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2020 Minor League Baseball Season canceled

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Major League Baseball has informed Minor League Baseball that it will not be providing its affiliated Minor League teams with players for the 2020 season.  As expected, the result forced Minor League Baseball to officially cancel its 2020 campaign.

“These are unprecedented times for our country and our organization as this is the first time in our history that we’ve had a summer without Minor League Baseball played,” said Minor League Baseball President & CEO Pat O’Conner.  “While this is a sad day for many, this announcement removes the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season and allows our teams to begin planning for an exciting 2021 season of affordable entertainment.”

The cancellation of the season comes at a difficult time for Minor League teams, many of which are simply trying to stay afloat financially.

“Each club is different as you know, but overall, we are in need of some help,” said O’Conner.  “We’ve [Read more…]

Brewers set to return for extended spring training, prepare for season (AUDIO)

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Milwaukee Brewers players will begin arriving at Miller Park in the coming days with intake testing for COVID-19 beginning Wednesday.  Players will then undergo the usual physical exams prior to taking the field for the first full-squad workouts on July 4.

“It’s exciting for all of us to be able to talk about a season,” said Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns on Friday.  “We know it’s going to be an unusual season and a different looking season.  But it’s going to be a baseball season nonetheless.  That’s something that is meaningful to all of us.

“We have a lot of work left to do.  There are going to be many changes we’ll face going forward to get through this season.  But this is a positive start.”

Stearns told reporters in a Zoom webinar that their biggest challenge will be to keep the players safe and healthy. [Read more…]

Minor League teams waiting for season to be canceled (AUDIO)

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Fox Cities Stadium

As Major League Baseball and the players association continue to negotiate a possible return to the field this summer, minor league teams have been left behind with little hope of a baseball season.

The Milwaukee Brewers single-A affiliate, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are among the teams around the country that are expecting to hear of a cancellation to the season soon.

Timber Rattlers President Rob Zerjav told WRN on Monday that there’s no way minor league teams could have a season without fans in the stands.  Zerjav said they’re already losing money and it would be worse playing games without fans.

The Timber Rattlers officially opened back up on Monday, but Zerjav said they’re focussing their efforts on finding other ways to generate revenue, other than playing baseball games.

The Timber Rattlers home field (Fox Cities Stadium) has banquet facilities and has hosted weddings in the past.  They’re cooking up fish fry’s on Friday nights and doing other meal deals for fans.  They also own and manage the Northwoods League team in Fond du lac (Dock Spiders) and Zerjav is confident that team will start play on July 1.

In the meantime, the Rattlers are waiting for Major League Baseball to pull the plug on their season.  Zerjav said it’s not a matter of if, but more likely when.

AUDIO: Rob Zerjav said there’s too many things stacked against minor league teams to play this season :15

AUDIO: Rob Zerjav says they can’t afford to play games without fans :07

AUDIO: Rob Zerjav said it hasn’t happened yet, but cancellation is pretty much a done deal :09

Wisconsin teams fall short of D-3 College World Series field

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Fox Cities Stadium to host its final D-3 College World Series this week.

For the second straight season, Wisconsin will not have any representation in the NCAA Division-3 College World Series.

The 2018 D-3 CWS starts Friday morning at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.  It’s the 19th and final season for the event in the Fox Cities.

UW-Whitewater’s season came to an end as the Warhawks fell 6-3 to Rhodes (Tennessee) early Sunday and were then beaten 4-1 by Texas-Tyler to be eliminated in the Central Regional in Sauget, Illinois.  The Warhawks had already beaten Texas-Tyler 8-2 on Saturday.

The Warhawks finished the season with a 33-8 record, claiming the schools 5th WIAC regular season title with a 20-4 record.

In Duluth, Minnesota, UW-Oshkosh had two games to win just once, but fell to Concordia-Chicago 7-1 and 3-2, to fall short of the Duluth Regional title.

Oshkosh finished the season 34-10, their best win total since 2007.

 

Oshkosh, Whitewater earn spots in NCAA D-3 Baseball Tournament Field

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For the 12th straight season, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) will be represented by multiple teams in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship after University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater received bids into this year’s championship.

The teams earned two of the 18 at-large spots into the 58-team field.  UW-Oshkosh (31-8) will compete in a regional hosted by College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota.  The Titans, who are making their league-leading 25th NCAA appearance, and first since 2008, will open against Bethel University (Minn.) (32-9).  Oshkosh won national titles in 1985 and 1994.

UW-Whitewater (31-6) is making its 11th straight appearance and 21st overall with national championships in 2005 and 2014.  The Warhawks will participate in a regional hosted by the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in Sauget, Illinois.  The Warhawks will face Monmouth College (Illinois) (28-12-2) in their first game.

Both regionals follow a double-elimination format and begin on May 17.  Winners of the eight regional tournaments will qualify for the NCAA D-3 Championship at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, May 25-30.

The 2018 Championships mark the final season that the event will be held at Fox Cities Stadium.

 

WIAA Board approves Spring Baseball extension

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The WIAA‘s Board of Control ratified an agreement with the Appleton Baseball Club, Inc., that extends the use of Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium for the State Spring Baseball Tournament through 2028.

The State Spring Baseball Tournament has called Fox Cities Stadium its home since 1998.  The tournament has attracted an average attendance of 12,500 the past 11 years.  In addition, the 20 years the tournament has been held at Fox Cities Stadium represent the 20 largest attendance marks in the history of the event.

The extension will give Fox Cities Stadium the distinction of hosting State spring baseball for the greatest length of time since the tournament’s inception in 1948.  Wausau hosted the tournament for 25 years from 1973-1997.

Fox Cities Stadium was built-in 1995 and seats 5,900.

 

Kimberly wins D-1 State Baseball Championship

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Kimberly captured its first baseball championship since 2007, beating Sun Prairie 4-2 on Thursday to capture the WIAA Division 1 baseball championship at Fox Cities Stadium.

Outfielder Drew Lechnir went 2 for 3 and drove in three of the four runs scored by the Papermakers.

Right-hander Cade Hunstiger allowed two runs in five hits in six innings to pick up the win.

The Papermakers (23-8) were making their fourth straight championship game appearance, this time pulling out a win.

Division 2

West Salem scored four runs in the second and third innings and the Panthers (22-4) captured their first state baseball title. [Read more…]

Day 2 results from WIAA State Spring Baseball Tournament

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Another late night for the WIAA State Spring Baseball Tournament at Fox Cities Stadium.  Rain forced delays, but all six scheduled games were played, setting up the four championship games on Thursday.

Wednesday finals:

Division 4 Semifinals

Independence/Gilmanton 5, Webster 3
Athens 6, Oakfield 3

Division 3 Semifinals

Aquinas 7, Cumberland 0
Laconia 5, Iola-Scandinavia 4

Division 2 Semifinals

West Salem 5, Turner 3
Waupun 6, Mosinee 0 [Read more…]