Tryouts for the Lehigh Valley Keystone State Games baseball team began and players from Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton counties are encouraged to tryout.

Tryouts will be taking place at Laurys Station on July 6, 13 from 5:30-8 p.m. and on July 9, 10, 16 at DeSales University from 9 am-noon.

There are two divisions for the tournament, starting with the junior division, which is open to players from grades 9-10 for the 2016-17 academic year.

The scholastic division is for students entering 11-12 grades for the same academic year.

Both teams have taken home top-three finishes each of the last three years, as the juniors team won gold last season, while the scholastic team won bronze a year ago.

Ted Plessl, who oversees the coordination for the Lehigh Valley teams has been involved with the tournament for the past 12 years. He sees the tournament as a great Pennsylvania event that is strictly for PA high school players to showcase their skills.

“This allows collegiate scouts to watch and evaluate our players in game situations, as well as in a pre-tournament showcase,” said Plessl. “What I personally like about the junior division is that my staff and I get a chance to view the future rising stars in the Lehigh Valley.

“Besides the two divisions, the players enjoy the experience. Our players also get the opportunity to practice and play baseball games under a great volunteer coaching staff that has been together for quite some time. This staff is all about teaching the game of baseball through our tryouts and games.”

This year’s staff is headed by Greg Candelmo (12 years), Joe Domitrovits (12 years), Eddy Sarmiento (six years) and Bob Foulke ( two years). The junior staff is headed by Joe Candelmo (five years), Tom Plessl (five years), and Cody Weiss (four years).

This year’s tournament takes place from Wednesday, July 27 to Sunday, July 31 in York, PA.