Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff photo: Matthew Asher Lubbock Ladies Second II None’s Brianna Mares hits a double in the top of the first inning during a game on Saturday in the 33rd Custom Classic softball tournament at Guy Leeder Softball Complex. She later scored in the inning.
Staff writer
The 33rd Annual Custom Classic softball tournament is under way this weekend, but there are still plenty of softball games left at the Guy Leeder Complex which started at 7 p.m. on Friday and will finish today.
link Staff photo: Matthew Asher
Lubbock Ladies Second II None’s Brianna Mares hits a double in the top of the first inning during a game on Saturday in the 33rd Custom Classic softball tournament at Guy Leeder Softball Complex. She later scored in the inning.
Teams from New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma are participating in the event, which includes more than 100 teams in five divisions.
For many of the participants, it’s an event they look forward to each year.
Veda Urioste of Portales’ Sinister said she refuses to miss the tourney, adding that softball has been a part of her life for more than 40 years.
“I’d say about 43 years I’ve played softball,” Urioste said. “I’ve been involved in this tournament for about 23 years. I’ve coached some years, but I’ve played every year in this tournament.”
She has a simply explanation for why she keeps coming back.
“I love the competition,” she said. “Just playing ball, getting out there any competing against different players and pitching.”
The tournament itself is nearly 48 hours of continuous games. As a 10-plus-year veteran of this event, Clovis’ Rachel Prestage of AWOL knows that getting ready for those games with a 2 a.m. start time can be challenging.
“It’s horrible, but getting up that early or late, whichever you want to say it, it’s not my cup of tea,” Prestage said. “You get into the mindset of changing your sleep schedule, but you’ll probably still just sleep in or stay up all night for the game anyway.”
While she has fond memories of various tournaments, Prestage says she’s never had a year that was either more memorable than another because she always comes in with the same mindset.
“To be honest, it’s about the same each year because the goal is just to have fun,” she said. “That’s what I do here every time — I have fun. If you want the experience and you want to play just come out. Even if you don’t have a team come out and teams will pick you up.”
The tournament isn’t just for those who are competing. For Clovis’ Anette Dixon and her squad, Team Kade, this is the first time in 15 years that her husband Maurice hasn’t been an active participant because of a tragedy that occurred in the family.
“My son Kade was born Jan. 25 of last year, and we lost him in March (this year) because he had pulmonary hypertension,” Dixon said. “We’re continuing to live for him and just moving on and paying it forward to kids who are fighting their own health battles.”
Dixon’s family decided to take this year off, but is planning on playing next year as members of the Kade Warriors.
Currently, Dixon is using this event to raise money for children suffering from health issues and wanted to give this time a softball twist by selling raffle tickets and auctioning off a new bat. In addition to the bat, Dixon and the family set up a game of corn hole for anyone who wants to relax to play a few rounds in between their games.
“During softball games you have a long time to wait in between games,” Dixon said. “We have games for people to come and play to spend their time until the next game.”
Urioste, Dixon and Presage said they enjoy the Custom Classic because of the fun atmosphere, and strongly encourage anyone who has yet to experience this event to check it out.
“It gets the community involved,” Dixon said. “It gets people from other towns to come and see our community. It keeps people active, and that’s something I always like.”
Prestage added that for people who aren’t on a team, it’s a good way to meet others who enjoy the same activities.
“If you want the experience and you want to play just come out,” she said. “Even if you don’t have a team come out and teams will pick you up.”
Urioste said the competition is something she always enjoys, but it’s the camaraderie of participants and spectators that makes this one of her favorite events to attend.
“Any big tournament is a good tournament to go to,” Urioste said. “If you play, you appreciate all the pull behind them like the cheerleading. It’s always a fun time.”
