Phenix disappointed about cancellations

Lawrence’s Phenix softball teams thought they would get an early start on the upcoming season at the Lawrence Spring Shootout this weekend.

A lot of rain on Friday and standing water at the ballpark Saturday put an end to those hopes.

“It was our first tournament, so we were all looking forward to it and I think we’re all disappointed that it was cancelled,” said Madison Harrell of the 10-and-under Phenix T’s.

The T’s, the 12-and-under Phenix Jorgensen and Ramler teams, and the 14-and-under Phenix White squad were all scheduled to open their spring seasons at the tournament in their hometown before the event, which was scheduled to feature 25-30 teams, was rained out.

The tournament, in all likelihood, will not be rescheduled.

Phenix T’s coach Gary Tanner said his team is not scheduled to play again until May, but with so many teams from this area playing in different leagues and tournaments, rescheduling is nearly impossible.

“Teams have already got their schedules set up for the summer, and it’s just hard to fill up a tournament this late in the year,” he explained. “You can’t put a tournament on financially unless you get enough teams to show up.”

The news left players like Harrell, who was looking forward to her first start as her team’s catcher, disappointed Saturday morning when they learned that the games had been rained out.

“We had practiced a lot and we were hoping to do good in this tournament, but we didn’t really get a chance to,” Harrell said.

“These young girls, they just want to play,” Tanner said. “All of them were excited about playing in the tournament.”

Disappointment for Phenix teams was doubled by the fact that this was a rare opportunity for the traveling teams to play a tournament in Lawrence, where it is easier for friends and family members to come and watch a game.

“It was pretty cool that we would get the chance to play in Lawrence,” Harrell said.

Tanner pointed out that the home tournament would have been a nice reward for the players, who practiced throughout the winter, and coaches were looking forward to seeing their teams in action.

“It would have been good for us to see what we had,” Tanner said.