Sidney hosts state baseball tournament, play begins Saturday

Legion baseball players and fans from across the state will converge on Sidney this weekend to see the state's best 13-16 year old players compete for the Class B American Legion State Junior Tournament crown.

The tournament, and five others across the state, will cap the 91st year of Legion Baseball in Nebraska. In all, more than 4,000 Nebraska baseball players have played in the Legion program this summer on more than 290 teams. State tournaments are held for both Junior and Senior teams in classes A, B, and C.

In the Class B Junior program eight teams, including Sidney, will vie for the chance to prove themselves the best of class in Nebraska this year. Each team, with the exception of host Sidney, qualified as winners in seven district tournament across the state. Sidney received a state berth as host team.

Tournament play begins at Legion Baseball Field in Legion Park Saturday, with the opening game first pitch at 10 a.m. when Hickman meets McCook. That will be the first of four games, with Sidney playing Mt. Michael in the nightcap at 7 p.m. Other opening day contests are at 1 p.m. (Waverly vs. Wayne) and 4 p.m. (Seward vs. Alliance).

The first loser's bracket games of double elimination play are slated Sunday at 10a.m. and 1 p.m., with first day winners playing at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Play is scheduled through Wednesday, July 20, when the championship game or games are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

This isn't the first time Sidney has hosted a Juniors state tournament. Legion Field was also the site for state Junior play in 2007, and Sidney also hosted the Senior state tournament in 1975.

Admission to see tournament play is $7 for adults, $5 for students, and veterans are admitted without charge. Tournament officials said admissions are per-day, with the admission good for all games each day.

Although season passes covered admission for the regular season, American Legion Baseball rules prohibit their use for the state tournament and a separate admission is required.

For those unable to attend all games, live updates will be available on the Nebraska American Legion Baseball Website: http://scores.nelegionbaseball.net. Live twitter updates will be available at: https://mobile.twitter.com/baseballsidney.

A full tournament bracket is available on the Nebraska American Legion Baseball Website, and is also printed on today's sports page.