PORT ANGELES — Wilder Baseball’s Senior and Junior teams will be in the spotlight this weekend at Civic Field as the squads host the annual Dick Brown Memorial Firecracker Invite today through Monday.
The five-team tournament will see each team play the other four squads once, including a game between Wilder Senior and Wilder Junior at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The top four teams will advance to semifinal games Monday, followed by the winners facing off at 4 p.m. Monday for the tournament title.
Entry fee is $5 per day for ages 18 and older, and $20 for a tournament pass. Youth ages 17 and younger are admitted free.
Wilder’s Mike Politika said both the Wilder Junior and Senior teams are playing some good baseball entering the tournament.
Wilder Junior battled through 100-degree heat and finished second at a tournament in Clackamas, Ore. last weekend.
“They did a great job down there and put up great performances through the weekend battling the heat and some good competition,”Politika said.
[Head coach] Rob [Merritt] is doing a great job.”
Politika was along for Wilder Senior’s five-game road swing through Mount Vernon and Wenatchee that wrapped Tuesday.
“A good weekend for the Senior club,” Politika said.
“We’re hitting our stride, getting all our guys and our pitchers are ready to compete.”
Other teams participating in the tournament are Centerfield Roosters, a squad made up of players from the La Center/North Vancouver area.
Wilder also will play traditional foe Lakeside Recovery out of the Issaquah/Bellevue area.
“We’ve played them enough times that we’ve built up kind of a rivalry,” Politika said.
The last team is Beyond Borders, a Seattle-based program founded by former Washington State Cougar player Bookie Gates.
Beyond Borders draws players from inner city schools in Seattle.
Full concessions will be offered during the tournament, including standard fare like hot dogs, hamburgers, candy and soft drinks, along with pulled pork sandwiches and Mrs. Quigley’s famous pies.
Items will be up for raffle, and 50/50 drawings and pie giveaways also are planned.
The full tournament schedule is below:
Today
• Beyond Borders vs. Centerfield, 4 p.m.
• Wilder Senior vs. Lakeside, 7 p.m.
Saturday
• Wilder Junior vs. Beyond Borders, 10 a.m.
• Lakeside vs. Beyond Borders, 1 p.m.
• Wilder Junior vs. Centerfield, 4 p.m.
• Wilder Senior vs. Centerfield, 7 p.m.
Sunday
• Centerfield vs. Lakeside, 10 a.m.
• Wilder Junior vs. Lakeside, 1p.m.
• Wilder Junior vs. Wilder Senior, 4 p.m.
• Wilder Senior vs. Beyond Borders, 7 p.m.
Monday
• No. 2 seed vs. No. 3 seed, 10 a.m.
• No. 1 seed vs. No. 4 seed, 1 p.m.
• Winners advance to championship, 4 p.m.
