IESA Headlines

2011 IESA Boys Baseball State Finals This Weekend

Competition in the 6th 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 57th year of the state series.

Class 1A

The Class 1A tournament this year features the return of the Class 1A champion, runner-up, and third place finisher from last year, Ottawa Marquette, Peoria Limestone Walters, and Effingham St. Anthony. Limestone Walters, last year's Class 1A runner-up will square off against Morton Bethel Lutheran in the 10:00 a.m. contest on Friday. Ottawa Marquette, who last year captured the 1A championship, will play Springfield Blessed Sacrament in the 4:30 p.m. game on Friday. Third place finisher from last year Effingham St. Anthony will play Milford at 2:30 p.m. and Bourbonnais Maternity BVM will be paired against Catlin in the 12 noon game on Friday.

Class 2A

The Class 2A tournament includes the state champion and runner-up from last year, Springfield Christ the King and Teutopolis and one other returning team, Champaign St. Matthew. Christ the King plays Crest Hill Richland, who is making their first appearance this year, at 10:00 a.m. and Teutopolis will face Chillicothe at 2:30 p.m. Chillicothe's last appearance came in 2006 when they took home the third place trophy. In the other first round games, St. Matthew will play Bartonville Oak Grove West in the 12 noon contest. A pair of teams who are making their first appearance this year will meet in the 4:30 p.m. game, La Harpe and Warrensburg-Latham.

Class 3A

The 10:00 a.m. game of the Class 3A tournament will begin with a matchup between Pleasant Plains and Coal City. Coal City will be making their first appearance while Pleasant Plains is making their third appearance, first since 2008. Germantown Hills lost in the first round last year and will be looking for a win this year against Charleston who is making their very first appearance. Frankfort Summit Hill is making their fourth straight appearance this year and they took home the state championship in 2008. They are still waiting on their opponent though. Bolingbrook Brooks will meet defending state champion Shorewood Troy in a sectional championship matchup on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. to decide the last spot at state. The 4:30 p.m. game on Friday will showcase a pair of teams making their first trip to this tournament, Edwardsville Liberty and Normal Chiddix.

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; 2:30 p.m.; and 4:30 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 2:30 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 $5.00 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, 272 member schools entered the tournament series. The enrollment range for each class this year was 1A at 14-89; 2A at 90-190; 3A at 191-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.

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