FAYETTEVILLE — The FayRo Charity Classic has developed into one of the top United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) sanctioned fast-pitch girls softball tournaments in not only Arkansas, but the entire region each summer.
So when the event hosted 65 teams from Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma over this past weekend in Fayetteville and Springdale, it was no surprise the best each state had to offer wanted a shot at the prize.
“It was a huge success,” tournament director and state USSSA director Billy Austin said. “It was top competition.”
What also didn’t come as a surprise was the success of several local teams in the 12th Annual FayRo Charity Classic. Specifically, in the 16U and 10U divisions, where two Northwest Arkansas teams came away as tournament champions.
In the 16U division, the team Crush Elite out of Farmington swept through the tournament with a 4-0 record to claim its second USSSA championship of the summer. Crush Elite, which features players from Farmington, Fayetteville, Springdale and other surrounding areas — as well as a couple of players from as far off as Vilonia — also won the USSSA Pitch for the Cure Tournament the week prior to the FayRo Classic.
“We had some tough games,” Crush Elite coach John Sisemore said. “We had to come from behind in a couple of games and we were behind 3-0 in the final game before we came back and won.”
Crush Elite defeated Disturbed, a team based out of Alma, 13-3 in the finals on Sunday at the Gary Hampton Softball Complex in Fayetteville to complete the championship run. Sisemore credited pitchers Jordin Smith of Farmington and Emily Stockalper of Springdale with solid efforts through the weekend, as well as good hitting up and down the lineup throughout the tournament.
“We did a good job with our small ball and we also hit it for power,” Sisemore said.
Crush Elite will now take their game to the national stage, competing in the Adidas National USSSA Tournament in St. George, Utah from July 17-22.
Along with Crush Elite, the NWA Knockouts out of Bentonville won the 10U division in the FayRo Classic, defeating the Gravette Bandits, 8-0 in the finals. For the Knockouts, it was their fifth tournament title of the spring and summer season.
The FayRo Charity Classic serves as the main fundraiser each year for the Fayetteville Rotary Club, with almost all proceeds excluding costs to run the tournament benefiting nonprofit organizations in the area.