Baseball: Tournament to use wood bats

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The 24-team Dennis Gilbert MLB UYA Easter Classic tournament that begins Friday at the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in Compton will use wood bats instead of those made of aluminum.

The tournament will conclude with a championship game at 10 a.m. on April 3.

The participating schools are all from the City Section: Bell, Belmont, Contreras, Eagle Rock, Elizabeth, Fairfax, Franklin, Fremont, Fulton Prep, Gardena, Lincoln, Los Angeles, Hamilton, Hollywood, LACES, Locke, Marshall, Monroe, North Hollywood, Port of L.A., Roybal, SOCES, Venice and Washington.

The tournament is named after Dennis Gilbert, who is chairman and founder of the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation and was a longtime agent. He helped fund the baseball diamond at Los Angeles Southwest College.

-- Eric Sondheimer