Kalispell highlights Legion hardball tourney

That's right, it's baseball season in the Flathead Valley.

… And just to prove it, the Kalispell American Legion baseball programs are hosting a 12-team, two-class, 24-game tournament today, Saturday and Sunday among three different complexes.

It's called the Canadien Days Tournament. Like the name suggests, there are seven teams from north of the border participating.

President of Kalispell's American Legion baseball program Alan Fitzsimmons said the tournament has "been around long enough that all the people that started it are long gone.

"The reason we started it is to get some Canadian teams down here. This is actually a holiday weekend (Victoria Day) up there and they play a lot of baseball but they can't do anything with American Legion programs until they are all done with high school baseball and they use this tournament as a kind of tryouts. It's kind of cool. They bring a lot of kids down and they all play a lot."

Kalispell's AA Lakers are the defending tourney champs. Mission Valley won the A pool last year but is not participating this year.

The six AA teams are Kalispell; Glacier; Lethbridge, Alberta; Trail, British Columbia; Cranbrook, British Columbia; and Sherwood Park, British Columbia.

The six A teams are Kalispell; Glacier; Libby; Lethbridge, Alberta; Vauxhall, Alberta; and Fort Macleod, Alberta.

Games will be played at Griffin Field, Archie Roe and Kidsport Complex.

"Between our tourney and the softball tourney for KYSA at Kidsport, there are going to be a lot of people in town playing ball," Fitzsimmons said.