NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. – Lodgepole, Neb. resident Jeff Parsons, currently in his 36th season as an umpire, will be the umpire crew chief at the 2017 Class B Junior Legion State Baseball Tournament, Saturday through Wednesday in Nebraska City.
Parsons has been in town for two days, walking and looking at every inch of Clemmy Holmes Field, and he had high praises for the tournament’s host site.
“It’s one of the most phenomenal yards I’ve ever seen. It’s well kept, it’s clean. I’m really excited to be on the field.”
Parsons umped his 2,000th game at the Class B Area 7 Tournament last week in Ogallala, Neb. He has been an umpire for American Legion, high school, college and semi-pro baseball.
This weekend, he will be looking for the umpires to be in the correct positions to make the calls, the coaches to coach and the kids to play.
“Getting to a state tournament, not a lot of teams make it. So, you’re getting down to eight teams and they want to play. They want to play hard. That’s what excites me the most is seeing the crispness of the kids.”
Parsons says he can’t pinpoint one aspect of the game that is his favorite. He just loves the game. He loves the sound of the dirt when you walk on it, to the clink of the bat, to watching the kids play.
There will be a three-man umpiring crew for the first three days of the tournament, followed by a four-man crew for Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Parsons.
Class B Junior State Legion Baseball Tournament
When:
11 a.m. Saturday: Bennington vs. Auburn
5 p.m. Saturday: Wayne vs. Waverly (98.9 FM, AM 1590 in Wayne & waynedailynews.com)
8 p.m. Saturday: Nebraska City vs. Alliance
Where: Clemmy Holmes Field, Nebraska City
Radio: B103 (103.1 FM, B103.fm & the B103 app)
Junior State Legion Baseball Brackets and Results
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