St. Joseph is set to host 54-team baseball tournament
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Baseball fields across the city will be busy as a tournament is set to bring teams from around the region to St. Joseph next month.
Walkoff Wood Bat Company’s second annual wood bat high school baseball tournament will bring in 54 teams to play on seven local fields over two weekends in mid-April. Players will be coming from surrounding states and as far away as South Dakota.
“Each venue will have, depending on what day, anywhere between two to five games a day,” Kevin Kerns, co-owner of Walkoff Wood Bat Co., said. “If you just want to come out and watch baseball you can watch five games for $5.”
The tournament kicks off on Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12. Games will continue for a second weekend on April 18 and 19.
Fields all around the city will host games, including Phil Welch Stadium, Bartlett Park, Mid-Buchanan, Savannah, St. Joseph Christian, Hyde Park and Missouri Western State University.
The 54 teams are being placed into seven brackets separated by division. Last year, Benton High School won its bracket, and head coach Johnny Coy looks forward to another year.
“It was a lot of fun last year, we played in every baseball park throughout the city, good teams from all over,” Coy said. “It was a really good opportunity for our kids to get out there and use a wood bat and play for a cause.”
Money raised during the tournament will be donated for mental health needs to Mosaic’s behavioral patient fund.
The 2024 tournament hosted 24 teams and this year’s expansion is bringing in some strong opponents.
“Nine teams that were ranked last year and I believe there were five teams that went to state last year that will be playing,” Kerns said. “It’s drawing the good teams in.”
Kerns said over the two weekends, 18 teams will be spending the night in St. Joseph, offering the chance for the city to be showcased to new visitors.
Coy said it is exciting to be part of the weekend.
“All the kids last year got to use wood bats, which they don’t get to use throughout the season,” he said. “It’s just a different pace of the game. We pitch to contact a little bit more and not a lot of home runs and not a lot of balls hit deep in the gap. It’s more of a natural way to baseball.”
Sponsors help fund the tournament, and more are needed. Those interested can email kevin@wowbats.com.
“It’s really cool that everybody in the whole state and the area is coming to St. Joe to play baseball,” Coy said. “They’ve done a great job in securing the fields, getting umpires. It’s a great experience for everybody and we are really looking forward to it.”
