THE TOURNAMENT: The 54th and final Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Summer Baseball State Tournament will take place Friday, July 20, at Kapco Park on the campus of Concordia University in Mequon, Wis. Action will begin at 11:35 a.m. with the first of two semifinals. The second game will follow approximately 40 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The championship game will begin at 6:05 p.m. Ticket prices for the tourney are $8 per session and $14 for an all-day ticket. Tickets are available only at the park.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE AND PAIRINGS: The format features a single elimination tournament with four teams in a single division. The second semifinal game will follow the first game.
Friday, July 20
Semifinals - 11:35 a.m.
Game #1 - Menomonee Falls (26-7) vs. Pius XI Catholic (29-3)
Game #2 - Plymouth (27-6) vs. Muskego (20-12)*
* Following first game of session
Championship Final - 6:05 p.m.
Game #3 - Winner of Game #1 vs. Winner of Game #2
TOURNEY ON SPECTRUM SPORTS CHANNEL: The semifinals and final of the WIAA State Summer Baseball Tournament will be aired live on Spectrum Sports in Milwaukee and the Fox Valley.
TOURNAMENT LIVE STREAM: The semifinals and finals of the WIAA State Summer Baseball Tournament will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis. To purchase a subscription for the live programming, log-on to www.wiaa.tv and click on the game link listed in the right column under “UPCOMING EVENTS.”
TEAM TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The WIAA has sponsored the State Summer Baseball Tournament since 1965. Brookfield Central, Oak Creek and West Bend West lead in the number of titles won with four. Brown Deer, Greendale, Homestead and West Bend East have won three State titles followed by Arrowhead, Franklin, Marquette, Menomonee Falls and Nicolet with two. New Holstein has made the most State appearances with 19. West Bend West is second with 14, and Ashland and Plymouth are third on the list with 13. Platteville is next with 12 State Tournament experiences. Franklin has 11 appearances, and Arcadia, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, Marquette and West Bend East have each made appearances in 10 State Tournaments. The State Summer Baseball Tournament has been won by 30 different schools.
LAST YEAR: West Bend West won its fourth championship with a 6-4 victory over Marquette in the championship game. The Spartans erased a 1-0 deficit with three runs in the fourth inning. Evan Albrecht belted a lead-off double and scored on a single by Anthony Schlass. The second run of the inning scored on a fielder’s choice and another scored on a double to left by Gavin Hinckley. They added two more runs in the fifth inning on three straight walks including two with the bases loaded. Marquette scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to narrow its deficit to 5-4, but the Spartans responded with an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI double by Schlass. Albrecht collected three hits and Schlass had two to lead the Spartans’ offense. Gavin Hinkley was credited with the win on the mound, and Logan Rupnow earned a save in relief.
TOURNAMENT FIELD: Plymouth returns to the State Tournament for the 13th time overall and for the first time since 2015. The Panthers’ lone State title came in 1982. They also claimed a runner-up finish in 1972. This season, they finished atop the Eastern Wisconsin Conference standings, and they advance from the Random Lake Sectional with an 11-8 victory over New Holstein in the final. Menomonee Falls is making its eighth State appearance overall and its third in the past four seasons. The Indians won back-to-back State titles in 2015 and 2016 and have recorded three runner-up finishes, those coming in 1968, 2001 and 2004. They finished fourth in the Greater Metro Conference standings this season. Their return to the tournament field comes following a 5-3 triumph over Germantown in the sectional final hosted by the Warhawks. Muskego is making its fifth appearance in the State tournament and the first since 2009. The Warriors have advanced to the championship game once in its history of the program, finishing runner-up in 2002. They advance to the State semifinals this season by virtue of their eight-inning, 6-3 win over Oak Creek in the South Milwaukee Sectional final. The Warriors finished fourth in the Classic 8 Conference this season. Pius XI Catholic is returning to the State tourney for only the second time and for the first time since its only prior appearance resulted in a State championship in 2001. The Popes edged Kettle Moraine 3-2 in the sectional final hosted by Brookfield Central. During the regular season, they won the West Division title of the Woodland Conference.
NEED RESULTS?: The quickest way to get results will be to follow the live statistics and score of the game on the WIAA website. Access the information at: http://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/BaseballSummer.aspx. Final scores and boxscores will also be posted following the games.
FOLLOW THE TOURNEY ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive the updates of the State Summer Baseball Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter accounts. The Twitter account is @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaabase. Also like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram at wiaawi, and add us on Snapchat at wiaawis.