Wayne-Holmes All-Star Game pits seniors against underclassmen at Triway

The Wayne-Holmes Softball Association brought its annual showcase back to Triway Softball Field on June 8, but this year’s edition looked different from the usual all-star split. Instead of dividing players into a traditional senior game and Futures Showcase, the sixth-year event put seniors on one side and underclassmen on the other in a single game built around local bragging rights.

Organizers expanded the rosters to make room for more standouts, with 17 seniors and 16 underclassmen listed for the matchup. The game was set for nine innings or until darkness, keeping the feel of an old-school summer night at the field rather than a tight, scripted exhibition. For the seniors, it served as one last high school stage. For the younger players, it offered a chance to face athletes they had battled all spring, or to line up with them in one final county crossover.

The setting mattered as much as the format. Triway Softball Field has become a familiar stop for Wayne-Holmes all-star softball, joining earlier venues such as Wooster High School and Roger Wells Field in Shreve. That local rotation has helped turn the event into a county-wide gathering point for softball families from Wayne County and Holmes County, especially after the spring season ends and fans still want one more night of competition.

The showcase also arrived with a deeper history behind it. The Daily Record referred to the 2022 softball event as the third annual Wayne-Holmes County All-Star Games, showing how quickly the tradition has grown. In earlier years, the softball lineup included a Futures Showcase for freshmen, sophomores and juniors, a home run derby and the senior game. In 2023, those events were scheduled for June 27 at Roger Wells Field in Shreve, with the Futures Showcase at 5 p.m. and the Senior All-Star Game at 8 p.m.

That history gives added weight to the names on the rosters now. In 2022, six Triway seniors went out with a win in the senior game, and Hailey Massaro drew attention in the home run derby. The area has also produced strong programs such as Triway and Hillsdale, which have made Wayne-Holmes all-star selections feel more like a gathering of proven players than a simple season-ending ceremony.

What happened at Triway on June 8 was more than a novelty format. It was a county celebration built around familiar rivals, local programs and one more chance to put Holmes County and Wayne County softball on the same field.