THE TOURNAMENT:  The 51st Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Summer Baseball State Tournament will take place Friday, July 24, 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 followed by the championship game at 6:05 p.m. Ticket prices for the tourney are $8 per session and 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 24
Semifinals - 11:35 a.m.
Game #1 - Plymouth (23-6) vs. Franklin (26-7)
Game #2 - Menomonee Falls (26-7) vs. Pewaukee (24-10)*

Championship Final - 6:05 p.m.
Game #3 - Winner of Game #1 vs. Winner of Game #2

* Following first game of session

STATE TOURNAMENT GAMES ON THE WEB:   The final of the State Summer Baseball Tournament will be live streamed on foxsportswisconsin.com with no subscription fees. The semifinals of all four divisions 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 to the live programming, log-on to www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the “JOIN NOW” button in the upper right corner of the page.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES ON FS WISCONSIN:  Watch the delayed broadcast of the WIAA State Summer Baseball Championship game on FS Wisconsin. The game is scheduled to air on Saturday, Aug. 1 at 3 p.m. Check local cable listings for the channel in your area.

TEAM TOURNAMENT HISTORY:  The WIAA has been sponsoring the State Summer Baseball Championships since 1965. Brookfield Central and Oak Creek leads in the number of titles won with four. Brown Deer, Greendale, Homestead, West Bend East and West Bend West have won three State titles followed by Arrowhead, Franklin, Marquette and Nicolet with two. New Holstein has made the most State appearances with 18. Ashland and West Bend West are second on the list of tournament appearances with 13; Platteville and now Plymouth have played in 12 State Tournaments. Arcadia, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, West Bend East and now Franklin have each made appearances in 10 State Tournaments. The State Summer Baseball Tournament has been won by 30 different schools.

LAST YEAR:  Brookfield Central won its fourth State championship and its first since 2000 by downing Homestead 9-2 in the championship game. With the game tied at 2-2, the Lancers scored three runs in the third and fourth inning to gain control of the game. Jonathan Keane drove in three runs, and Matt Ausloos, Elijah Goodman and Aaron Hammond each had a pair of hits to lead the Lancers’ hitting attack. Ausloos was also credited with the victory, pitching six scoreless innings in relief. Trevor Cho was the leading hitter for Homestead with three hits. 

TOURNAMENT FIELD:  Plymouth returns to the State Tournament for the 12th time overall and for the second straight season. 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 Howards Grove Sectional with an 8-5 victory over rival Sheboygan Falls in the final.  Franklin is making its 10th appearance and its first since winning the second of back-to-back championships in 2011. In addition to the two State titles, the Sabers finished runner-up in 2000. They earned the opportunity to continue their pursuit of the State title  by defeating Oak Creek 2-1 in eight innings in the Greendale Sectional final. The Sabers finished second in the Greater Metro Conference behind Oak Creek this season. Menomonee Falls is making its sixth appearance and its first since 2008. The Indians have recorded two runner-up finishes that represent their most notable achievements in the State Tournament. Those came in 2001 and 2004. They finished fourth in the Greater Metro Conference standings this season. The Indians defeated Grafton 4-2 to capture the title of the Whitefish Bay Sectional and advance to the State semifinals. Pewaukee returns to State for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 1971 and 1972. The Pirates fell in the quarterfinal round in their first appearance and in the semifinals in 1972. They are the victors of the Wauwatosa West Sectional with their 7-6 win over Pius XI in the final. The Pirates were runners-up in the West Division of the Woodland Conference this season.

NEED RESULTS?:  The quickest way to get results will be to follow the live stats and scoreboard 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.