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WIAA SUMMER BASEBALL TOURNEY THIS WEEK AT?BUKOLT IN STEVENS POINT



THE CHAMPIONSHIPS:  The 45th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Summer Baseball State Championships will take place Wednesday-Thursday, July 29-30, at Bukolt Park in Stevens Point, Wis. Action will begin at 10:05 a.m. Wednesday and will resume at 10:05 a.m. Thursday. Ticket prices for the tourney are $6 per session and are available only at the stadium.



CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE AND PAIRINGS:  The single elimination tournament features eight teams in one division. The second game of each session will follow the first game.



Wednesday, July 29

Quarterfinals - 10:05 a.m.

Game #1 - Homestead (21-15) vs. Franklin (24-13)

Game #2 - West Salem (28-1)?vs. Marquette (19-20)*



Quarterfinals - 3:35 p.m.

Game #3 - West Bend West (26-5) vs. Arrowhead (31-5)

Game #4 - New Holstein (23-4) vs. Muskego (23-9)*



Thursday, July 30

Semifinals - 10:05 a.m.

Game #5 - Winner of Game #1 vs. Winner of Game #2

Game #6 - Winner of Game #3 vs. Winner of Game #4*



Championship Final - 3:35 p.m.

Game #7 - Winner of Game #5 vs. Winner of Game #6



* Following first game of session.



PRE-FINAL GAMES ON WIAA.TV:  The quarterfinals and semifinals of the WIAA State Summer Baseball Tournament will be streamed live on the Internet on WIAA.TV.



CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES ON FSN WISCONSIN:  Watch the delayed broadcast of the WIAA State Summer Baseball Championship game on FSN Wisconsin. The title game is scheduled to be aired Aug. 10 at 7 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, Brown Deer, Greendale, Homestead, Oak Creek, West Bend East and West Bend West have won the most State championships with three, followed by Marquette and Nicolet with two. Including this year, New Holstein has made the most State appearances with 17. Ashland is second in the number of tournament appearances with 13. Platteville has made 12 appearances, and Arcadia, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, Plymouth, West Bend East and West Bend West have qualified 10 times.



LAST YEAR:  Marquette won its second State championship. The Hilltoppers clubbed Kettle Moraine in the championship game, 12-1. They scored 10 runs in the seventh inning to break open a tight, 2-1 lead. Mike Krueger belted a home run and drove in four, and both Luke Acker and Jack Archie had three hits apiece to lead the Marquette offense.  



TOURNAMENT FIELD:  Defending champion Marquette is making its fifth consecutive appearance at State and its seventh overall. The Hilltoppers also won the State title in 2006 and finished runner-up in 1999. They finished fourth in the Greater Metro Conference this season and advanced through the New Berlin West Sectional by edging New Berlin Eisenhower in the final, 8-7 in 10 innings. 



West Bend West will be making its 10th appearance at the State Tournament and its fifth in the last six seasons. The Spartans won State titles in 1972, 1984 and 2007, and added a runner-up finish in 1981. They finished runner-up in the North Shore Conference this year and qualified through the sectional they hosted with a 11-0 blanking of West Bend East in the final.



New Holstein is making its membership-leading 17th appearance in the State Summer Baseball Tournament and its third in a row. The Huskies won the State title in 1965 and have finished runner-up in 1974, 1986 and 2007. They are the champions of the Plymouth Sectional following a 12-2 win over Sheboygan Falls in the sectional final. The Huskies were the co-champions of the Eastern Wisconsin Conference title this season.



West Salem returns to the tournament field for the second straight season and for the fifth time overall. The Panthers advance to the semifinals in 2002 represents their furthest advance in the tournament. They won the Large Division of the Dairyland Conference this year and earned the opportunity to play in the State Tournament by defeating Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau 4-2 in the sectional final played at Arcadia.



Homestead qualifies for the State Tournament for the eighth time overall and for the second time in three years. The Highlanders have won three State titles, capturing the crown in 1974, 1978 and 1994, and they added a runner-up finish in 2003. Homestead finished fifth in the North Shore Conference this year and advanced through the Whitefish Bay Sectional with an 8-4 win over host Whitefish Bay in the final.



Franklin is making its second appearance in the last three years and its seventh overall. The Sabers finished runner-up in 2000. They reached the State Tournament by virtue of their 5-4 win over Oak Creek in the South Milwaukee Sectional final. The Sabers placed third in the Southern Division of the Greater Metro Conference this season.



Arrowhead is back at State for the seventh time and for the first time since the Warhawks finished runner-up in 2006. The Warhawks won the State title in 1979 and have additional runner-up finishes in 1973 and 1975. Arrowhead finished atop the Classic Eight Conference standings this season, and the Warhawks are the champions of the Germantown Sectional by virtue of their 10-0, six-inning shutout over Brookfield East in the sectional final game.



It took Muskego 10 innings to out-score Whitnall 15-13 in the Waukesha West Sectional final and earn a berth in the final field of eight. The Warriors were the co-champions in the Greater Metro Conference this season. They are making their fourth appearance in the State Tournament and the first since finishing runner-up in 2002.