.  Teams are assigned a specific week and they will need one adult for each night during that week.  We need your help so please volunteer.  Below is a schedule of when teams are responsible for coverage. Thanks to Kaaren Schultz for her hard work and dedication at the concession stand.

Week 2 - April 20, 23, 24          BS, NL2

Week 3 - April 27, 30, May 1     CH, NL3, AL4, AL8

Week 4 - May 4, 7, 8                CC, NL4, AL5, AL9

Week 5 - May 11, 14, 15           T, NL5, AL6, AL10

Week 6 - May 18, 21, 22           CP, NL6, AL7, AL11

Week 7 - May 23, 24, 28           AB, NL7, NL9, AL12, AL14

Week 8 - May 25, 26, 27           TBD, TBD, TBD

Week 9 - May 29, 30, 31, 6/1     RB, NL8, NL10, AL1, AL13