CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – The 11th annual WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship will take place Sept. 21-24 at 13 area fields in Eastern Iowa. Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium, home of the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Midwest League, will serve as the hub of the event.

Forty-four teams will participate in this year's tournament. Teams from 11 different stats will be represented including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Two teams from Ontario, Canada will also take part of the Kernels Foundation Championship.

One of those teams, the Reds Midwest Scout Team, won last year's championship and also won the event in 2009. Other recent winners that will be in attendance include the St. Louis Pirates (2008) and the Racine, Wisconsin-based Hitters Baseball (2007) team.

As part of the tournament there will be a Fastest Man Contest and Home Run Challenge, both of which will be conducted at Perfect Game Field on Saturday night. The tournament's semifinals and championship games will also be played at PG Field on Monday.

Two 2012 Perfect Game All-Americans will be participating in the tournament.

Classic MVP Ryan Boldt of Red Wing, Minn. will be playing with the Reds Midwest Scout Team as he did a year ago, while first baseman and left handed pitcher A.J. Puk of Cedar Rapids, Iowa will play for the Perfect Game sponsored Iowa Select Black team.

Boldt, who recently was a member of USA Baseball's 18u National Team that claimed the Gold Medal at the XXV IBAF Baseball World Championship in Seoul, Korea, won last year's Fastest Man Contest with a timed speed of 6.50 seconds in the 60-yard dash.

His Reds Midwest Scout Team teammate Nathan Mikolas was named last year's Most Valuable Player, and is now a member of the New York Yankees after he was selected in the third round of the 2012 draft.

2011 tournament Most Valuable Pitcher Logan Shore is expected to participate in this year's tournament once again as a member of the Minnesota Blizzard Blue.

The winner of this year's Kernels Foundation Championship will receive a paid invitation to participate in the 2012 WWBA World Championship which will be played October 25-29 at the Roger Dean Complex in Jupiter, Florida.  Last year, the Reds Midwest Scout Team advanced to the semifinals of the WWBA World Championship.

For more information please visit the 2012 WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship event page.