AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL - Lissner has two hits, enjoys experience at Legion All-Star Game

Being at American Family Field to see the Milwaukee Brewers’ thrilling 7-6 win over the New York Mets capped by a walk-off homer by Isaac Collins would’ve been exciting enough for most on Sunday.

Medford’s Parker Lissner got the chance to make it a doubleheader sweep of sorts while playing in the Wisconsin American Legion All-Star Game held after the Brewers game.

Lissner was a member of the Stars All-Star team that defeated the Stripes All-Star squad 11-10. The game was scheduled to go nine innings or two and a half hours, whichever came first. That wound up being the time limit, which ended the game after eight innings.

Lissner played shortstop in the bottom of the third, sixth and eighth innings for the Stars. He got two at-bats and singled on both of them. He wound scoring two runs on passed balls and adding a steal of third base. He got two chances defensively and fielded both cleanly.

“It was really fun,” Lissner said. “It was a really good experience.”

The All-Star appearance capped a successful run for Lissner as a Medford Raider and member of Medford’s American Legion Post 147 team. In Legion ball, Lissner was part of teams that participated in the Class AA state tournament in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Last year’s team was the state runner-up. He was named a member of the 2025 All-State Tournament team last week.

This honor for Lissner meant a lot when he found out earlier this summer.

“I was so excited,” he said. “I couldn’t even keep my excitement in. I couldn’t wait. Just being with the guys I’ve been with in Legion ball. It’s been a lot of fun. This was pretty special.”

While the final score may indicate a game of heavy hitting, Lissner said it was more the result of the pitchers just being unable at times to get comfortable on the Major League Baseball field.

“There were a lot of walks,” Lissner said. “The pitchers threw hard. Some of the guys were probably throwing in the mid-80s or high 80s. But there were a lot of walks. I was glad the guys I saw threw strikes so I could hit them.

“They were throwing outside a lot,” he added. “I just had to let the ball travel. On my second hit, I was able to get it in the right-centerfield gap. On my first at-bat I hit a good ball up the middle.”

The Stripes team scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Stars took the lead for good with a five-run top of the third. Three more runs in the fourth made it 8-3. The Stars led 11-7 and then survived the Stripes’ three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth to escape with the win.

The All-Stars from around the state arrived on Saturday afternoon, checked into their hotel in Brookfield and attended a banquet there that evening.

After torrential rains poured over Milwaukee that night, the teams woke up Sunday morning and found out the Brewers game and their game was still on despite the disastrous flooding that hit Milwaukee and surrounding area.

“Half the parking lot was flooded,” Lissner said. “I don’t know how half of the people who were at the Brewers game got there. Our bus driver had a hard time getting there. We had to park about a mile away and run the rest of the way. We were almost late because they were announcing us on the field before the game. We got there with about 10 minutes to spare. It was chaotic.”

The Brewers game was one of the best of what is turning into a memorable summer for the team. Down 5-0 early, the Brew Crew rallied, eventually tying the game at 6-6 in the eighth inning and then winning it in the ninth for their ninth straight win.

“It was insane,” Lissner said. “I was sitting next to a guy from La Crosse Central. After they fell behind, I said to him, ‘well, they were bound to lose sometime.’ All of a sudden William Contreras hit two bombs, they kept getting closer and won it. It was sweet.”

A two-time All-Great Northern Conference first-team selection, Lissner is now headed to UW-River Falls, where he is planning to compete on the Falcons’ baseball team, which already includes his Post 147 teammates Tanner Hraby and JV Castillo. Hraby also was a Legion All-Star last summer.