Softballers,

Lots to get to this month on and off the field.

But 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 Champs, including an incredible Fresno State squad last year and we’re hoping to duplicate that feat in 2009. At the beginning of May, 10 of the Top-25 teams in college baseball were swinging Easton bats, as were the nation’s top two home-run hitters.

Back on the softball field, the season is in full swing. We kicked things off nicely last month 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 11 games in four days, especially when you take home both tournament titles thanks to Dan Smith. That stadium is pretty incredibly – it’s home to the Houston Astros in the spring and right around the corner from the USSSA corporate offices – I really couldn’t think of a better place to tee off 2009.

I know we’re only halfway into 2009, but my hat goes off to the USSSA for what they’ve done in just five short months. Just looking at the April double-NIT – they created a really cost-effective weekend and with the economy being as it is, a softball tournament two-fer really makes a difference, especially for all of the sponsors out there. They’ve helped make it possible for Easton and others to continue to put quality teams on the field and keep everything going even during this economic downturn.

And from the looks of things, this won’t be the end of the two-tourney weekend. The USSA also has a West coast double dip set for July 4th weekend up in Seattle. What I like about the Pacific Northwest swing is that they’re really being mindful of both coasts – swinging from East to West four months apart, everybody has the chance to come out and play without spending too much on travel.

Even still, I’ve been zigzagging across the country in the last few weeks as we dig in with the USSSA conference season. We just wrapped up conference play in Missouri and Texas at the beginning of May, plus some props to my buddies on Jean Shoppe/Easton who went 8-1 a few weeks ago in Maryland to win their first tournament of the season.

Now the attention should turn to 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, which should be on shelves nationwide at your local sporting goods store. This is easily our best line to date – we really made a concerted effort this year to offer something for everyone. Check out the whole line at www.eastonbaseball.com. If you can’t find a bat that works for you, you may want to just 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.

To wrap it up, everyone should really be getting into the groove of the season about now and be looking towards the Nationals – I know I am.

Happy Hitting,

Brett Helmer