Back Memorial Park fills up for two days of softball as the X-Tourney — held in remembrance of local prep sports coach and official Mike Oechsner (“X”) — descends upon Adna.
Seven teams (one less than normal, due to a last-minute cancellation) take the twin fields at Back Park for the two-day event, featuring a massive raffle, games all day and a home-run derby.
All raffle and entry-fee proceeds are donated to the Mike Oechsner Memorial Scholarship fund.
The wood-bat tournament has been held each year — first in Centralia, then in Adna — since Oechsner passed away in 1991, according to Mike Cate, a good friend of Oechsner’s and one of the tournament organizers.
The event has flourished at Back Park, where the Adna Lion’s Club opens up the venue for free and covers its expenses by manning the concession stand.
“It’s the kind of tournament where everyone that goes out there says, ‘I sure don’t want to miss this next year,’” Cate said.
The Oechsner scholarship fund doled out $4,500 to seven recipients this year, primarily through the softball tournament. Team entry fees are $200 — and finding teams to play has never been a problem, Cate added — and members of each team serve as umpires during the tournament to eliminate official fees and maximize the contribution to the scholarship fund.
“Everything he coached in high school was girls’ sports, so when he died, the idea was to dedicate all the money that gets raised to give scholarships to female athletes,” Cate said. “That’s pretty much what it’s always been.”
This year’s Mike Oechsner Memorial Scholarship recipients included W.F. West graduates Jamie Nikander, Klarissa Wren and Katie Jahnsen ($500 each), Pe Ell’s Stephenie Purcell ($500), Toledo’s Candi Zion ($500), Napavine’s Kelsey Williams ($1,000) and Winlock’s Amanda Suter ($1,000).
The X-Tourney kicks off Saturday morning with a coaches’ and umpires’ at 8:30 a.m. at Back Memorial Park, just off of Dieckman Road in downtown Adna.
