Women’s Baseball Returns to Rockford, IL

History comes to life in Rockford this weekend with the return of women’s baseball at Beyer Stadium – the former home field of the Rockford Peaches from 1943 to 1954. The newly renovated Beyer Stadium will host its first women’s baseball game since 1954 this weekend with the 2013 Midwest Women’s Baseball Invitational taking place August 31 to September 2. The Friends of Beyer Stadium, a group of dedicated volunteers, have been working non-stop to ready the field for play.

The Rockford Starfires and South Bend Blue Socks will reunite for the inaugural game at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Beyer Stadium, located near Seminary Street and 15th Avenue. Games will also be played at nearby Marinelli Field, 101 15th Avenue. In addition to the Starfires and Blue Sox, the roster of teams includes the New England Red Sox, Washington (DC) Thunder, Chicago Gems and The Aussie Hearts from Australia.

“This is such an exciting tournament for Rockford to host,” said John Groh, president and CEO of the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Many of us only know women’s baseball through the movie, “A League of Their Own,” which featured our city’s own Rockford Peaches. Bringing Beyer back to life pays homage to our history and offers a new outlet for fans and players to rally around a Rockford sports tradition.”

The Rockford Starfires hope to make this tournament an annual event and continue to bring in women’s baseball teams from across the country and the world.

“The Rockford Starfires are proud to host this tournament and bring women’s baseball back to Rockford,” said Greg Schwanke, Starfires Co-Founder and Coach.

“We want to thank everyone who has helped us make our dream a reality,” said Steve McIntosh, Starfires Co-Founder and Coach. “We look forward to the games this weekend and encourage everyone to come out and see history in the making.”

Admission to the games this weekend is free; the Rockford Starfires requests visitors bring canned goods which they will donate to the local food pantries. The tournament games times for Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1 are 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at each field. The championship game will be played at 10 a.m., September 2 at Marinelli Field.

For more information visit the Rockford Starfires page on Facebook and the Friends of Beyer Stadium page on Facebook. Greg Schwanke can be reached at 815-979-2899.

The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit organization that champions efforts to promote and further develop the Rockford Region as an overnight visitor destination. RACVB generates positive economic impact for the community through investments in tourism marketing, sales, promotion and advocacy. The website is www.gorockford.com