August 30, 2021 – West Bend, WI – It is the return of a proud institution to the City of West Bend baseball scene as the Doug Gonring Invitational Tournament is back May 20 and 21, 2022.
The tournament is named after the West Bend Baseball Association Hall of Famer and legendary baseball coach at West Bend East and Kewaskum High Schools.
The West Bend High School Baseball Tournament was a fixture for Memorial Day weekends from 1986 to 2004 at Carl M. Kuss Field and the fields at the West Bend High School Complex.
The 8-team tournament was considered an early season showcase of the area’s top high school baseball programs.
While West Bend East and West Bend West Baseball programs were always in the tournament field, the event showcased over a dozen future state champions. West Bend East led the way with 6 tournament titles, including 5 by Gonring.
With the renovation and reconstruction of Carl M. Kuss Field, the West Bend Baseball Association along with the West Bend School District agreed to bring the tournament back, in hopes of showcasing the City of West Bend, the facilities at both West Bend High School and at Regner Park, and being able to give back to the community.
“Bringing a tournament the caliber of the West Bend Tournament back to the city and naming it after Doug Gonring was a no-brainer for the WBBA,” said WBBA president Willie Mueller.
“When I think of marquee high school athletic tournaments in Wisconsin, I think of the Lynn LaPorte Volleyball Sprawl, held here in West Bend. Few people made an impact on an entire community like Ms. LaPorte did. For baseball, few people made a similar impact than Doug Gonring. Hopefully we can rebuild this tournament and turn into something that makes the impact the Sprawl does and honors the legacy Doug had in the community.” said WBBA Secretary and Carl M. Kuss Field Manager Craig Larsen.
Thus far Kewaskum, Germantown, Slinger, West Bend East, and West Bend West have verbally committed to the 2022 tournament. The tournament will be a collaboration between the West Bend School District and West Bend Baseball Association.