Thirty-five teams from nine states will compete in the 8th Annual Kernels Foundation WWBA Tournament this weekend at Veterans Memorial Stadium and 11 other fields in the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Metropolitan Area.
The tournament, co-sponsored by the Kernels Foundation and Perfect Game USA, will begin with two games Friday night on Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium starting at 6 p.m. There also is a single game Friday night at Duane Banks Field at the University of Iowa at 7 p.m.
The tournament continues with 35 games on Saturday and 36 games on Sunday, setting the stage for the final two rounds at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Monday. The semifinals will begin at 9 a.m. Monday, with the finals set for 2 p.m.
The popular Home Run Derby will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The tournament is for 2010 high school graduates and younger. The 35 teams have been divided into seven pools. Each team will play four pool games. The seven pool champs will advance to the playoffs. The No.1 seed will receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs and advance to the semifinals. The six other pool champs will participate in the quarterfinals on Sunday night.
There are nine teams from Illinois in the tournament, six from Missouri, five from Wisconsin, four apiece from Iowa and Minnesota, three from Indiana, two from Nebraska and one apiece from Kansas and Ohio.
Games will be played at Kirkwood Community College, Daniels Park, Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School, Cedar Rapids Washington High School, Cedar Rapids Xavier High School, Marion High School, Solon, Norway, Fairfax, Banks Field and Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The champion will receive an automatic spot in the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., on Oct. 22-26.
A full schedule for the WWBA (World Wood Bat Association) tournament this weekend can be found at www.worldwoodbat.com