Fourteen Vicksburg youth baseball teams will head east-by-northeast to play in their respective USSSA state tournaments that begin today and run through Sunday.

“This is like the big finale for many of our teams. The USSSA state tournament is the biggest tournament of the year and in every destination, there are a lot of teams in the field,” said Tim Shelton, president of the Vicksburg Warren Athletic Association.

Scott Verhine, who coaches the Vicksburg Sting, agreed with Shelton about the popularity of the USSSA tournaments. The events feature large bracket with more than 15 teams, which allows teams to see top-notch competition.

“When you win a USSSA state tourney, you’ve done a lot,” Verhine said.

With the VWAA sending 13 of the 14 local teams to state tournaments, Verhine said it shows the progress the city league has made.

“It’s probably the largest group we’ve sent. The good thing about USSSA is they evaluate teams on who they play. For example, they have a separate tournament for your travel teams based on their ability from (class) A to AAA and another division for the regular all-star teams from the recreation leagues. As for my team, the Sting, we were in a 32-team AA bracket, but then USSSA split it into two and now we will play our state with a 16-team bracket that starts at 10 a.m. (today),” Verhine said.

The Sting will be seeded sixth at the 11-year-olds’ AA tournament in New Albany. Its first game in the 16-team event was scheduled for 10 a.m. today. The Sting, which boasts a 17-16 record overall, is 14-5 against fellow AA teams and won the Mother’s Day Invitational in May in Vicksburg.

Vicksburg will also send an 11-year-olds’ all-star team to Brandon to play in the All-Star division.

The Vicksburg Venom has been one of the city’s most successful teams. This year, the Venom (26-16) moved up to play in the 12-year-olds’ AAA division.

The Venom are ranked sixth in the USSSA Class AAA state rankings. They won three tournaments this spring and finished 3-2 in another.

“They have had a lot of success and the movement to AAA reflects that,” Verhine said.

The Billies, an 8-year-olds’ squad coached by Shelton, have gone 29-11 and won three qualifier tournaments. They also had a 10-game winning streak snapped at their last tournament in early June. They will play in an eight-team AAA state tournament in Philadelphia beginning on Friday.

Also in Philadelphia will be the Vicksburg Blue Jays for the 8-year-olds’ Class AA state tournament; the Vicksburg Cannons in the 7-year-olds’ AA state; and the Vickbsurg Bulls, the VWAA’s All-Star team, which will play in the All-Star division.

Drillers Baseball and the Culkin Baseball Association Cardinals are in Madison for the 10-year-olds’ A/Open state tourney. The Drillers are 13-19 this season and the Cardinals are 6-14.

The Vicksburg Braves and River City Storm will go to Oxford. The Braves (8-11) are in the AAA state tournament after making the final of the Shiloh Park Invitational in May. The Storm will be in Class A/open.

Two 13-year-olds’ clubs, the Vicksburg Challenge (11-12) and the Siege of Vicksburg, will play in the AA state tournament at Canton. The Challenge comes in hot after winning the Clinton Invitational earlier this month.

And for the first time, the VWAA will send a 6-year-olds’ all-star team to play in the USSSA All-Star tournament in Brandon.