Liam Iwanejko runs toward second base as Nate Gilkey takes a throw at second base during the 8U Rock the Competition Baseball Tournament last week. The event featured 12 teams from three counties, including all-star squads from Center Township, Butler Township, Seneca Valley, Moniteau and Slippery Rock. Organizers hope to make it a yearly tournament and expand it to other age groups.

SLIPPERY ROCK — It started out as a way for players in the Slippery Rock Area Baseball Association to extend their seasons.

It turned into much more.

Last week the association hosted an 8U Rock the Competition Baseball Tournament from Wednesday through Sunday.

Twelve teams from three counties participated, including teams from Center Township, Butler Township, Seneca Valley, Moniteau and, of course, Slippery Rock.

Mike Johnson and Jeff Steele organized the tournament and both were surprised at the reception.

“I'll be honest, I was overjoyed with the amount of positive feedback we got,” Johnson said. “We heard things like it was a first-class event, they'd never seen a tournament run so well, things like that.”

At first, Steele wasn't sure what kind of interest an 8-and-under tournament would garner.

But as word got out, the teams wanting to participate grew.

“We were thinking we'd get four, but then we had 15 interested teams,” Steele said.

They had to cut off the field at 12 to be assured of finishing the tournament in time at the four fields at the Slippery Rock Community Park.

“We said the first 12 checks we get will be in the tournament,” Steele said. “These teams were climbing over each other to get in.”

That bode well for the tournament itself, which Steele said was highly competitive and entertaining.

Butler Township won the title, 8-7, on a walk-off hit.

“It was unbelievable,” Steele said. “So many people came to these games and we got comments from people saying they couldn't believe how good these kids are.”

The tournament featured coaches pitching, which sped up the game.

The six-inning title game lasted a little more than an hour, Steele said.

One of the highlights for Steele was watching players from the different teams interact with each other.

“There was some downtime between games so the kids would hang out with each other,” Steele said. “Slippery Rock and Seneca Valley kids and Butler and Laurel kids and Butler and Moniteau kids were all hanging out with each other and having fun.”

The tournament was also a boon for the community, Steele said, as local business saw an uptick in sales.

“We probably drew 1,500 to 2,000 people over the four days,” Steele said.

Slippery Rock mayor Jondavid Longo threw out the first pitch of the championship game.

Johnson and Steele are hoping to use the success this year as a blueprint for future years.

They hope to expand the 8U tourney and also hold similar events for older age groups.

“We're trying to do things here,” Johnson said. “That's what it's all about — developing these kids' talent and having fun while doing it. We wanted to give these kids more chances to play. Organized sports are kind of like a first job and we want to teach them responsibility and commitment to a team and other people. I think we do a pretty good job.”