The high school summer baseball season will officially begin today with two decidedly different events, each with a decidedly different purpose.

The 15th annual McEachern Wooden Bat Classic will start with round-robin competition featuring roughly 50 varsity and junior varsity programs playing games at sites scattered around Cobb and Paulding counties. Its purpose is to help high school coaches evaluate up-and-coming talent and to prepare them for next spring.

The championship games of the JV and varsity competitions will be held Sunday at McEachern at 1:30 and 4 p.m., respectively, with game times ranging from 1 to 7:45 p.m. for the preliminary games.

Players in the tournament will use Aladame maple bats, and in order to speed up the action, all games, except for the championship, will have a two-hour time limit.

"We have teams from Florida, south Georgia, and metro Atlanta that have been participating in this for years," McEachern coach David Joiner said. "The last two years, the economy has hurt some of the teams that normally come and have held back on travel, but it's still a pleasant surprise to see so many still coming back."

Hillgrove defeated Mill Creek in the finals of last year's tournament. Both squads are expected to contend again this season along with Brookwood, North Cobb and Florida power Chiles.

"I don't know if (winning the title) last year has anything to do with (being a favorite) this year," Hillgrove coach Dave Richardson said. "It's a totally different roster. We're just trying to evaluate some of our young players and development them and see where they are."

Other teams in the event include Campbell, Wheeler, Allatoona and South Cobb, among others.

Also serving a purpose to evaluate talent is the Georgia Dugout Club Top 96/Senior All-Star Games. The players being scrutinized represent some of the top senior talent in the state and college coaches and scouts will be on hand to watch up-and-coming athletes capable of playing at the next level.

Games will be played today and Thursday at Kennesaw State, with additional games played Saturday and Sunday at State Mutual Stadium, the home of the minor league Rome Braves.

Today's and Thursday's game at Kennesaw State will start at 5 and 7:30 p.m.

The Atlanta West team will feature several of the county's top seniors from Wheeler, Lassiter, Walker, Pope, Mount Paran, Osborne, Campbell, Hillgrove and Walton. Keith Hansen, the former Allatoona baseball coach who was among the cuts created by the school district's budget cuts, will lead the Atlanta West team, with Walker coach Mike Brady serving as one of three assistants.

"There are six teams altogether, and about 125 kids will be seen by about 20 to 30 college coaches and scouts," said Harvey Cochran, the Georgia Dugout Club secretary and Mount Paran Christian coach. "Some have already signed college scholarships, but there's a prestige to playing in this event. We've been doing this for about 35 years and it's for the kids. They get to be seen and they play in a college stadium. These are some of the best guys in the state."

Hansen sees the All-Star event as a huge benefit for everyone involved, even if it can cause a coach headaches.

"The hard part is getting everybody enough playing time to be seen," he said. "The upside is these kids are the best players from their teams, so from top to bottom, you have skilled players all over the field. It's a privilege to coach a team like this."

Before to the all-star games, Mount Paran will host the Georgia Dugout Club underclassman showcase, which is slated to begin at 8:30 a.m. Run by pro scouts, roughly 100 players participate.