Baseball tournaments continue this weekend despite the heat

MANSFIELD, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Texas baseball players are still taking the field this weekend, despite feels-like temperatures around 110.

Those temperatures may be no sweat for 8- and 9-year-old ballplayers. But for their parents...

"We debated whether to even play because it was going to be so hot, but they all want to, so we're good," said Justin McLeod, coach of the EA Bears from Mansfield. He snagged an extra player for the Under Armour Championships when he saw the weekend's forecast.

"Just so we could rotate and give kids more breaks throughout the day, get an inning of rest here and there," he said.
The tournament started Friday at 2 p.m. and will host 58 teams this weekend. The director said the extreme weather called for some changes to the tournament lineup.

"On Tuesday, we made sure we reached out to parents, players, coaches, umpires, got a plan for the heat. We added extra time between games for hydration," said Tim Truman, director of Pine Tar Sports.

They also hired five additional umpires to rotate throughout games.

"We'll have an umpire call two games, take a game off, call two more games, take a game off, etc., so they can stay fresh and healthy," Truman said.

The turf, he said, adds an additional 10 or so degrees, so players are battling temperatures of 115 to 120. Truman said they're providing water and teams are encouraged to bring their own coolers. Loyal fans also braved the heat - and got creative.

"My husband thought of the wagon, of course, because I'm not going to help with the ice chest. I'm barely making it out here with the heat," said grandmother Rita Benavidez.

"We're Texans. We can handle the heat. Nobody moves here for the weather!" said grandfather Louis Benavidez.