FAIRHOPE, Alabama — All base paths lead to Fairhope’s Volanta Park this weekend and into next week as the Dixie Youth Baseball O-Zone division for Alabama meets to hold its state tournament for the 11-12 year old all-stars from 16 districts around the Heart of Dixie. Play begins Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Two local O-Zone All-Star teams from District 7, the umbrella league which governs Mobile and Baldwin counties, advanced to the state tournament meaning the championship round could come down to an All-Eastern Shore showdown between Spanish Fort American and the host team, Fairhope American.

Fairhope Youth Baseball commissioner Erik Cortinas said regardless of who wins on the diamond, all the players as well as the community will win big from the experience.

“It’s a huge, huge thing overall,” he said. “Not just for Fairhope, but the Eastern Shore and Baldwin County and Mobile County will allsee some activity. We’re talking about nearly 200 players and their families coming down through Bay Minette and Mobile. We only have hotel rooms for six of the 14 out-of-town teams in Fairhope. That means people will have to stay in Daphne, Spanish Fort, Malbis. Some may want to go closer to the Gulf and maybe extend their stay. But just getting off at Exit 35 of I-10 at Daphne and coming through that (Hwy 98) corridor is going to be a lot traffic related to this and they are going to stay and spend. There are teams staying there and some at Exit 38 (Hwy 181 MaIbis). I mean the economic impact alone will be great, but we really want to impress everybody with our area— starting with the ballpark. We’re proud of it. We love it. A lot of people like the way our park is laid out with space between the different fields. Folks aren’t jammed together.”

Cortinas added that many hundreds of man-hours have gone into all the phases of preparation from bidding to getting the park and three of it’s fields ready for the O-Zone level of play, including a number of special events on opening day.

“The City of Fairhope has been phenomenal from the beginning. All the board members and volunteers have put in so much time since last July. Probably some, no many, (as much as) 10 to 12 hours a week easily. So, with all the support from the city, volunteers and sponsors, we’re just about ready to start playing ball. Kevin Grimes and I have been kind of out front on this thing, but there are 35-40 people who are the ones making it all happen from the league’s end. Then Barb Stassen, our (Dixie Youth) district (7) director, has been great to work with helping us. Sherry (Sullivan) with the city has been our go-to person there. There are just too many to name, but we could not have done it without all their support. From big things to small things, they have all made a tremendous difference and I can’t ever thank them enough. It really is a team effort.”

Things begin Friday afternoon with a banquet for the players followed by player introductions on W.C. Majors Field at Fairhope Municipal Stadium adjacent to the Volanta Park baseball fields. Fairhope’s own Angie Lewis will sing the National Anthem beginning at 7:30 p.m., and the ceremonies will conclude with a fly-over by the United States Coast Guard. Saturday night there will be a luau and pool party for the players.

“We want to just turn the pool over to the kids after the first day of play to let them be kids and have a different kind of fun off the field,” Cortinas said.

Other weekend activities include, “Love Fairhope,” which is an organization of local churches that will have a worship service on the lawn south of the Fairhope Pier at 8:30 a.m., Sunday morning for the participants, but also for anyone else that wants to come. Then Sunday night, the Fairhope Downtown Merchants are sponsoring an outdoor movie for the players behind the (Fairhope) public library.

The state tournament director will be long-time Fairhoper and youth-sports supporter Vann Saltz, who is also a national director for Dixie Youth Baseball. He was the District 7 director for Dixie Youth for over 10 years before becoming state and then a national director. Saltz is the designated tournament director for the O-Zone state tournament each year.

“Really looking forward to it,” he said. “Fairhope hosting it this year is exciting for me, being from Fairhope, and it shoud be a great tournament. I’ve seen some amazing talent this summer at different district and sub-districts at all levels. But it’s always an exciting experience for these kids. The players and their families make sacrifices to get to this point. I appreciate everything Eric Cortinas and Kevin Grimes have been working on with the committees and their board. They have a lot of neat things planned for it. Barb (Stassen) runs this district and does such a wonderful job of that and all I have to do is just stay out of her way. “

The O-Zone World Series, this year, is in Cleveland, Miss., and begins July 28.

Stassen, a former Daphne Dixie Youth parent, board member, district assistant and now director, is also excited about the tournament.

“The important thing to remember is that it’s about the kids,” she said. "I've been blessed with great people at all the parks in my district who never forget that. Eric and his group of volunteers and the Fairhope community have done a great job of planning and working out how to keep the focus on baseball, but allow the players to have a great experience off the field, too. He’s been working for a year with the board and the committee on this. Sherry Sullivan has been instrumental in getting a lot of the things we need through the city ready like scoreboards and finding rooms for the visiting teams from out of town. And I just appreciate so much all the work everyone and the city has done to make this happen and make it a special thing for everybody, especially the players.”