IESA Headlines

2010 IESA Boys Baseball State Finals This Weekend

Competition in the 5th 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 56th year of the state series.

Class 1A

The Class 1A tournament this year features both the Class 1A and Class 2A state champions from last year, Peoria Limestone Walters and Champaign Holy Cross. Limestone Walters, last year's Class 1A champion will square off against Bourbonnais Maternity BVM in the 4:00 p.m. contest on Friday and Champaign Holy Cross, who last year captured the 2A championship, will play Springfield Christian in the 2:00 p.m. game on Friday. The other first round games pair Catlin against Effingham St. Anthony and Lincoln West Lincoln-Broadwell vs. Ottawa Marquette.

Class 2A

The Class 2A tournament includes two runner-up teams from last year, Champaign St. Matthew and Springfield Christ the King and one other returning team, Teutopolis. St. Matthew was last year's Class 1A runner-up while Christ the King placed 2nd in Class 2A in 2009. Christ the King plays Blue Mound Meridian at 10:00 a.m. and St. Matthew will face Glasford Illini Bluffs at 2:00 p.m. In the other first round games, Joliet St. Paul will play Metamora GS in the 12 noon contest. Teutopolis who lost in the first round last year, will play Carthage at 4:00 p.m.

Class 3A

The first two games of the Class 3A tournament this year will feature four teams who all participated in last year's tournament: Normal Kingsley, Frankfort Summit Hill, Greenville, and Minooka. In the first game on Friday, Kingsley will take on Frankfort Summit Hill which placed 3rd last year in Class 3A. In the second game of the day, Greenville will play last year's Class 3A runner-up Minooka. The other two games of the first round will feature Shorewood Troy vs. Mahomet-Seymour and Germantown Hills vs. Mt. Zion in the last game on Friday.

The starting times of the games Friday and Saturday are the same in all three classes. The quarterfinal games on Friday are set for 10:00 a.m.; 12 noon; 2:00 p.m.; and 4:00 p.m. On Saturday, the two semifinals games are set for 10:00 a.m. and 12 noon with the third place game set for 2:00 p.m. and the championship game at 4:00 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 $5.00 for adults and high school students and $2.00 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, 267 member schools entered the tournament series. The enrollment range for each class this year was 1A at 12-89; 2A at 90-184; 3A at 185-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. That is how school can be Class 1A one year and 2A the next year or vice-versa.

Additional Information:
Steve Endsley, IESA
309-829-0114

Steve Endsley
Executive Director
Illinois Elementary School Association
Ph: 309-829-0114
FAX: 309-829-0625