Legion softball descends on area

Wisconsin has had American Legion baseball for a century while American Legion softball was first started in 2023. Edgar and Marathon’s high school varsity softball coaches decided this summer was a great time to begin fielding junior and senior Legion softball teams to let younger players improve their skills against tough competition.

A handful of Stratford High School softball players are competing on the Edgar American Legion Post 393 squads this summer, while Marathon is able to field full junior and senior Legion teams on its own.

Edgar High School varsity head coach Kevin Brown felt this was a great year to start an American Legion softball program.

“I went with playing Legion due to the fact that all or most all area teams are now doing it to play against good competition each week,” he said.

Marathon High School varsity head coach Paul Fredrickson also believed this year was a great year to start an American Legion softball program.

“We get to play more games this way,” he said. “We used to only play once a week in the summer. Now we play twice a week and we have the Legion regional tournament at the end of the season.”

The Marathon Junior Legion won its road game against the Edgar Junior Legion, 14-1, on July 15 to conclude its first season with a 3-6 record. Edgar’s Junior Legion softball team ended its first season with a 2-4 record.

Marathon’s Senior Legion beat Edgar, 14-8, on July 15. Marathon’s Senior Legion squad beat Crandon, 10-2, in Tuesday’s double-elimination Class B regional in Wittenberg. Marathon lost to Wittenberg-Birnamwood, 7-0, on Tuesday night. Marathon was scheduled to play another regional game on Wednesday after The Record-Review was printed. Ripon is also in the Wittenberg regional. Marathon Post 469 had a 5-6 season record going into Wednesday’s regional action.

Edgar’s Senior Legion had a 4-2 season record heading into the start of Class B regionals on Wednesday in Thorp. Edgar was scheduled to play against Thorp first in the double-elimination regional. Augusta and Fall Creek are also in the Thorp regional.

Legion baseball regionals

Marathon and Stratford’s Legion baseball teams are hosting Class C regionals this weekend. Stratford plays against Fall Creek at 5 p.m. Friday, July 25. Marathon plays Saturday, July 26, against Wittenberg at 11 a.m. and Tomahawk at 2 p.m.