Wawasee will host the Class 3-A Sectional No. 21 baseball tourney. (File photo by Mike Deak)

INDIANAPOLIS – The road maps have been presented for the 53rd annual IHSAA Baseball State Tournament Series.

The sectional tournament draws were selected Sunday evening by the IHSAA, setting into motion how the four class tournaments will align for the brackets to unfold May 22-27. Each individual site will release its specific dates and times in the coming days. The IHSAA State Finals will be played at Victory Field in Indianapolis on Monday, June 17, and Tuesday, June 18.

Class 4-A

Elkhart Memorial hosts the seven-teamer No. 4 that includes Warsaw. The Tigers are paired with Concord in game three of the sectional, the winner getting either Elkhart Central or Northridge in the semis. Warsaw would avoid five-time defending sectional champion Penn until the final, which the No. 7 Kingsmen drew the bye and will get either Goshen or Elkhart Memorial in the semis. The RedHawks and Chargers open the sectional in game one.

At Elkhart Memorial
WED 5/22 – 6 p.m. Elkhart Memorial v. Goshen
THU 5/23 – 5 p.m. Elkhart Central v. Northridge; 7 p.m. Warsaw v. Concord
SAT 5/25 – 10 a.m. Penn v. Memorial/Goshen; 12 p.m. Thursday winners
MON 5/27 – 11 a.m. Championship

Class 3-A

Wawasee’s bracket in Sectional No. 21 is truly as wide open as it can get. The six-time defending champion, NorthWood, likely comes in as the slight favorite given its history, but sits among a field where five of the seven teams enter this week with winning records, including host Wawasee, which drew the bye and gets either Angola or Lakeland in the second semi-final. NorthWood’s path to repeat begins against West Noble in game three, following what should be a dandy in game two between Fairfield and Tippecanoe Valley. Game two and three winners will play in the first semi-final.

At Wawasee
WED 5/22 – 5:30 p.m. Angola v. Lakeland
THU 5/23 – 5:30 p.m. Fairfield v. Tippecanoe Valley
FRI 5/24 – 5:30 p.m. NorthWood v. West Noble
SAT 5/25 – 10 a.m. Wawasee v. Angola/Lakeland; 12 p.m. Thursday winner v. Friday winner
MON 5/27 – 11 a.m. Championship

Class 1-A

The Sectional 51 field at South Bend Career Academy will likely spend more time on a bus than on a baseball diamond. All of the games will be played at South Bend Clay’s high school diamonds. Only SBCA resides in St. Joseph County, and three of the schools – Oregon Davis, South Central Union Mills and LaCrosse – are situated in the Central Standard Time Zone. Alas, play begins in the sectional with South Central and Argos meeting in game one, with SBCA meeting the winner in the second semi-final. Game two pits Triton against LaCrosse and is followed by Culver against Oregon-Davis. Game two and three winners will play in the first semi-final. South Central, which is receiving votes in the latest state poll, won last year’s sectional by a combined 53-2 aggregate in its three games.

At South Bend Clay
WED 5/22 – 5:30 South Central v. Argos
THU 5/23 – 5:30 p.m. LaCrosse v. Triton; 7:30 p.m. Culver v. Oregon-Davis
SAT 5/25 – 11 a.m. South Bend Career Academy v. South Central/Argos; 1 p.m. Thursday winners
MON 5/27 – 12 p.m. Championship

Regionals

The IHSAA also drew its regional alignments Sunday evening.

In Class 4-A, LaPorte is the host and Elkhart Memorial’s sectional winner will be the home team in game two of the regional against the winner of the Plymouth sectional. Winners from Crown Point and Munster play in game one.

In Class 3-A, Garrett is the host that has Wawasee’s winner as the road team against Bellmont’s winner. Blackford and New Haven champions meet in game two.

In Class 1-A, South Bend Washington serves as host at Four Winds Field, where SBCA’s winner will be the home team in game two against the Fremont champ. Game one will see Caston and Washington Township winners meet.