Zone 1 American Legion baseball coaches unanimously approved a four-team double-elimination tournament at Bangor’s Mansfield Complex on July 29-31 to determine the two representatives to the following weekend’s State Legion tourney.

The top four finishers during the regular season would qualify for the Zone 1 tournament with the No. 4 team playing No. 1 and No. 2 meeting No. 3 in the first round.

This is the first time Zone 1 has had its own tournament. It has always sent the top two regular season finishers to the state tourney.

The Zone 1 tourney will implement the state tournament rules that forbid the use of the designated hitter and the reentry rule. Those have both been used in the zone’s regular season play.

In addition, the tournament games will be nine-inning games like the state tourney games. Most regular season games are seven innings.

“I really like the idea of having our own tournament,” said Brewer Coach Dave Gonyar. “When you have a facility like Mansfield for a tournament, the atmosphere should be excellent. It will add a lot of excitement and keep the players’ interest up throughout the summer.”

Gonyar indicated that it will enhance the regular season games “because even if a team gets off to a slow start, they’ll still have a shot to fight for the number four spot.”

Bangor was 6-8 before winning 10 straight last summer only to finish in third place, one game out of second and the final state tourney spot.

Gonyar also feels having a tournament will provide the players with more exposure from the media and college scouts and that the tournament has potential for attracting sizeable crowds.

Old Town-Orono Coach Dave Paul and Zone 1 Commissioner Dennis Damon had mixed feelings with their primary reservation revolving around their belief that the zone’s regular season winner has already earned the right, over a 24-game schedule, to represent the zone in the state tourney.

“This penalizes the zone champion,” said Paul.