St. Anthony, Jasper Co. Ready For State Tourneys

(Provided from the Illinois Elementary School Association Website)

Competition in the 7th annual Class 1A, 2A and 3A Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Boys Baseball State Final Tournaments will be this weekend at East Side Centre in East Peoria. Eight teams in each of the three classes (1A, 2A, and 3A) have advanced to the finals. This is the 58th year of the state series.

Class 1A
The Class 1A tournament this year features a few familiar faces, along with several newcomers hoping to taste tournament success for the first time. Peoria Limestone Walters returns hoping to build off of a strong state showing a year ago where they capped off a 17-3 season en route to a third place finish. This is the Rockets' 7th consecutive state tournament appearance which ties them with Joliet St Raymond for the all-time record for most consecutive tournament appearances. The Rockets kickoff Friday's set of games as they take on Normal Epiphany, who will be making their very first Class 1A State appearance. Effingham St. Anthony is also back from a season ago as they try to escape the first round of play against 2009 State Runner-Up Champaign St. Matthew. St. Matthew participated in the Class 2A tournament last year. Nokomis JHS is the only Class 1A team to reach the State Tournament with an undefeated record (15-0), as they hope to be the first team since Springfield Christ the King (2010) to finish a season unbeaten. To do so, they must get past a former undefeated State Champion in Joliet St Paul (2006). Hamilton and Mazon-Verona-Kinsman cap off a deep and battle-tested group of Class A participants.

The following links provide additional information about the Class 1A tournament:

http://www.iesa.org/activities/bbb/stateinfo/IESA-BBB1A_Press.pdf
http://www.iesa.org/activities/bbb/stateinfo/IESA-BBB1A_Brackets.pdf

Class 2A
While there are no unbeaten teams in the Class 2A tournament, that doesn't discount this groups many years of experience beginning first with the Cougars of Springfield Christ the King. Back for a fourth straight year and looking for their first State Title since 2010, the Cougars square off with another state qualifier from a season ago in Chillicothe. Downs Tri-Valley returns to the big dance after a four year absence, as they take on newcomer Hoopeston Area. With four state appearances since 2006, the Tremont Turks are back still searching for that illustrious state title. Standing in their way come round one is Stronghurst West Central, another newbie to the state tournament. Finally, Newton Jasper County and Morris Saratoga take the field, as the two teams have lost a combined total of five games all season.

The following links provide additional information about the Class 2A tournament:

http://www.iesa.org/activities/bbb/stateinfo/IESA-BBB2A_Press.pdf
http://www.iesa.org/activities/bbb/stateinfo/IESA-BBB2A_Press.pdf

Class 3A
Tradition and championships reign supreme within the field of Class 3A, as seven of the eight teams in the field have won at least one state baseball title. The most recent to do so would be the Trojans of Shorewood Troy, as they took home first place back in 2010 in their epic 19-11 battle with Greeville. Their first round opponent is also a fixture at the state tournament, Frankfort Summit Hill, as this year will make it five straight appearances. The Spartans are hoping to serve up some of that 2008 magic, which marked their most recent championship. Morton JHS enters the tournament an impressive 22-0 and is looking for their first state title since 2007. They'll square off against the 2006 champions in Minooka, who are back for the first time since 2010. Another unbeaten team looking to make some noise are the Mahomet-Seymour Bulldogs, who will face Mt. Zion. The Braves last tasted championship gold back in 1994. Chatham Glenwood, the 2004 state title winners, round out the phenomenal field as they battle the 1993 champions in Normal Parkside.

The following links provide additional information about the Class 3A tournament:

http://www.iesa.org/activities/bbb/stateinfo/IESA-BBB3A_Press.pdf
http://www.iesa.org/activities/bbb/stateinfo/IESA-BBB3A_Brackets.pdf

The starting times of the games Friday and Saturday are the same in all three classes. The quarterfinal games on Friday are set for 100 a.m.; noon; 2:30 p.m.; and 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, the two semifinals games are set for 10 a.m. and noon with the third place game set for 2:30 p.m. and the championship game at 4:30 p.m.

Should weather become a factor, the IESA web site will contain up-to-date information regarding the tournament playing schedule. Go to www.iesa.org.

The price of admission Friday will be $5 for adults and high school students and $2 for senior citizens (62 and over) and students (K-8). Fans attending the games Saturday will receive a wristband that is to be worn all day and will be used for re-entry to the facility throughout the day. Each team advancing to the Saturday games will play two games that day. The price of admission for the wristband Saturday will be $7.00 for adults and high school students and $3.00 for senior citizens (62 and over) and students (K-8). Children younger than kindergarten are admitted free both days.

Complete pairings for each state final, plus the FanZone, can be found at www.iesa.org. Click on the Boys Baseball line at the top of the IESA Web Site Home Page. Scores will be updated on the IESA website after each game.

The IESA sanctioned boys baseball in 1955. There was one class of boys baseball until 1990 when the activity was split into A and AA based upon a school's 7th-8th grade enrollment. It was split again in 2006 into the current three classes of 1A, 2A and 3A. This year, 272 member schools entered the tournament series. The 7-8 enrollment range for each class this year was 1A at 14-91; 2A at 92-188; 3A at 189-above.  Since the enrollments of each school change from year-to-year and the number of schools entering the IESA state series also changes from year-to-year, the actual cutoff numbers change yearly.