Bob Swauger, who is president of the Niles Youth Baseball League, said watching this year's Niles Baseball League Tournament has been truly his pleasure.
"We just enjoy watching the kids playing the game of baseball, seeing it still continues and it will always continue with baseball as a summer sport," he said. "That's the thrill for me and the other officers of this league and every other league in this area. It's for this kids."
The tournament ended after press time, but the action of those 31 teams provided plenty of pop for the area fans.
"Anything can happen in any game, but it's been competitive baseball throughout," Swauger said.
The first weekend of July, when the tournament started, had temperatures hovering around 100 - a sizzling way to start the tournament. It was a hard way for those youngsters to start play.
Swauger said he and the tournament officials had the kids' safety first.
"We watched the kids, but we limited them to just one game a day," he said. "If it was too hot during the game and (they) needed a break and the coaches wanted to take a break, we allowed them to take a break."
One team that remained hot throughout the tournament was Niles' 7-8 year old team that took second in its age bracket.
"They did pretty good," Swauger said. "We're happy with any of our teams placing and getting a trophy. As long as kids have fun and are competitive and they enjoy it, that's what we're here for."
It was a good tournament for all involved.
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