By the end of the day Thursday, July 26 more than a dozen 8-year old boys will have a mighty fond memory of Chandler, Texas after celebrating the Texas Teenage Baseball Association 8U Machine Pitch state championship.

The Brownsboro-Murchison- Chandler Youth Foundation is hosting the week-long tournament July 22-26 at Winchester Park and kicks off the fun with a carnivallike atmosphere Sunday.

Sunday's event is free and open to the public as teams from across the state make their way to Chandler for the bracket drawing and to check out the fields.

Several bounce houses, a dunking booth and other fun events will be in the Kid Zone Sunday and all through the tournament to provide a fun, safe place for children while parents are busy cheering on their baseball player.

From 5-8 p.m. Sunday the park will be open for teams and the entire community to enjoy a free hot dog supper. The free supper is sponsored by Sonic Drive-In, Brookshire's and Y's Hometown Foods.

State-bound BMC 8U Stingrays. Opening ceremonies begin at 7 p.m. Sunday with Chandler Mayor Ann Hall.

Game play begins at 8:30 a.m. Monday while the gate to the park open at 7:30. Kid Zone opens at 8 before closing 30 minutes after the final morning game. It reopens at 5:30 p.m. for the night games.

Three teams from BMC league competition have made the tournament while 14 teams will join their quest for the state title.

The BMC Stingrays and Rangers clinched a spot in the state tournament after winning their division in league play while the BMC Warriors finished second in league before storming through district 9 to claim the district championship and secure their spot in the state tournament.

Joining the BMC teams this week in the tournament are the Pleasant Grove Red Sox, Hillsboro Heat, Brownwood Blue Jays, Comanche Astros, Quitman Sluggers, Groesbeck Goats, Mexia- Jesse's Auto Body Tigers, Edgewood Knights, Blooming Grove Lions, Holland Xtreme, Belton Yankees, Temple Hooks, Harker Heights Iron Birds and Whitehouse Bandits.

State-bound BMC 8U Warriors after winning the District 9 championship in Athens. Games are played at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. before an afternoon break. Games resume in the evening with 6 and 8:30 p.m. first pitches. The championship game will be played at 8 p.m. Thursday.

The coach's meeting at 4 p.m. Sunday will determine the seeding for the bracket. The full downloadable bracket can be found on the league website at www.leaguelineup.com/bmcbb.

Gate prices for adults are $6 daily or $20 for the tournament. Student and senior pricing is $3 daily and $10 for the tournament.

Kid Zone prices are $5 a day or $15 for the tournament. It will contain bounce houses and water slides in gated field.

An armband with a matching ticket for their child will be given to parents. Parents will be able to drop off child and child will need parent to pick-up, parent will need to have the ticket to get their child.

The concession stand will be open during the tournament and include nachos, fires, hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks and candy.

Special items at the stand during the tournament include Dairy Queen Blizzards, Coach Bowie's BBQ and Chick-fil-A sandwiches.

Updates will be posted on the BMC Youth Foundation Facebook page and website during the tournament while photos and a recap of the championship game will be published in the Chandler & Brownsboro Statesman on Aug. 2.

The July 26 issue of the Statesman will include action photos from the tournament and coverage of Sunday's opening ceremonies.