ROBERTSDALE, Ala. -- It won’t be long before Robertsdale High School’s softball coach and five players from Baldwin County will be saying arrivederci to the United States and ciao to Italy for a tournament later this month.

Robertsdale High School softball coach Barry Roberts and 12 players, including five from Baldwin County, will travel to Italy on July 28, where they will participate in the Chainti Invitational, a three-day tournament in Grosseto, Italy, located between Rome and Florence.

“I just want to thank everyone for supporting us,” Roberts said. “Individually there are just too many people to thank. It took a lot of effort to get us there, but they got it done.”

Roberts said he wanted to particularly thank the local communities for their support.

“The local city leagues held tournaments and hosted camps to raise money,” he said. In the end, team members raised more than $4,000 each for the tournament.

Four players from RHS will participate in the tournament: Taylor Tucker, a pitcher/infielder/outfielder, the daughter of Tim and Sheri Tucker of Silverhill; Allee Bertolla, a catcher, the daughter of Adam and Stacee Bertolla of Loxley; Briana Pierce, a pitcher/infielder, the daughter of Dr. Brian and Kris Pierce of Robertsdale; and Emily Sinclair, a catcher and infielder, the daughter of Kevin and  Tressa Sinclair of Loxley; along with Autumn Corley, a pitcher/infielder, the daughter of Jonathan and Carolyn Corley of Bay Minette, who plays for Escambia Academy in Atmore.

The roster also includes four players from Mississippi: Rachel Hayes, a pitcher/infielder from Ocean Springs; Lauren Holifield, a pitcher, shortstop and outfielder, from Columbus, who plays for New Hope High School; Reid Cooley, a pitcher from Wayne County High School in Waynesboro; and Carlie Vice, a catcher, third baseman and utility player from Moss Point, who plays for Pascagoula High School; and three players from Louisiana: Brittany Barbay, an infielder/outfielder from Zachary; Amber Guilbeau, an outfielder/catcher from Hayes, who plays for Bell City High School; and Allie Medlin, a catcher/infielder from Calhoun, who plays for West Ouatchita High School.

Vice’s mother, Shelley Silvas, coaches at Pascagoula High and will serve as an assistant coach for the team.

“I know they’re all ready to go and experience another culture while sharing our culture abroad,” Roberts said.

The four-day tournament is set to begin Thursday, Aug. 1, beginning with two days of pool play, followed by double-elimination play beginning Saturday, Aug. 3.

“We will play a minimum of five games in the tournament,” Roberts said. Teams include one additional team from the United States, four teams from Italy, one team from Germany, one from The Netherlands and one from the Czech Republic.

You can like the USA Athletes International Inc. page on Facebook to get updates and scores throughout the tournament, Roberts said.

The trip will also include tours of the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Pisa, a walking tour of Florence and a boat tour along the Cinque Terre. There will also be a pizza-making demonstration with an opportunity for players to make their own pizza. The entire trip will total 10 days, returning to the U.S. on Aug. 6.

According to its website, USA Athletes International Inc. was founded in 1992. Originally called the Midwest All-Stars, the organization, based in Olathe, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City, provided overseas playing opportunities to baseball players.

The success of that program eventually prompted requests from abroad for other sporting teams to participate. In 1998 the organization incorporated and received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, changing its name to USA Athletes International. USAAI now supports a total of 15 different sports that compete in 25 different countries throughout the world.

If you would like to learn more information about USSAI, visit the group’s website, ussai.org.