Last weekend, the 64th annual Malad Little League Tournament was held. The tournament was from Thursday, July 21 to Saturday, July 23 at Malad City Park and Pioneer Park. 

This annual tournament included 18 total teams, 7 minor league and 11 major league, from all over Southern and Central Idaho. Pool play started Thursday morning at 7 a.m. and went until about 7 p.m. Friday night. Some tournament games started Friday night and the championship games were played Saturday afternoon. 

Friday night there was also a homerun derby put on by the Malad High School Baseball Team as a fundraiser. Each contestant in the tournament had the chance to purchase five pitches. The winner was determined based on the home runs they hit from those pitches. They could buy more than five pitches. Winners in the Adult, Major, and Minor League divisions were out of town but everyone seems to have a lot of fun trying to swing over the fence.

The tournament also included the traditional watermelon bust, sponsored by Thomas Market,  as well as  concessions and T-shirts for sale. 

The park was filled with people throughout the weekend and there were many families that took advantage of the ability to camp in the park.

The winner of the 10u bracket was the Vipers with the Pocatello Patriots coming in second place. For the 12u, the Vipers 12u took first and the Vipers 11u took second. Malad 12U All Star team fought hard but was eliminated Friday night. 

Whitney Blaisdell operated the concessions for the tournament. Tournament Director Brian Thomas expressed appreciation for for concessions, the city crew, Jerry Thomas and Thomas Market, Oneida County Ambulance crew, Chris Jensen for helping with fields, MHS baseball team for running the homerun derby, and MHS wrestling team for providing activities. 

The Malad Little League Tournament is the longest consecutive running little league tournament in Idaho. It is usually one of the final tournaments of the summer. Teams sign up early to be a part of this tournament and are eager to face the competition as they come to spend an exciting weekend in Malad. There will be a lot of tough competition through the three days of action.