These teams allow for players to continue bettering themselves by playing against other top competition throughout the region and country, in front of a plethora of college coaches.

Many of the players we’ve been featuring this summer have those aspirations, and here’s where they will be playing this weekend, beginning today.

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Erie Steelheads at

Micah Passmore

Buckeye Elite Showcase

16U Tournament

Warren’s Mitch Grosch, Ryan Rafalski, Nick Hussey and Micah Passmore headline this team, along with Harbor Creek’s Casey Smith, Cody Smith and Cam Williamson, McDowell’s Matt Shepard, Jared Bielanin and Luke Jackson, Fairview’s Mason Bender and Cathedral Prep’s Aidan Kelly.

This is the biggest event they will play in this year, a 96-team field featuring teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia, Maryland, Illinois and Ontario.

In pool play, the Steelheads will square off with the Manchester A’s today at 10:30 a.m. at Olentangy Orange High School in Lewis Center, approximately 20 miles north of Columbus. Their games on Friday morning against the Pittsburgh Spikes (8 a.m.) and Columbus Cobras will also be played at Olentangy.

A number of fields spread throughout suburban Columbus are utilized in the massive event.

Grosch, Rafalski, Shepard and Jackson are all ranked in Prep Baseball Report’s Top 100 Pennsylvania prospects in the Class of 2020.

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Mid-Atlantic Red Sox

playing at Pitt

After returning recently from suburban Atlanta, Warren’s Austyn Cummings and Aidan Morrison will be playing much closer to home this weekend in the Pastime Tournament at the University of Pittsburgh and surrounding sites.

Cummings recently committed to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference powerhouse Millersville University, while Morrison is also entertaining options from colleges to continue his academic and baseball career.

There are 12 featured teams in the field, per the tournament website, with the Red Sox getting underway today against the Toronto Mets Blue at 8:30 p.m. at the University of Pittsburgh.

Their other games on the schedule include two on Friday against the Lake Erie Warhawks (Moon Area H.S., 1 p.m.) and West Hills Baseball (Pitt, 6 p.m.) and Saturday against the Etobicoke Rangers (Pitt, 11:15 a.m.).

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SOFTBALL

Team Akadema competing at All Sanctioned World Series

Team Akadema, featuring Warren’s Kiersten Hoffman, Ellie Lobdell, Grace Wortman and Jordan Sitler, will be taking part in this large showcase event featuring 124 teams.

Columbus will be the place to be for elite softball and baseball, as this event is also being held in Ohio’s biggest city at Berliner Park, the largest softball complex in the United States, featuring 31 fields.

They will play in Pool F as one of six teams, which will also feature Team Ohio Scarlet, Hurricanes Dexter/Birmingham, Ohio Energy, Midland Lady Explorers and Southern Indiana 16U.

Teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio New York, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Maryland and Illinois will be competing in the event.

They will play Ohio Select (8:15 a.m.), Southern Indiana (10:15 a.m.) and Midland (1:45 p.m.) on Friday, followed by a game against Ohio Energy (10:15 a.m.) on Saturday, which will wrap up pool play.

The team also features Corrine Bechtold (McDowell), Morgan Donnell (Fort LeBoeuf), Kira Hillhouse (McDowell), Kendra Keyser (Chautauqua Lake), Kelci Matters (Jamestown, Pa.), Carliy Schlosser (Saegertown) and Katelyn Young (Saegertown).