MILWAUKEE — On a Wednesday night in the basement of his parish, Mark Stieber announced the batting lineup for the first game of his team’s weekly triple-header.

As club manager, Stieber has played on the St. Matthias dartball team since 1983.

“I make the lineup sheet and make sure everybody plays at least two games, then keep score,” he said. “It’s played just like baseball.”

From a distance of 20 feet, batters throw wooden darts underhand, aiming for base hits marked on a four-by-four-foot board. Teams keep score just like a 9-inning baseball game: 3 strikes per batter, 3 outs per half inning.

The sport’s history dates back to the 1920s in Pennsylvania. Milwaukee quickly became a hotbed for the game, played in legion halls and church basements across the state.

By the mid-1950s, most Milwaukee parishes fielded three or four teams in the Catholic Blue and Gold Dartball League.

“There were 154 or 155 teams back then,” Stieber said. “Nowadays, we’re down to 18.”

Despite that decline, the Milwaukee Catholic league remains the largest in Wisconsin.

Players said theirs is the only league where they sit across from one another in front of the batter, comparing the proximity to baseball players standing on the dugout steps. It allows for some friendly chirping, just like on the baseball diamond.

“I’m the team motivator,” said St. Matthias teammate Rod Klotka. “Or instigator.”

But players said the Blue and Gold league will need an influx of youngsters to preserve the Wisconsin sporting tradition.

For now, every October through March, you’ll find them every Wednesday in the dartball arena.