PINETOWN — With Easter coming up this weekend, so too is the annual tradition of local baseball tournaments. Northside is the site for this year’s Easter entertainment, with local teams Washington and Southside also competing.

The tournament, sponsored by PotashCorp of Aurora, starts on Saturday and ends on Monday, with Easter Sunday being a day off. The Panthers, Pam Pack and Seahawks will also take on the likes of Columbia, South Creek and Mattamuskeet.

Some teams, like Northside and Southside, are already in the thick of their conference schedule. For them, this tournament presents an interesting opportunity.

Both the Panthers and Seahawks have struggled thus far in 1-A Coastal Plains action. Playing a handful of games in a three-day stretch allows both groups a large sample size of in-game action. There’s an inherent pressure that comes with playing games, as opposed to simply getting out on the practice field. It won’t be too much pressure, though, because these games won’t have a bearing on conference standings.

Each team’s coaches will surely be looking for improvement from start to finish, while also taking note of things to work on after spring break.

The hosting Panthers are in the midst of a troublesome stretch. In this week prior to the tournament, they dropped lopsided decisions to league foe Bear Grass and non-conference opponent Washington. Head coach Keith Boyd hopes to see consistency and maturity from his talented, albeit young, team.

Northside can use a strong showing in the tournament as a catalyst for success. The Panthers face a stretch of four conference meetings in five games once they return from spring break.

The same can be said of Southside. The Seahawks, who already own wins over South Creek and Columbia, lost their first two conference games. Shortly after returning from spring break, they’ll be traveling to an elite East Carteret team and then to Northside.

The script is much different for Washington. The Pam Pack, which won seven of its first 10 games of the season, don’t start their 2-A Eastern Plains Conference slate until after spring break. The boys have already shown improvement since their season-opening loss at Rose.

This tournament could be a chance for the Pam Pack to experiment a bit — shake up the batting order or rotate some players in and out. Coach Kevin Leggett said he’s still watching the designated hitter position. If anything, he will be looking for anything that can help the team continue its winning ways.

Among the big lures of these tournaments are local showdowns. Northside and Washington have already met twice, but spectators will get to see the Pam Pack and Seahawks square off for the first time this season Friday at 5:30 p.m.

The action begins Saturday with Mattamuskeet vs. South Creek at 10 a.m. PotashCorp is the tournament’s lone sponsor and provided the funds necessary for the event.