The 12U Southern Kentucky Sluggers based in Russellville have been selected to play in the Cooperstown Dreams Park and American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame Invitational Tournament, during the week of June 6 in the Magical Mythical Home of Baseball, Cooperstown, N.Y.
     In addition to competing against teams from around the country, members of the Southern Kentucky Sluggers will be enshrined in the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame. They will also be at the home of Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
     The Sluggers currently have a record of 18-7 that dates back to August of last summer. Travel ball season is from Aug. 1 through July 31. Last season as 11 year olds the team finished with a 30-15 record with four tournament titles including the BPA Kentucky StateChampionship where they went 5-0. They finished third in the BPA World Series in South Bend, Ind.
     The Sluggers started 2009 with a 5-0 mark, winning the Rustbuster Classic in Owensboro March 21-22. In that tournament the team outscored their opponents 61-15.
     The Sluggers return their co-MVPs from last year’s state championship team, Matt Harper and Barrett Croslin. Croslin will be splitting time between the Russellville High School Panthers and the Sluggers.
     The Sluggers have picked up three new faces. Ian Woodall has returned after taking a year off from traveling. Jared Luebbe joins the Sluggers to provide catching and pitching strength. Luebbe is from Newburgh, Ind. and played on the Southern Indiana Spikes last season. Jared has been selected as a preseason top 100 player in America. Hunter Nichols hails from Madisonville. Last season he played for the Evansville Extreme. He also has been voted as a preseason top 100 player nationally.
     Other players returning this year for the Sluggers are Caleb Bruner, Joe Holliday, Daniel Beaty, Brett Ferguson, Jacob Procter and Zach Denney. 
     The coaches are Kevin Gettings, Chris Bruner and Phil Holliday.
     Southern Kentucky Sluggers started as an organization in August 2006. That season the team consisted of 9 and 10 year olds from Logan County and Muhlenberg County. In three short years the organization has grown to three teams and pulls kids from seven counties and three states.
     The unique thing about the Sluggers is that for the most part it is free to the parents. Most big organizations charge a high fee for membership. Most clubs require players’ parents to pay $400 or up. Sluggers do fund raising instead.
     "The reason we do not charge kids to play is because we want the best kids, not just the kids that can afford it," says Sluggers President/12U Head Coach Kevin Gettings. "Travel ball is expensive enough for parents when they have to travel and stay in hotel rooms, eat and pay gas money to get there, so they don't need to pay $500 on top of that. Plus I think that if the kids have to work to raise the money they will appreciate it more."
     The Sluggers have been selected to play in some of the elite baseball tournaments in the nation this season. In May they will travel to Harriman, Tenn. to play in the Battle in the South where they will face many of the top 20 teams in the nation. They will also travel to South Haven, Miss. to play in the USSSA Elite 32 World Qualifier. The top two teams from this event will qualify to play at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in October. And, of course, in June they will be traveling to Cooperstown to
play in the Hall of Fame Tournament.
     You can see more details concerning the Sluggers at  www.leaguelineup.com/southernkentuckysluggers.