WBA TOURNAMENT SET - Osprey, ‘Ticks, Reds and Trojans in WBA’s B field

WBA TOURNAMENT SET

The brackets for the 2024 and new-look Wisconsin Baseball Association post-season tournament were finalized Tuesday night and include four local teams.

All four of those teams –– the Whittlesey Reds, Westboro Trojans, Interwald Woodticks and Rib Lake Osprey –– will compete in the new B Division that includes teams from smaller population areas. It's the first time since 1967 the WBA tournament has had multiple divisions.

In all, 48 teams are included in this year's WBA tournament, 24 in the A Division and 24 in the B Division. Taylor County will play host to a good chunk of the B Division play. Rib Lake and Interwald will co-host regional play Aug. 9-11 with six games taking place at Tannery Creek Park. Whittlesey is slated to host the division's championship weekend Aug. 16-18.

The Dairyland League qualified 11 of its 15 teams for the tournament with Medford, Spirit, Minocqua and Merrill being the only exceptions.

Dairyland Small Division champion Rib Lake (7-0) is the top seed in its three-team regional pool and will face the second-seeded Tri-County Timberjaxx at 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9 to start play in the Rib Lake/Interwald regional. The loser of that game will play the third-seeded Beef River Bullfrogs at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, while the winner faces Beef River at noon on Sunday, Aug. 11.

Interwald, who tied Pittsville for second in the Small Division at 5-2, is the one-seed in its pool and won't play until 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10. The second-seeded Plum City Blues and thirdseeded Ashland Merchants will play at noon on Saturday. The loser will face Interwald first, while the winner plays the Woodticks at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Tri-County finished third in the Upper 13 League at 7-3, while Ashland was at the bottom of the league standings at 1-9. Beef River was 416 in the always-tough Chippewa River Baseball League and Plum City was seventh in another tough league, the St. Croix Valley League, with a 7-11 record.

Pool winners advance to the finals in Whittlesey. Those eight teams will be re-seeded once the field is determined.

The Whittlesey Reds, who went 6-6 and placed fifth in the Dairyland League's Large Division, were assigned to the Glidden regional

See WBA on page 5 site, where they drew a one-seed in their three-team pool. Whittlesey will play the second-seeded Iron City Miners in an 8 p.m. game on Friday, Aug. 9. That game will be played under the lights in Park Falls. The loser faces the third-seeded Bay City Bombers at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, while the winner plays Bay City at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11. Iron City went 5-5 to place fifth in the Upper 13 League, while Bay City was 4-14 in the St. Croix Valley League.

The Westboro Trojans, who went 4-3 in the Dairyland League Small, earned a twoseed in their three-team pool. They were assigned to the Augusta regional and will face the top-seeded Augusta Athletics at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9. The third seed is the team that comes from the B Division’s largest population area — the New Richmond Millers. Friday’s loser will play New Richmond at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, while the winner plays the Millers at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

New Richmond was 4-13 in St. Croix Valley play this season, while Augusta was just ahead of Beef River at 5-15 in the Chippewa River’s South Division.

As for the rest of the Dairyland League, Pittsville is a one-seed at Augusta and Abbotsford is a one-seed at Ellsworth, while Tomahawk is a three-seed in the other pool there. In the A Division, Marshfield is the ninth overall seed and will play the Eau Claire Bears and Hayward at Merrill; Wisconsin Rapids is the 13th seed and will play Holmen and Jim Falls at its home diamond; Everest is the 16th seed and will play the Eau Claire Cavaliers and the host and top-seeded River Falls Fighting Fish, while Rhinelander is the 18th seed and is also in River Falls. The River Monsters will play Tilden and Spring Valley.

Wisconsin Baseball Association Regional Playoffs Aug. 9-11

B Division Rib Lake/Interwald regional Game 1: #2 Tri-County vs. #1 Rib Lake, Friday at 8 p.m.

Game 2: #3 Ashland vs. #2 Plum City, Saturday at noon.

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. #3 Beef River, Saturday at 3 p.m.

Game 4: Loser Game 2 vs. #1 Interwald, Saturday at 6 p.m.

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. #3 Beef River, Sunday at noon.

Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. #1 Interwald, Sunday at 3 p.m.

B Division Glidden Regional Game 1: #2 Iron City vs. #1 Whittlesey (at Park Falls), Friday at 8 p.m.

Game 2: #3 Bloomer vs. #2 Osceola, Saturday at 10 a.m.

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. #3 Bay City, Saturday at 1 p.m.

Game 4: Loser Game 2 vs. #1 Glidden, Saturday at 4 p.m.

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. #3 Bay City, Sunday at 11 a.m.

Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. #1 Glidden, Sunday at 2 p.m.

B Division Augusta Regional Game 1: #1 Augusta vs. #2 Westboro, Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Game 2: #1 Pittsville vs. #3 Grand View, Saturday at 1 p.m.

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. #3 New Richmond, Saturday at 4 p.m.

Game 4: Loser Game 2 vs. #2 Norwalk, Saturday at 7 p.m.

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. #3 New Richmond, Sunday at 1 p.m.

Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. #2 Norwalk, Sunday at 4 p.m.

B Division Ellsworth Regional Game 1: #2 Bangor vs. #1 Elmwood, Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Game 2: #1 Abbotsford vs. #3 Tony, Saturday at 1 p.m.

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. #3 Tomahawk, Saturday at 4 p.m.

Game 4: Loser Game 2 vs. #2 Ellsworth, Saturday at 7 p.m.

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. #3 Tomahawk, Sunday at noon Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. #2 Ellsworth, Sunday at 3 p.m.

A Division Merrill Regional Game 1: #9 Marshfield vs. #6 Eau Claire Bears, Friday at 8 p.m.

Game 2: #20 Cadott vs. #10 Hudson, Saturday at noon.

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. #19 Hayward, Saturday at 3 p.m.

Game 4: Loser Game 2 vs. #7 Lake Superior, Saturday at 6 p.m.

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. #19 Hayward, Sunday at noon Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. #7 Lake Superior, Sunday at 3 p.m.

A Division Wisconsin Rapids Regional Game 1: #13 Wisconsin Rapids vs. #24 Jim Falls, Friday at 8 p.m.

Game 2: #16 Brill vs. #22 Eau Claire Rivermen, Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. #5 Holmen, Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Game 4: Loser Game 2 vs. #2 Viroqua, Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. #5 Holmen, Sunday 12:30 p.m.

Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. #2 Viroqua, Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

A Division River Falls Regional Game 1: #1 River Falls vs. #16 Everest, Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Game 2: #12 Spring Valley vs. #18 Rhinelander, Saturday at 1 p.m.

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. #4 Tilden, Saturday at 4 p.m.

Game 4: Loser Game 2 vs. #14 Eau Claire Cavaliers, Saturday at 7 p.m.

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. #4 Tilden, Sunday at 1 p.m.

Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. #14 Eau Claire Cavaliers, Sunday at 4 p.m.

A Division Haugen Regional Game 1: #21 Chippewa Falls vs. #7 Haugen Knights, Friday at 8 p.m.

Game 2: #23 Prescott vs. #15 Spooner, Saturday at noon Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. #11 Washburn, Saturday at 3 p.m.

Game 4: Loser Game 2 vs. Osseo, Saturday at 6 p.m.

Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. #11 Washburn, Sunday at noon Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. #3 Osseo, Sunday at 3 p.m.