The Black Gold team is comprised mainly of players originating from Hermann, New Haven, Union, and Washington. Eric Steinbeck, Terry Coon, Cullen Speckhals, and Matt Benz are some of the long-time players, with recent area high school baseball standouts such as Jake Murphy, Jake Johnson, and Ben Held joining the team in recent years.
Teams from Kansas, Illinois, and all parts of Missouri will battle it out in a round-robin format with two pools on Saturday, then single elimination tournamentSaturday night and Sunday.
Action starts at Saturday morning with two games. On Lions Field at 10am, Black Gold takes on the Kelso Fastpitch, which recently finished 3rd in the 13 team Kelso Classic. On Bock Field at 10:30am, the Pinckneyville, IL Falcons take on last year’s defending champion Boonville, MO Fastpitch. The St. Charles Tribe, Bowen Fastpitch from Bowen, IL, and the Wizards of Oz from Silver Lake, Kansas also return to the Classic this year.
Black Gold plays at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Lions Field. Single elimination games starting at 5pm Saturday night and resume on Sunday at 9 a.m.. The championship game starts at 1:30 p.m.
Black Gold finished 3rd in last year’s tournament.
For the third year in a row there will be a mens’ fastpitch softball reunion held at the pavilion near Lions Field starting at 2 p.m. Saturday. Seventy former players from all over Missouri attended last year. All former players and fans from the state of Missouri are invited.
“The Black Gold Classic is known for featuring good pitching and a very balanced field of teams,” said manager Eric Steinbeck. “We look forward to seeing everyone out at the ballpark.”
Full concession stand along with BBQ pork steaks, burgers, hot dogs, and the ever popular popsicles will be available both days.
For more information on the tournament contact Eric Steinbeck (314-640-6432) or Matt Benz (314-560-4839). For more information on the reunion contact Dave Scheer (636-388-1307).