Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association

You can read the full version of this, with photos, by clicking the pdf icon at the end of this article.

The 40th WBCA All-Star Classic was played in Oshkosh this past weekend.  Raindrops were successfully sidestepped and great baseball was showcased all weekend.

(You can click the icon below to download the official program for the WBCA's 40th All-Star Classic that was played in Oshkosh on June 28th and 29th.

The East All-Stars had a 3-0 record, followed by the West 2-1, North 1-2, and South 0-3.

Both Friday night games were shortened due to impending rain.  Game 2 ended just as a streak of lightning flashed across the night sky.  In retrospect, the Classic Committee's decision to move the Friday games up a half-hour and shorten them by an inning allowed two complete games to be played.

Saturday's games were played under sunny skies.  In the 40 years the Classic has been held, just six games have been cancelled due to rain.

Oak Creek's CJ Trask was named the Tournament MVP.  Trask never made an out in four appearances, that included a home run, a two-run single, a double, and a walk. He additionally made several spectacular plays at shortstop and second base across the three games.  

Several other players shown both on defense and offense, and were in the running for the tournament MVP, including River Falls' catcher Chase McQuade, who hit homeruns in each of Saturday's game.  Aquinas' Eddie Peters hit two bombs on Saturday, one a solo shot and the other a three-run shot that gave the West a lead over the South that they would never relinquish.

 Rice Lake's Easton Stone pitched three scoreless innings, hit a towering homer on Saturday, and made a spectacular stab of a line drive hit down the third base line.  West Bend East's Mason Roell hit two hard doubles during the tournament.  Green Bay Notre Dames' catcher Brady LaViollette went deep Friday, and helped lead the North to a 3-2 win over the South Friday night.  Verona's Jack DeTienne faced nine hitters, sitting them all down in order, striking six in the process.  Saint Thomas More pitcher Sam Mommer got the pitching victory in the Classic's final game, leading the East to a perfect record.  He pitched four scoreless innings and scattered four hits.  Badger's Sam Polyock got the save in that game and had an RBI single as well.  Union Grove's Marshall Loch went 2x4 in that game, including an RBI double, and made two spectacular catches in left field.  Monona Grove's Nick Guiduci blasted an opposite field triple Friday night and went 1x2 in the South's final game.  The West's Keagan Jirschele (Mosinee) was a spark for the West in all three games.  He had two hits and stole three bases.  Sussex Hamilton's Ben Moser pitched four scoreless innings for the East and got a pitching win over the South.  Waukesha North's AJ Curtis pitched three innings in that game and got the save, allowing no earned runs.  He also had a base hit in that game.  Wittenburg-Birnamwood's Ian Salvesen made two diving plays with throws at shortstop.  Kettle Moraine's JJ Wolbert had three hits, stole two bases, and played solid defense.  He sparked the East offense in two of their three wins.  Oak Creek's Peyton Jibben pitched three innings for a win in Game 1 over the West.  Union Grove's Bobby Barerra got the three inning save.

Even if players didn't have the best of tournaments, they had a great time.  Kaden Russo, from Elk Mound and a West All-Star was unable to play because of injury but still attended in full uniform anyway, said, "I had a great time.  The guys on my team were awesome and we had a lot of fun over the two days.  It was a great experience for all of us."

After their game's final outs, the players gathered together with their coaches and said their farewells to each.  Oftentimes friendships started at the Classic last a lifetime.

Some of the players are hoping to get drafted and play in the Major Leagues.  For others, this was perhaps a final chance to play baseball, either way, the All-Star Classic Committee, chaired by Oshkosh West's Tony Gerharz, was impressed with these young men, not only as players, but how they represented themselves and their schools.

Congratulations on jobs well done by this year's Classic coaches: From the East was Homestead's Jason Kosanke, Waukesha North's Don Radomski and Saint Thomas More's Tim Schultz.  For Team North was Wausaukee's Jon Betts, Kiel's Brad Mey, and Pacelli's Wayne Sankey.  The South All-Stars were coached by Cambridge's Larry Martin, Sauk Prairie's Darin Pape, and legendary Hall of Fame coach Pat Reilly from Dodgeville.  Finally the West All-Stars were coached by Solon Spring's Nate Ahlberg, Hudson's Brent Blegen, and another Hall of Fame coach and legend, Steve Warren from Marathon.

The Snitz Club of Oshkosh ran all of the concessions and did a tremendous job getting the field ready for play.

The current WBCA All-Star Classic Committee has remained unchanged for a very long time.  Oshkosh West's Tony Gerharz is the chairman. Four men are in charge of the very difficult task of picking the teams.  Cumberland's Mark Fuller (retired but currently assisting at UW-Whitwater) is the only remaining original member of the Committee.  He and three others founded the event which started in 1984.  Potosi's Ron Kading (retired) has been picking the South Team for over 30 years.  Waukesha West head coach Chad Montez has been picking the East All-Stars for over a decade and Wrightstown head coach Eric Beard has been picking the North Squad for nearly as long.  Cumberland's Joe Waite (another retired Cumberland coach), who serves as the WBCA's Publications Director, assembles the Official 86 page Classic Program under a very tight deadline.  He works with the players and their families to assemble each player's page and organizes the sponsorships that each player raises.  He also posted game summaries on this website.

Click the pdf below to download the official Classic Program.