This story is sponsored by: The University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – For the past 18 months, the Marshfield Post 54 American Legion baseball program, and the city itself, have been preparing to host the 2016 Wisconsin American Legion Class AAA State Tournament.
On Tuesday, it all begins.
Play starts at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Jack Hackman Field. Four games are scheduled for the first two days of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament, and will continue through Saturday, July 30, when the championship round will be played at 1 p.m. A second game will follow if necessary.
The Wisconsin state champion and runner-up will move on to the Class AAA Great Lakes Regional in Edwardsville, Ill., on Aug. 3-7 where teams will compete for a spot in the Class AAA American Legion Baseball World Series in Shelby, N.C., on Aug. 13-18.
Marshfield has not hosted a state Legion tournament since 1990, and Post 54 has never won one, but the Blue Devils will come in with one of their better teams in program history.
Marshfield is 22-7 entering its opening-round matchup with Sheboygan, which will be played at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the day’s final game.
During the regular season and regional, Marshfield has played against three of the other seven teams at the state tournament, going 4-3. The Blue Devils won two of three previous matchups with Wausau and Eau Claire, and lost their only game against Madison Impact this summer.
Tickets for the tournament are $3 for children ages 5-12, and $5 for those 13 and older, per day. Children under 5 will be admitted free.
2016 Wisconsin American Legion Class AAA State Tournament
July 26-30, at Jack Hackman Field, Marshfield
Tuesday, July 26
Game 1 – Neenah vs. Beloit (26-5), 9:30 a.m.
Game 2 – Wausau (18-17) vs. Eau Claire, 12:30 p.m.
Game 3 – De Pere (21-8) vs. Madison Impact (28-3), 4 p.m.
Game 4 – Sheboygan vs. Marshfield (22-7), 7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 27
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 9:30 a.m.
Game 6 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m.
Thursday, July 28
Game 9 – 12:30 p.m.
Game 10 – 3:30 p.m.
Game 11 – 7 p.m.
Friday, July 29
Game 12 – 4 p.m.
Game 13 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 30
Championship round, 1 p.m. (and 4 p.m. if necessary)
Marshfield Clinic Post 54 Blue Devils Statistical Leaders
Batting
Batting average (min. 20 at-bats): 1. Nate McDonald .449; 2. Jack Donahue .410; 3. Hunter Luepke .389; 4. Trevor Schwecke .379; 5. Jared Klein .357.
Hits: 1. Nate McDonald 48; 2. Jack Donahue 43; 3. Trevor Schwecke 36; 4. Paul Maguire 32; 5. Mitch Susa 26.
Runs scored: 1. Nate McDonald 40; 2. Trevor Schwecke 35; 3. Braden Bohman 26; 4. Jack Donahue 25; 5. Paul Maguire 23.
Runs batted in: 1. Jack Donahue 49; 2. Trevor Schwecke and Paul Maguire 26; 4. Mitch Susa 19; 5. Nate McDonald 18.
Pitching
Win-loss records: Bobby Pilz 4-0; Jack Donahue 4-2; Trevor Schwecke 3-2; Mitch Susa 2-0; Cole Hoffmann 2-0; Jason Kurth 2-1; Jake Brueggen 2-1; Jacob Neve 2-1; Hunter Luepke 1-0.
Strikeouts: 1. Jack Donahue 44; 2. Jake Brueggen 25; 3. Trevor Schwecke 24; 4. Bobby Pilz 20; 5. Jason Kurth 12.
ERA (min. 10 innings): 1. Bobby Pilz 1.24; 2. Mitch Susa 2.45; 3. Jake Brueggen 2.91; 4. Jacob Neve 3.21; 5. Trevor Schwecke 3.67.