TUPATALK: A look at final Winget tourney field, schedule for this weekend

Zach Merciez goes into power pitching mode for the Doenges Ford Indians during the 2010 Glen Winget tourney.
Zach Merciez goes into power pitching mode for the Doenges Ford Indians during the 2010 Glen Winget tourney.

Time to get revved up for another Glen Winget tourney bursting with promise for an exciting weekend of baseball drama.

Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indians (19-U/college league) manager/John Pannell has set the schedule, which is slated to feature 21 games spread out from Friday through Monday at Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium/Rigdon Field.

For one of the rare times in the tourney’s history, the Bartlesville United Linen Braves (17-and-U) also will participate.

The 10-team field includes:

Oklahoma — Doenges Ford Indians, United Linen Braves, Elk City Mudcats, Three Rivers Bandits and Southern Elevation.

Arkansas — Bryant Black Sox, Fort Smith Sportsman and Mountain Home Lockeroom.

Missouri — Springfield Kickapoo and Springfield Hillcrest Merchants.

Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indian players celebrate after capturing the Glen Winget title in 2018.
Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indian players celebrate after capturing the Glen Winget title in 2018.

The day-by-day slate includes:

Friday

11 a.m.: United Linen vs. Three Rivers

1:15 p.m.: Ft. Smith vs. Bryant

3:30 p.m.: Mountain Home vs. Hillcrest

5:45 p.m.: Elk City vs. Southern Elevation

8 p.m.: Doenges Ford vs. Kickapoo

Saturday

10 a.m.: Hillcrest vs. Southern Elevation

12:30 p.m.: Mountain Home vs. Elk City

3 p.m.: Kickapoo vs. United Linen

5:30 p.m.: Bryant vs. Three Rivers

8 p.m. Doenges Ford vs. Fort Smith (fireworks after the game).

Sunday

10:15 a.m.: Hillcrest vs. Elk City

12:30 p.m.: Southern Elevation vs. Mountain Home

3 p.m.: Fort Smith vs. Kickapoo

5:30 p.m.: United Linen vs. Bryant

8 p.m.: Doenges Ford vs. Three Rivers

Monday

Ninth place: 7 a.m.

Seventh place: 8 a.m.

Fifth place: 11 a.m.

Semifinal: 1 p.m.

Semifinal: 3 p.m.

Championship: 5 p.m.

The admission price for Winget is $7 for adults and $5 for students 13-and-older. Children 12-and-under get in free. Also getting in gratis are current/former military, first responders and teachers, with a badge ID.

This tourney has taken place every year — except for 1963 — since it began in 1959.

Bartlesville and Springfield Hillcrest have participated in every Winget.

Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indians infielder Tyler Rude soars high in the air to snare the ball while a baserunner bears down on him during 2010 Glen Winget tourney play.
Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indians infielder Tyler Rude soars high in the air to snare the ball while a baserunner bears down on him during 2010 Glen Winget tourney play.

Although ostensibly a celebration of baseball — with former Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indians head coach Glen Winget as the presiding presence — I believe the Winget is really a celebration of youth.

It’s hard for me to believe many of the participants in the first Winget tourney (1959) — although it was called the Bartlesville July Fourth Baseball Tournament back then — are now 80 years old.

But, each summer when the event takes place, all the former players are young again in spirit, adorned by floppy hair, floppy smiles and floppy optimism about the lives that stretched ahead of them like a promising journey.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: TUPATALK: A list of teams, schedule for the weekend Winget tourney