One thing is certain at the South Dakota 3A Regional American Legion Baseball Tournament - the four teams all know one another very well.

Rapid City Post 320, Pierre, Sturgis and Spearfish will battle it out in a double-elimination tournament in Spearfish at Black Hills Corp Stadium. Two teams will advance to join Rapid City Post 22 at the South Dakota American Legion State Baseball Tournament at Fitzgerald Stadium later this month.

The tournament kicks off on Wednesday with four teams vying for two spots into the state tournament on the line. The formula to advance to state is simple, win two games and advance to state, lose two and the season is finished. In the first game of the tournament on Wednesday, Post 320 will square off with Pierre at 5 p.m. In the nightcap, Sturgis will face off with Spearfish at 8 p.m.

The Stars, which have been in four of the past five state tournaments, come into the regional with a record of 34-15. Pierre enters with a record of 24-23 and has made it into 16 of the past 19 state tournaments. Post 320 has a 4-0 record against Pierre this season.

"We hope to play as well as we have and maybe even pick it up a little because it's tournament time," Post 320 head coach Jim Brandt said. "We know who we're playing and they're very similar to us. Three of those games were one-run games, so we'll have to come and play well."

Sturgis enters play with a 10-30 mark this summer and will be missing three players off the tournament roster because of injuries and one player going to a wrestling competition. Spearfish hasn't been to a state tournament since 2003, and has a record of 24-22. In seven games against each other this season, Spearfish leads the series 4-3.

"We know each other well," Sturgis head coach Jason Herz said. "But the focus is always on our side of the diamond, we have to control what we do. If you take care of business and play the way you're capable of you'll be fine, but it's not always that easy."

On Thursday the loser's of the first round will play at 2 p.m., while the winners will play at 5 p.m., and the winner of the 2 p.m. game will meet the loser of the 5 p.m. game at 8 p.m.

The championship game will be played at 5 p.m. on Friday, and 8 p.m. if necessary.