[7/25/03]Vicksburg Baseball Association officials are hoping a new wrinkle in the Governor’s Cup format will make the tournament a little more competitive.

The championship round format was tweaked in some age groups this year. Instead of the traditional pre-determined pairings, the 7-8-year-olds’, 9-10-year-olds’, and 11-year-olds’ age groups will use a seeding system based on records in pool play.

The top four or six teams, depending on the age groups, will then be reseeded for the championship round.

“That seems to be the way more tournaments are run these days, and people feel that is a little more fair in that how they play in the earlier games has an effect on their chances of winning the championship,” Governor’s Cup co-director Stan Woodson said.

Of the four age groups playing this weekend, only the 14-year-olds’ division will use the old format for the championship round. The two winners of each three-team pool in that age group will meet for the championship on Sunday, with the other four teams battling through a semifinal round and a consolation game to decide third place.

Each of the other three groups will reseed, but will decide their champion in a slightly different manner:

In the 7-8-year-olds’ division, all six teams will be reseeded after pool play for an elimination round. The top two seeds will then receive byes, while the other four teams will play in elimination games with the winners advancing to face the top seeds in the semifinals.

In the 9-10-year-olds’ age group, the top four teams two pool champions and two wild cards will advance to the championship round and be reseeded.

The losers of the semifinals will then meet in a consolation game, and the winners will meet for the championship.

The 11-year-olds will decide their champion by taking the top four seeds after pool play and putting them into a semifinal round on Sunday. Because there are three pools in the 12-team tournament, however, the semifinalists will be the three pool champions and a wild card.

The winners of the semifinals will meet in the championship game, while the losers will play for third place.

“It’s kind of like having a wild card in pool play,” said William “Boozer” Emerson, the other tournament co-director. “This way, you’re not pre-determined who’s going to play who. It’s determined by playing.”