Baseball isn't finished for the year in Butler County just yet.

Eagle County League president Dan Cunningham has announced the formation of an eight-team adult baseball wooden bat tournament Labor Day weekend at Pullman Park and Butler County Community College.

The tournament is designed to raise funds to help pay for the Eagle County League's medical and liability coverage.

"Those costs go up every year and we don't want to put that increase on our players," Cunningham said. "We're hoping this tournament succeeds this year and grows in coming years.

"We'd have no problem housing a 16 to 24-team tournament at this time of year. We've got the facilities to do so. This year's tournament was almost 12 teams."

Team entry fee is $400 with the Eagle County League providing the umpires and venues.

The eight teams involved in this debut tournament are the Black Squirrels of Portage (Ohio), Allegheny Valley of the Pittsburgh Federation League, Clancy's Grill of Dravosburg, Debo's Movers of Beaver County, the Pittsburgh Over-28 traveling team, a Butler City team managed by Butler City American Legion skipper Jerry Piroch, the Freeport River Pirates and Saxonburg.

Freeport and Saxonburg will basically field their respective Eagle County League teams. Piroch is gathering some former Legion players to complete his team.

"That Over 28 Pittsburgh team competes in the Roy Hobbs national tournament in Florida every year and they've won it a couple of times," Cunningham said.

The tournament will begin with two four-team pools competing in pool play Sept. 4 and 5. The top two teams from each pool will move into a double-elimination tournament Sept. 6 and 7.

Games will be played at 6 p.m. Sept. 4 at both sites. Sept. 5 games will begin at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m,. and 5:30 p.m. at both sites, with a night game added at Pullman Park.

The entire double-elimination tournament will be played at Pullman Park. Game times Sept. 6 are 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

The championship game will be played at 1 p.m. on Labor Day.

Admission is $2 at Pullman Park. There is no admission fee to see games at BC3.

"We're having a home run derby as well," Cunningham said,. "Two batters from each team will get five swings each Saturday afternoon. The top- three hitters will compete in the finals Saturday night."

The home run derby will be at Pullman Park.

Former Butler High School and Saxonburg Eagle County player Aaron Rekich, now the owner of RLC Bats in Virginia, will be on hand at both sites doing demonstrations and talking about wooden bats.

"We'll show the different colors and models," Rekich said. "We'll also have souvenir mini-bats on hand and discuss the difference between ash and maple bats."

Rekich got started making bats after having a dream while sleeping on a snowy winter night a few years ago.

"I dreamed I got a used lathe off eBay, cut down a tree and made a bat," he said. "So that's exactly what I went out and did. And I sold the bat.

"I took the money from that sale and bought two pieces of wood and made two bats. I kept doubling up until I had a company."

RLC Bats supplies wooden bats to approximately half of the Eagle County League teams and to Ron Zawrotruk for a Memorial Day wooden bat tournament he holds at Highfield Park.

Cunningham said he posted this upcoming tournament on the Eagle County website and drew interest from teams in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan.

"There's an adult wooden bat tournament in Harrisburg every year, but that's the closest one to here," he said. "A lot of these teams contacted me and said thery received word of our tournament too late for this year, but that they'd be interested next year.

"I'm pretty confident this thing is gonna grow."