ASHLAND -- When the Amateur Softball Association Men's Major Fast-Pitch National Tournament rolled into Ashland in 2012, ASA Ohio State Commissioner Warren Jones felt 12 of the 16 participating teams had a shot at the title.
When this year's 16-team field with some of the world's top players begins this week -- with first pitch set for 4 p.m. Thursday at Brookside Main and a title game set for 1 p.m. Sunday -- Jones said he's not so sure every team doesn't have a fair shot at going the distance.
"It's going to be a good tournament for us," said Jones, an Ashland resident who brought the event to town three summers ago and said this week's edition has players representing 11 different countries. "We've got a lot of athletes from different countries that are going to be here, and this is the largest ASA (tournament) we've had in quite a while."
"These teams are just coming from all over, it's going to be something else," he said. "The talent is getting a little more spread out; I think a lot of these teams are going to be fighting for contention. There's no clear-cut winner coming in here -- it should be a lot better tournament than what we had here a couple years ago."
Jones, who was excited to tie the tournament into Ashland's bicentennial summer, said tickets will cost $5 per day and will give fans full-day access to both Brookside Main and Brookside West. He said concessions will be available and all 16 teams are guaranteed at least three games each.
Thursday's tournament-opening game will be between two squads that didn't appear in the tournament in Ashland in 2012 -- the Scarborough Force (out of Ontario, Canada) and the Cambridge (Massachusetts) A1 Bombers. Scarborough pitcher Juan Potolicchio was named to the All-American Fast-Pitch Team after the 2012 tournament, then as a member of the Minnesota Angels.
Scarborough and Cambridge are two of 11 teams this week that did not appear in Ashland in 2012. The other new additions are the Bedford (Pennsylvania) Rays, the Blooming (Illinois) Six, the Great Lakes (Michigan) Mariners, the Hallman (Ontario) Twins, the NorthEast Drillers (Pennsylvania), the Peligro (New York) Gremlins, the Pueblo Bandits, the SME Threshers (North Dakota) and the Toronto Gators.
The roster for the Gators is loaded with players from New Zealand, including 2012 all-tournament standouts Thomas Enoka and Wayne Laulu.
Meanwhile, the five teams who are returning after playing at Brookside three summers ago pack some major punch. Jones said the Hill United Chiefs, out of New York, have won the last two men's major tournaments since losing in Ashland in 2012 to the New York Gremlins.
In that tournament, the Gremlins finished with a 7-1 record, but they had to win four games on Sunday to take the title from Hill United, which had knocked the Gremlins into the loser's bracket.
New York pitcher and 6-foot-6 Australian left-hander Adam Kirkpatrick was named that tournament's Most Valuable Pitcher, while teammate and leadoff hitter Mathieu Roy, a Canadian, was the Most Valuable Player.
Both players return this week for the Gremlins, although Jones said Kirkpatrick is trying to recover from a recent injury. That team also will feature Ashland's Nick McCurry on its coaching staff, as well as Japanese player Hikaru Matsuda.
Hill United, meanwhile, returns all-tournament first-team picks from three years ago in Newfoundland outfielder Brad Ezekiel, Australian pitcher Adam Folkard and Australian infielder Nick Shailes.
"Hill United has a lot of the same guys back and they're pretty strong," Jones said. "Any time you've got Adam Folkard throwing with you, you're going to be pretty competitive."
Jones said all the teams have been ranked for bracketing purposes, and the Gremlins and Hill United are on opposite ends of the bracket, a fact that could have them facing off in the winner's bracket final 10 a.m. Sunday.
Other returning teams who competed in Ashland in 2012 include the California A's, the Circle Tap Dukes (Wisconsin) and the Pennsylvania Power. Circle Tap features 2012 all-tournament team picks Tom Crouch and Argentinian Fernando Petric.
The biggest difference between 2012 and this week is the lack of Ohio-based teams. The 2012 edition had four, including Ashland Stock Pack, Ohio Battery, Wooster IWS and the Westerville Capitals.
The only two players from Ohio this year are Tyron McKinney and Craig Scott, but Jones said the competition will be worth the price of admission.
"I think it's going to be an exciting weekend of ball and the weather looks like it's going to hold off for us," he said.
"A lot of the teams are excited to come back to Ashland. ... I'm just glad we were able to get them back for our bicentennial."
Contact Doug Haidet, sports editor, at 419-281-0581, ext. 245, or dhaidet@times-gazette.com.
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