Hey Softballers,

Lots to get to this month.

Before we start talking softball, I wanted to quickly give a tip of the cap to all of the Easton-sponsored schools in the College World Series. Easton has been the exclusive bat of 20 of the last 29 National Champions, including an incredible Fresno State squad last year.

Back on the softball diamond, the season is in full swing. We kicked things off nicely back in April with back-to-back USSSA NIT tournaments in one weekend at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla. There’s really no better way to get back into the swing of things than playing in 11 games in four days, especially when you take home both tournament titles – give it up for Dan Smith/Easton!

My hat’s off to the USSSA for creating a really cost-effective weekend, especially with the economy being as it is – a softball tournament two-fer really makes a difference. Heavy on the softball, light on the wallet! There’s already a second two-tourney weekend set up for July 4th weekend up in Seattle, and make no mistake we’ll be looking for a second straight sweep.

In the past two months, we have had three Easton/Brett Helmer “Bring Ur Real Skilz” tournaments with great turn outs. We’ve been to Manteca, Calif., and my personal favorite, Sparks, Nevada, plus I hosted my first of two “Bring Ur Real Skilz” events up in Utica, New York during Memorial Day Weekend. Sparks was definitely a highlight – the stadium was just built last year, it’s all artificial turf and it’s absolutely beautiful. The weather was a bit chilly but there were a bunch of teams that came out. And of course, getting to host a tourney in my backyard with close to 40 teams was really something special.

We also had a chance to swing through half of our seven-stop Long Haul Bombers tour over the past couple months. Brian Wegman and I kicked things off at the end of April at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, and just last weekend we were up at AT&T Park in San Francisco putting on a show for NorCal. This weekend on June 7th we’re headed to the new ball park in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. I have to say, it’s always great to represent Team Easton and do these events – the fans really like it and who doesn’t like popping a few balls over the wall in a Major League ball park?

Speaking of major, we’ve got a biggie coming up. The weekend of June 19th, we have one of the biggest tourneys of the season, the 27th Annual Dudley Tournament in Brooklyn Center, Minn. I’m looking forward to this one, as I do every year. Along with the 41st annual Smokey Mountain Classic in Mayville, Tenn., these two are easily two of the most important in 2009 – the real ‘meat’ of the season is just around the corner.

That said, what better time to check out Easton’s 2010 line. Our new bats arrived a couple weeks ago at retailers across the country. This is easily our best line to date – we really made a concerted effort this year to offer something for everyone. Let me just say, if you can’t find a bat that works for you, you should pick up golf. There are some great 100-plus mile-per-hour bats that should come in handy as we really dig in this season, plus our industry-first Clarity and Reveal bats.

Happy hitting,

Brett