Games came to a stop Monday afternoon,  as rain delayed the plays at showers field in DuBois. 

Twenty softball and baseball teams from 13 different states traveled to Clearfield County for the small college world series. 

During one matchup on Monday, the teams came all the way from Vermont and Alabama. “These are the best small college players in the country,” says Executive Director of USCAA, Matthew Simms.

However, Simms says the rain didn’t put out the fire of the competition. “I mean we have got guys right here in this game with a rain delay throwing almost 90 miles an hour. Just great sticks all around.” 

DuBois was selected to host the games last year in large part because of the state of the art fields. “We felt DuBois had a great small town charm, first-class hotels, and obviously wonderful facilities,” adds Simms. 

City Manager Herm Suplizio says it’s been in the works for a long time. “People are seeing what it takes but at the same time. This is something we’ve been working on for a couple of years,” says Suplizio.

While the games are being played here at showers field all week, the event impacts much more than just the baseball diamond. There are over 550 athletes alone are in our small town right now, says Supilizo.

The city was expecting to fill about 700 rooms for hotels, but its topped that. Right now more than 1000 rooms have been booked. Josiah Jones from Visit Clearfield County says “all the restaurants and different businesses in the area are definitely going to benefit from an event like this.”

It’s double elimination and games will run through Thursday. Penn State DuBois has home field advantage, as they were selected for the tournament.