By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
The Waterford Senior Legion baseball team learned it is the eighth-best in Wisconsin at the Wisconsin American Legion Class AAA State Tournament July 30 to Aug. 3 in Plover.
Plover is about 15 miles northeast of Wisconsin Rapids and about three hours from Waterford.
Waterford lost it first two games in the double-elimination tournament. Waterford lost 8-3 July 30 to the Madison Impact and 13-2 in seven innings July 31 to Oshkosh.
“I’ll tell you what – the kids went up and put their best foot forward and just came up a little short,” Waterford coach John Todryk said. “They had a lot of fun, and it was great experience for the kids.”
Plover finished 4-0 in the eight-team tournament and won the state title. Plover beat Marshfield 13-1 Aug. 3 in the state title game.
Plover (31-6) and Marshfield (24-11) advanced to the Great Lakes Regional Tournament against teams from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The Great Lakes Regional Tournament started Thursday and concludes Sunday in Terre Haute, Ind.
If either team wins the regional, that team will advance to the American Legion World Series, which is Aug. 14 to 19 in Shelby, N.C.
Against Madison at Plover, Todryk said Waterford suffered from a lack of timely hitting.
“It was a game we were two hits away from winning,” Todryk said. “We hit the ball hard, but we hit it right at somebody.
“We played well the first game. We had guys on base and hit it right at someone.”
Todryk said Oshkosh probably had 14 hits in the first five innings.
“They found the gaps and they hit the ball hard,” Todryk said. “They just hit the ball hard. It was their day.”
Waterford finished the season with a record of 16-9. Waterford advanced to state after winning four of five games in the Wisconsin Region 7 Tournament July 23 to 27 at Genoa City. Waterford opened on July 23 with a 9-3 loss to Janesville.
“We didn’t do some of the little things right,” Todryk said, adding that he thought Waterford might have played nervous.
On July 24, Waterford won by forfeit over the Kenosha Merchants. Todryk said Waterford fielded nine players, threw one pitch and the game was declared a forfeit. Todryk said he did not know why Merchants forfeited.
Waterford’s 5-0 victory July 25 eliminated Beloit from the tournament, and the team exacted a measure of vengeance July 26 with a 9-4 win against Janesville.
In the regional final July 27 against Genoa City, Todryk said he didn’t relax until the game ended. Waterford won 19-9 and advanced to state.
“It’s like I told the kids – no one will ever take this away from you,” Todrky said. “You’re the eighth-best team in the state.”
Speaking from memory, Todryk said this is the first time a Senior Legion team from Waterford has advanced to state in more than a decade.
According to Legion rules, the players on the Waterford team must be born after January 1, 1995. Players who wish to participate born in 1995 or 1996 must play Senior Legion baseball.
Most of the team’s players attend Waterford High School. Todryk said a few players from Burlington and East Troy also participate.
Burlington players include Mark Wallace, the 2014 All-Area baseball player of the year, and Austin Baker.
Todryk, in his eighth season as Waterford’s coach, said advancing to the state tournament served as a team goal all season.
Jimmy Merlo is the team’s assistant coach. The team is sponsored by the American Legion’s Essman-Schroeder Post No. 20 in Waterford.
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