Softball fans will have no shortage of opportunities to get their fill Monday and Tuesday, with North Medford High playing host to its annual Spring Break Invitational at Lithia & Driveway Fields.

The high school softball tournament brings in teams from the Class 6A level down to 3A, and has come a long way since it began as a way to keep local teams from having to travel as much as Southern Oregon squads typically do — and to take advantage of the top-tier draws here in the Rogue Valley.

Originally, games were spread out from Fagone Field to neighboring high school softball fields at North Medford, South Medford, Crater, Eagle Point and Ashland as they continued to develop.

The introduction of Lithia & Driveway Fields — formerly known as U.S. Cellular Community Park — in 2007 allowed the tournament to gradually become focused in one area and regardless of weather conditions due to the artificial turf playing fields.

This year, games will occupy L&D field Nos. 1-5 and 7-8 practically from sunup to sundown. Games are played in two-hour windows at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Admission is free for spectators, with the higher level programs typically garnering the final three game spots.

“You’re not going to be shorted any amount of softball games from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for two days,” said North Medford head coach Chris Campbell. “You can go watch as many games as you want or follow who you want or whatever, it’s just come out and enjoy some games. It’s a fun time.”

North Medford’s Spring Break Invitational has routinely featured almost every local softball team, as well as some of the top teams throughout the state, and has gotten to be about as much as a two-day schedule can handle.

“This is the biggest one we’ve ever had,” said Campbell. “There’s 41 teams coming to play (34 from out of town) and it’s just a great venue to be able to host a tournament like this and get a lot of the top quality teams in and get four very solid, competitive games in a short amount of time. It just works out for everybody to be able to do that.

“It is a great way to support the community and bring money into the valley and do a lot of good things for ourselves and other teams and the community.”

To help create balance in the bracketing, Campbell said a lot of time is put into researching records from previous years, traditions and things read or word of mouth about players coming into programs and those who have exited. It’s never an exact formula, but it has borne out to produce competitive contests over the years.

“The brackets are set up accordingly for good quality competition all across the board, no matter if you’re a 3A, 4A, 5A or 6A school,” said Campbell. “We try our best to match up so you’re getting four very quality games. It’s a great RPI builder and it really doesn’t hurt you too bad if you lose because you know you’re usually playing a top-10 or top-15 team when you come down here. There’s a lot of quality competition every year.”

Beyond the local draws of North Medford, South Medford, Grants Pass, Crater, Eagle Point, Ashland and Cascade Christian, some of the top teams in this year’s field include preseason Class 6A No. 1 Oregon City and No. 9 South Salem; Class 5A No. 2 Bend, No. 3 Lebanon, No. 4 Dallas, No. 9 Canby and No. 10 West Albany; and Class 4A No. 1 Marist and 3A No. 6 Taft.