Last Sunday was a lazy day for Vidalia head baseball head coach Johnny Lee Hoffpauir.

He spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the field with the annual Vidalia Tournament going all weekend, and by the time it was over the veteran coach needed a day to take a breath.

A week later, however, may have been a different story.

This past weekend was Vidalia Invitational. And with the competition significantly better than the week prior, Hoffpauir’s Vikings played much better.

It featured Bridge Creek, Okla., coached by former Huntington and Natchez High coach Sonny Clay, and Camden-Fairview, Ark., coached by former Adams Christian skipper Greg Harris.

Throw in a solid Class 4A squad in Minden, a tough 1A team in Mangham and one appearance by Cathedral, and folks definitely got their money’s worth.

&uot;If each of these teams could have stuck with their Nos. 1 or 2 pitchers at any time, anybody could have won this thing,&uot; Hoffpauir said. &uot;I thank all the teams that participated, and I thank everybody involved. You can’t do it alone. I’ll put it like this &045; I’ve got great help.&uot;

The weekend had some of the better teams you’ll find in a tournament in that part of Louisiana. In a sport that’s dominated by private schools and schools in suburban areas, the Vikings were able to pull some quality teams in with Class 4A Minden and the two teams from out of state &045; Camden-Fairview is Class 5A and Bridge Creek in 3A.

&uot;We’ve been successful with it,&uot; Hoffpauir said. &uot;Big schools like coming in here. Our facilities are second to none, and our field is immaculate. A lot of people want to come play the smaller schools. We were able to get those schools in here. We like playing the bigger schools. It’s like we tell our kids &045; it’s just another ball game, and let’s go out and play.&uot;

Harris, meanwhile, enjoyed the trip down despite not faring as well as he would have liked. The Cardinals dropped an 11-0 decision to Minden in the first game and fell to Vidalia 17-5 in the nightcap in just three innings.

But the former AC coach, who enjoys visiting old friends on the trip, said he’ll come back as long as his team is invited.

&uot;Johnny has a good club, and they believe,&uot; Harris said. &uot;That’s what I want us to see. Those kids are competitive, and they’ve got tradition. We’re trying to build tradition. We play in one of the toughest district in the south state. We’re going to see teams as good or better in our conference.&uot;

The weekend had plenty of good matchups, including Friday’s barnburner between Vidalia and Minden that had the Vikings taking a 2-0 win against Crimson Tide ace Riley Hollingsworth.

Cathedral played just one game over the weekend since it has three division games this week, but the Green Wave hit the ball about as well as Vidalia did the entire weekend in its 11-4 win over Mangham.

&uot;(Hoffpauir) asked me a while ago about coming back, and I said, ‘Heck, yeah,’&uot; Harris said. &uot;Last year with Barry Bowden &045; we saw a kid in our conference who ended up getting drafted by the Cardinals, and Barry was as good or better. We play a lot of teams from Louisiana. People over there know Vidalia has great baseball.&uot;

Adam Daigle

is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. You can reach him at (601) 445-3632 or by e-mail at

adam.daigle@natchezdemocrat.com.