Play Ball! AAABA Tournament registration, players banquet and pairings complete

The AAABA Tournament hadn’t had one pitch thrown or a single crack of a bat. But Sunday, Aug. 1 still was a busy day for the Johnstown Oldtimers and the AAABA.

The official registration of the 16 teams in the 76th AAABA Tournament took place at the Holiday Inn Downtown Crown Ballroom.

A few hours after registration, teams, coaches, managers and tournament officials gathered at 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial for the players banquet and pairings ceremony.

The pool play pairings are determined using a “bingo cage” and numbered marble-type ball to determine which teams are in each pool in the upper and lower brackets. Once all teams are assigned a pool, the match ups unfold for the first three days of the event.

AAABA President Jay Elliot addressed the crowd and led the pairings ceremony.

Johnstown Oldtimers President George Arcurio III spoke to the teams about how great it is to see the tournament return and thanked the teams and others for their support.

Arcurio presented Tyler Scheuermann of the New Orleans Boosters franchise a special plaque commemorating New Orleans’ 75th trip to the AAABA Tournament.

Johnstown Oldtimers Mark Critz emceed the banquet and Mike Hudak placed team names into the proper spots on the big board, revealing the schedule.