Cheboygan to host 4th Annual Chaos Clash softball tournament

CHEBOYGAN – It’s something that’s gotten bigger and bigger and bigger ever since it started.

This upcoming weekend, it’ll be the biggest it’s ever been.

Starting on Friday, Cheboygan will host its 4th Annual Chaos Clash softball tournament, which will consist of four different divisions, with teams from all across the state of Michigan competing.

“This year is our fourth year hosting the event,” said Chaos Clash tournament coordinator Joe Kosanke, who will also be coaching. “That first year we had eight teams in two divisions, this year we’re going to have 36 teams in four divisions, so over a four-year period we’ve seen quite a bit of growth. It’s always fun for the girls to be able to play at home and host a tournament.

“That’s kind of why we do it, is so the girls have a chance to play in front of friends and family that don’t normally get to see them play.”

The three-day event is basically a festival of softball in Northern Michigan, as several teams will be looking to have success and a good time. In addition to the host Cheboygan Chaos teams, as well as the Presque Isle Panthers and Northern Michigan Cyclones (Indian River), who ar, the tournament will feature teams from the metro-Detroit, Grand Rapids and Saginaw-Midland areas, as well as the Upper Peninsula.

Asked why it keeps getting bigger, Kosanke said location is a major factor.

“A lot of it just happens to be where we’re at,” Kosanke said. “People take their vacations in Northern Michigan, so at the end of the travel softball season a lot of teams have one last destination event where they spend the week camping before or after the event, and you couple that with a softball tournament.”

Over the years, the event has received positive praise for its location alone.

“People like the tournament, they like the fact that it’s on the river, they think that’s pretty cool,” Kosanke said. “A lot of times you’ll see younger brothers over there fishing in the river, which is an interesting aspect to our location, and we keep the fields in good shape. (Cheboygan Little League) does a really good job of keeping everything up and ready, which makes it easier for us to kind of roll into our tournament, and keeping the fields in really good shape are what the coaches in particular care a lot about.”

This year’s tournament will feature four divisions, including 10-Under, 12-Under and 14-Under. The newest addition to this summer’s Clash is the 16-Under division, which will see many of its games held at Cheboygan High School. In addition to Cheboygan High School, games will also take place at the Cheboygan River Fields and the Cheboygan Knights of Columbus field.

The Cheboygan Chaos’ three tournament teams are its 10U, 12U and 16U squads.

Kosanke added the tournament itself gives players an opportunity to showcase themselves against quality competition.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Kosanke said. “You sometimes have to go travel to (other locations) to compete against some of the better programs, and in our case we host an event, then they come here and the girls get to see some good quality competition. It does get intense. As the kids get older, the games are closer. They play against kids they’ve played before, so they kind of know what to expect. Especially with elimination games on Sunday, those get intense, the girls get competition throughout the week, and by Sunday, the elimination games get competitive.”

The tournament begins with pool play games as early as 1 p.m. on Friday. After pool play concludes on Saturday, bracket play games will be played from Sunday morning into the evening.

A good way to keep up with the tournament action going on in Cheboygan is by downloading the Tourney Machine phone app, which currently shows dates, times and locations for games being played.

Also, there will be a small number of baseball teams taking part in games over the course of the weekend.

Tournament schedules for notable teams:  

Cheboygan Chaos 10U: vs. Soo Legacies, Friday, 2:25 p.m., Cheboygan Men’s Fastpitch Field; vs. Northern MI Legacies, Saturday, 8:30 a.m., Cheboygan Knights of Columbus Field; vs. Alpena Thundercats, Saturday, 9:55 a.m., Cheboygan Knights of Columbus Field

Cheboygan Chaos 12U: vs. Presque Isle Panthers-Muckle, Friday, 1 p.m., Cheboygan River Field; vs. ICE Fastpitch, Saturday, 3:05 p.m. Cheboygan River Field; vs. Northern MI Legacies, Saturday, 5:55 p.m., Cheboygan River Field

Cheboygan Chaos 16U: vs. UP Vortex, Friday, 5:15 p.m., Cheboygan High School Field 1; vs. Krash 15U, Saturday, 10:50 a.m., Cheboygan High School Field 1; vs. Northern Michigan Legends, Saturday, 12:15 p.m., Cheboygan High School Field 1

Presque Isle Panthers-Hyde 12U: vs. Northern Michigan Legends-Payton, Friday, 3:50 p.m., Cheboygan Little League River Field; vs. Mid MI Swat Elite, Saturday, 8 a.m., Cheboygan Little League River Field; vs. Lapeer Lightning, Saturday, 9:25 a.m., Cheboygan Men’s Fastpitch Field

Presque Isle Panthers-Muckle 12U: vs. Cheboygan Chaos, Friday, 1 p.m., Cheboygan Little League River Field; vs. ICE Fastpitch, Saturday, 12:15 p.m., Cheboygan Little League River Field; vs. Alpena Thundercats, Saturday, 1:40 p.m., Cheboygan Little League River Field

Presque Isle Panthers-George 14U: vs. Northern Michigan Cyclones, Friday, 2:25 p.m., Cheboygan Little League Rec Field; vs. Fenton Fastpitch, Saturday, 10:50 a.m., Cheboygan Little League Rec Field; vs. Soo Legacies, Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Cheboygan Men’s Fastpitch Field

Presque Isle Panthers-Haselhuhn 14U: vs. Chain O’Lakes Fanatics, Friday, 5:15 p.m., Cheboygan Little League Rec Field; vs. Alpena Thundercats, Saturday, 9:25 a.m., Cheboygan Little League Rec Field; vs. Northern MI Legacies, Saturday, 3:05 p.m., Cheboygan Little League Rec Field

Northern Michigan Cyclones: 14U: vs. Presque Isle Panthers, Friday, 2:25 p.m., Cheboygan Little League Rec Field; vs. Fenton Fastpitch, Saturday, 8 a.m., Cheboygan Little League Rec Field; vs. Soo Legacies, Saturday, 12:15 p.m., Cheboygan Littl Rec Field

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan to host 4th Annual Chaos Clash softball tournament