This story is sponsored by: the Marshfield Chaparrals Baseball Club
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – For the second year in a row, the Marshfield Post 54 American Legion baseball organization will be hosting a state tournament.
Last July, Marshfield hosted the Class AAA state varsity tournament, and this year it will be the junior team’s turn.
The 17U Wisconsin Junior State American Legion Baseball Tournament from July 19-23 at Jack Hackman Field.
The Marshfield team earns an automatic spot in the tournament and will open up against the winner of the Manitowoc Regional at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 19. Should Marshfield win the upcoming regional, which will be played at Bukolt Park in Stevens Point from Wednesday through Saturday, the second-place team would qualify for the state tournament.
Post 54 baseball director Mark Decker said having the varsity tournament last year has definitely helped in putting together this year’s junior event.
“Everything we did at the state tournament last year, we did during the season, from food sales, beer sales, it was all organized,” Decker said. “Everything went pretty smoothly. Mother Nature gave us a bit of a problem with some rain, but we were able to reorganize and the team were very cooperative and adjusted well to the delays.
“We need to make sure we have enough volunteers, but once the games start and if the weather is good, it takes care of itself.”
Marshfield’s team has been on a roll lately, winning six-straight games prior to its regular-season finale Monday when it played a doubleheader against D.C. Everest.
The Blue Devils improved to 17-5 this summer by winning three games at their home tournament last weekend and sweeping a doubleheader against D.C. Everest on Monday, continuing a somewhat improbable run that makes them one of the favorites at state.
Coach Tim Spaeth said he wasn’t sure the team had enough starting pitching or would score enough runs to put together a winning team, but they have come together throughout the summer.
“A lot of (the success) has been our hitting coming around and good pitching out of our starters,” Spaeth said. “The strong suit has been our base runner. It’s nothing for us to steal double-digit bases in a game, and that gets us in a good position to score.
“I expected the starting pitching would be below average, but we exceeded that. I thought our hitting would be around average. We are hitting it real well now. The kids responded well, they listen and do what we want them to do.”
Mason Coffren, Tyler Spaeth, Will Voss, Caden Schillinger, and Logan Schreiner have taken over the spots in the starting rotation, and everyone has been contributing on the offense end, starting with leadoff man Riley Boushack all the way down through the order.
Devyn Palmer and Matt Handrick from Stratford, along with Ty Pankratz and Caden Schillinger from Spencer, and Ryan Zickert from Pittsville have joined with a strong Marshfield nucleus to give the Blue Devils the depth they need to compete at a high level.
Even though Marshfield is automatically is in the state tournament, that isn’t going to keep the Blue Devils from trying to win this week’s regional.
“The kids all gel and get along,” Spaeth said. “We talked about that as a team (winning the regional). All the kids are on the same page and want to enter tournament going into it as hot as possible.”
Tickets are $3 at the gate each day and for those interested in volunteering, check out the Volunteer Information tab on the bottom of the front page at www.marshfieldlegionbaseball.com.
2017 17U Wisconsin State Junior American Legion Tournament
July 19-23, at Jack Hackman Field, Marshfield
Double elimination
Wednesday, July 19
Stevens Point regional winner vs. Sheboygan regional winner, 10 a.m.
Oshkosh regional winner vs. Holmen regional winner, 1 p.m.
Green Bay Southwest regional winner vs. Union Grove regional winner, 4 p.m.
Manitowoc regional winner vs. Marshfield, 7 p.m.
Thursday, July 20
Loser’s bracket games, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Winner’s bracket games, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Friday, July 21
Elimination games, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Winner’s bracket game, 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 22
Semifinals, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Sunday, July 23
Championship game, noon (and 45 minutes following first game is loser suffers first loss of tournament)