FORT MYERS, Fla. — Mack Young's phone rang early Friday morning, bearing news of a tragedy he'd never considered possible.

The bus carrying the Bluffton (Ohio) University baseball team — one of 193 teams scheduled to compete in the month-long Gene Cusic Classic — had plunged off an I-75 overpass in Atlanta, killing six of its 35 passengers, including four players.

"It's horrible," said Young, a senior supervisor with Lee County's Parks and Recreation department and the director of the classic. "We take a lot of pride in all the teams that come to our tournament and for something like that to happen, oh my goodness. We're all pretty shocked by it."

Young said the American flags at the classic's five sites — Terry Park, the Cape Coral Sports Complex, the Northwest Cape Coral Softball facility and Lehigh's Veterans Park — will fly at half-mast for the duration of the tournament. He said he is also planning to distribute a letter to every team, mandating a moment of silence be held before each game.

The Boston Red Sox also held a moment of silence, honoring the victims of the accident, prior to Friday's afternoon's game with the Toronto Blue Jays at City of Palms Park.

Bluffton was also scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday against Eastern Mennonite University of Harrisburg, Va., at noon at the Sarasota Christian School before coming to Southwest Florida for the Cusic Classic.

"We are shocked, absolutely," said Phil Helmuth, the athletic director at Sarasota Christian School. "We came out of a prayer meeting this morning and I got a call and that is how we found out about it. Both teams were scheduled to practice here later this afternoon."

Helmuth said he contacted an official with the Eastern Mennonite team Friday morning to tell them what happened. Helmuth said Eastern Mennonite was also traveling on I-75 this morning and was just outside of Jacksonville when he reached them.

"I don't think anybody knew about it," Helmuth said.

Now in its 17th season, the Gene Cusic Classic allows collegiate baseball and softball teams — mostly from NCAA Division II, III and NAIA schools in northern climates — to play games during their respective spring breaks. Young said 70 baseball and 123 softball teams registered for this year's tournament. More than 600 games will be played before the classic ends on March 31.

Bluffton's first game at the classic was scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday against Hiram (Ohio) College. A message left for Hiram baseball coach Howard Penter was not returned Friday.

Hiram sports information director Jeff Hoedt said the team was planning to depart campus at 5 p.m. Friday for its trip to Fort Myers.

Young said he hadn't thought much about how Bluffton's absence would affect the classic's schedule.

"Right now, our main focus is on the players and coaches and their family and friends," he said. "We'll play it by ear and worry about any make-ups for (Bluffton's opponents) if necessary."