LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — Six teams, slight breezes and sunlight convened at the Laurel County Fairgrounds ball fields Friday evening as the first-ever London-Laurel Chamber of Commerce Softball Tournament kicked off.

The competitors were all clad in team shirts and brought out friends, family and co-workers as the cheering squads to cheer on their favorite team(s) as a fun fundraiser for the Laurel County business organization.

For a $150 entry fee, the first four teams played at 5 p.m. in the double elimination tournament. The first match-ups included Bonnie and Clyde, sponsored by Dairy Dart and Arthur Logging, against the L & N Credit Union Steamrollers. On Field No. 1 was The Sentinel-Echo team challenging Jackson Energy Lightning. Winners of that round were Bonnie and Clyde and The Sentinel-Echo.

Two teams drew byes for the first round, sending them in to play winners Bonnie and Clyde and The Sentinel-Echo. Bonnie and Clyde took on The Job Shop while The Sentinel-Echo tested their skills against Jackson Energy’s Thunder team. Again, Bonnie and Clyde and The Sentinel-Echo topped the scoring in their events.

Since the event was a double elimination tournament, the losing teams challenged each other while Bonnie and Clyde and The Sentinel-Echo took a rest before taking on their third game of the tournament. The lights of the two ball fields lit up as the two winning teams challenged the winners in the losers bracket, with Bonnie and Clyde and The Sentinel-Echo again topping their competitors.

In the fourth game, The Sentinel-Echo fell to L & N Credit Union while Bonnie and Clyde continued their winning streak to take the title and earn the Traveling Trophy and bragging rights as winners of the tournament.

“We had a lot of fun,” said Deanna Herrmann, executive director of the London-Laurel Chamber of Commerce. “We just wanted to bring different businesses together and have a good time. I think everyone had fun tonight.”

Herrmann said she hoped the support of other businesses in the community would continue the softball tournament as a yearly event.

“We have a traveling trophy to pass among the winners each year. They have the trophy and bragging rights, so we hope other teams will join in next year and even make this a two-day tournament.”

For more information about the London-Laurel Chamber of Commerce, contact their office at (606) 864-4789 or visit their website at www.londonlaurelchamber.com.



njohnson@sentinel-echo.com