Prep Baseball Report

IHSBCA Summer State Tournament to Begins Monday



By Drake Skleba
Senior Writer

The 38th edition of the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Summer State Tournament will begin with Regional play on Monday morning, July 15. The eight regionals will be played at Fenwick, Glenbard South, Lake Park, Libertyville, Lockport, Palatine, Richards and St. Charles East. Regional Championship games will be played at each site on Thursday, July 18.

The champions of the eight regionals will advance to the 5th Annual Phil Lawler Summer Classic Finals to be played at Benedictine University in Lisle and North Central College in Naperville on July 22-25. The Phil Lawler Summer State championship game will be played at Benedictine University at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 25.

Lyons Township, under the tutelage of Hall of Fame head coach George Ushela, defeated Joliet Catholic Academy, 7-3, to take home the 2012 Phil Lawler State Championship Trophy back to Western Springs. The title marked the fourth summer state crown for the Lions.

The Lions are the No. 1 seed at the 2013 Fenwick Regional. Hinsdale South (Glenbard South), Prospect (Lake Park), Grayslake North (Libertyville), Plainfield South (Lockport), Palatine (Palatine), Brother Rice (Richards), and St. Charles North (St. Charles East) are the other regional top seeds.

The IHSBCA Summer State Tournament began in 1976 with 16 teams. The Red Devils of Hinsdale Central won the 1976 crown and went on to win titles in 1978 and 1980. Oak Park-River Forest has won six titles, all under the late-great Huskies head coach Jack Kaiser. The Jack Kaiser Memorial Most Valuable Player Trophy is given to the tournament's MVP.

In 2013, 147 schools are participating in the tournament, the majority from northern Illinois.

You can watch the Phil Lawler Summer Classic Finals LIVE @ www.prepbaseballreport.highschoolcube.com beginning with action from Benedictine and North Central on Tuesday July 23 at 10 & 12:30. The semifinals can be seen LIVE at 5 & 7:30 on Wednesday night the 24th from Benedictine. The 2013 Phil Lawler Summer State Championship game LIVE at Benedictine on Thursday night July 25 at 7.

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