Chris Caporale, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Shawano 11U baseball player Dylan Hodkiewicz dives beneath the tag of the Mosinee first baseman on a pickoff attempt Friday at Memorial Park. Shawano 11U and 12U baseball teams, along with 8U softball teams, will be playing all weekend as part of the Shawano Youth League tournament.
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Shawano 11U baseball player West Bieber rounds first base after his single drove in a run in the second inning of Friday’s game against Mosinee. There are 28 teams involved in the weekend tournaments, which continue Saturday and Sunday at Memorial Park.
For the second consecutive weekend, plenty of baseball and softball will be played at Memorial Park as part of the annual Shawano Youth League tournaments.
This weekend, the 11U and 12U baseball teams, along with the 8U softball teams, will take the field. Play began Friday night and will continue all day Saturday and into the afternoon Sunday.
The tournaments, which include 28 teams, traveling from as far away as Rudolph and Oak Creek, are the main fundraiser for the league and can raise between $10,000 and $20,000 on a given weekend.
“We use it for equipment next season, for uniforms and to get in other tournaments we are going to send our kids to, field upgrades,” Shawano Youth League President Dustin Beyer said.
With little to no chance of rain throughout the weekend, Beyer was confident the tournaments would continue without a hitch. Last week, the Friday night games were limited to 60 minutes to get the tournament back on schedule after earlier rain delays.
This weekend, Beyer anticipates no issues.
“It looks like a good weekend ahead of us,” Beyer said.
Beyer, who has the help of parents and SYL board members who volunteer their time for the tournaments, expects close to 1,000 people on hand each day.
Next weekend, 9U and 10U baseball teams will take part in the final weekend of the SYL tournaments.