 Two of the teams in the Class 1A field were in last year's
tournament. Donovan and Peoria Limestone Walters were
quarterfinalists. Last year's Class 1A state champion, Joliet St.
Paul, has moved up in class and qualified for the Class 2A field,
along with defending champion Carthage and 2006 quarterfinalist
Tremont. All eight teams in Class 3A are making their first
appearances at the state tournament.The starting times of the
games Friday and Saturday are the same in all three classes.
Quarterfinals begin Friday at 10 a.m. The four quarterfinal winners
advance to semifinal games Saturday morning, with the third-place
and championship games set for Saturday afternoon. The semifinals
get under way at 10 a.m., with the third-place game set for 2:30
p.m. and the championship game at 4:45 p.m.
The price of admission Friday will be $5 for adults and high
school students, and $2 for senior citizens (62 and over) and
students K-8. Children younger than kindergarten are admitted free
both days.
Fans attending the games Saturday will receive a wristband that
is to be worn all day and will be used for entry to the facility
throughout the day. Each team advancing to the Saturday games will
play two games that day. The price of admission for the wristband
Saturday will be $7 for adults and high school students and $3 for
senior citizens and students K-8.
Complete pairings for each state final, plus the
FanZone, can be found at
www.iesa.org. Click on the
"Boys
Baseball" line in the orange box at the top of the IESA home
page.
The IESA sanctioned baseball for boys in 1955. There was one
class of baseball until 1990, when the activity was split into A and
AA, based upon enrollment. It was split again in 2006 into the
current three classes of 1A, 2A and 3A. This year, 256 member
schools entered the tournament series. The enrollment range for each
class was 0-94 in 1A, 95-185 in 2A and 186-above in 3A.
Class 1A
One unbeaten team and two teams with only one loss are in the
same bracket. Unbeaten Danville St. Paul (18-0) and once-beaten
Dieterich (16-1) and Peoria Limestone Walters (17-1) are in the
lower half of the Class 1A bracket.
Pairings for the quarterfinals: 10 a.m. -- Hartsburg-Emden (8-8)
vs. Springfield St. Agnes (19-3); 12:15 p.m. -- Streator St. Anthony
(15-2) vs. Bourbonnais St. George (7-7); 2:30 p.m. -- Donovan (14-7)
vs. Dieterich (16-1); 4:45 p.m. -- Danville St. Paul (18-0) vs.
Peoria Limestone Walters (17-1).
Springfield St. Agnes has only four eighth-graders on its
15-player tournament roster. The Aces were seeded No. 4 in the
regional and knocked off No. 1 seed Springfield Blessed Sacrament
and No. 2 seed Springfield Little Flower to win it. In the
sectional, St. Agnes stopped Raymond Lincolnwood 10-1. In those
three games, St. Agnes has outscored its opponents 27-7.
Dieterich's only loss this year was a 7-4 decision to Newton
Jasper County, which has advanced to the Class 2A state final.
Right-hander Nathan Garbe, a 5-9 eighth-grader, is the ace of the
staff. The Roadrunners have a balanced offense with any one of six
players able to jump-start the offense. They are outfielder Dalton
Hinterscher, shortstop Derek Cox, second baseman Seth Flach, catcher
Devin Wright, outfielder Brandon Westjohn and Garbe.
Unbeaten Danville St. Paul is making the school's second trip in
school history to the state final. The Sabres lost 5-3 to Media
Southern in eight innings in the quarterfinals of the 2001 Class A
state final. A trio of eighth-grade right-handed pitchers carries
the load for St. Paul. They are 5-5 Tyler Brennan, 5-5 Lucas Spezia
and 5-7 Zack Miller. Leading hitters are outfielder Jordan King,
shortstop Brock Drews and Miller.
Peoria Limestone Walters outscored three state series opponents
by a combined 38-6. The Rockets' only loss during the regular season
was to Mossville. Pitchers Robbie Grossmeyer and Joben Barnes give
the Rockets a 1-2 punch on the mound. Both eighth-graders,
Grossmeyer is a 5-4 right-hander and Barnes is a 5-8 left-hander.
Grossmeyer plays shortstop when not on the mound, and Barnes plays
first base.
Of the 112 players listed on the rosters of the eight finalists,
one is a fifth-grader, 18 are sixth-graders, 41 are seventh-graders
and 52 are eighth-graders.
Total enrollment of the eight finalists is 502. The number of
students in the seventh and eighth grade determines IESA
enrollments. The enrollments for this year's Class 1A field are
Hartsburg-Emden 40, Peoria Limestone Walters 48, Danville St. Paul
50, Streator St. Anthony 52, Dieterich 72, Bourbonnais St. George
76, Donovan 79 and Springfield St. Agnes 85.
Class 2A
Defending Class 2A champion Carthage (16-2) and last year's Class
1A champion, Joliet St. Paul (16-2), are in opposite brackets, and a
showdown in the championship game is possible. However, every team
in the Class 2A state final has at least 13 wins. The combined
won-loss record of the eight teams is 115-21, a winning percentage
of .846.
Pairings for the quarterfinals: 10 a.m. -- Carthage (16-2) vs.
Tremont (15-2); 12:15 p.m. -- McNabb Putnam County (13-3) vs. Newton
Jasper County (13-4); 2:30 p.m. -- El Paso-Gridley (14-3) vs. Bluffs
(14-0); 4:45 p.m. -- Joliet St. Paul (16-2) vs. Pawnee (14-5).
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Carthage has three stalwarts returning from last year's state
championship team that went 21-0. They are pitcher-catcher Evan
McGaughey, pitcher-shortstop Jack Bastert and 5-10 third baseman
Kayden Guymon. The 5-9 McGaughey and 5-6 Bastert are right-handers.
Joining them in the rotation is 5-9 left-hander Tanner Bainter.
McGaughey and Bastert also lead the Carthage offense. Carthage's
losses were to Pittsfield and Mendon Unity.
Tremont, which was a quarterfinalist a year ago, has lost this
year only to Eureka and Lincoln Junior High School. The Turks have a
pair of pitchers who carry the load. They are 5-9 Blake Uhlman and
6-0 Jerry Herbst, both eighth-graders. Herbst will play on the
infield when not pitching. Joining the two pitchers in leading the
offense are 6-0 catcher Cody Herbst and 5-5 outfielder Drake Sinn.
Undefeated Bluffs is led by a pair of pitchers. One is 5-6
right-hander Luke Nash, and the other is 6-3 left-hander McCoy
Dejaynes, last year's seventh-grade Class A state shot put champion.
Nash and 5-7 outfielder Parker Day lead the Bluejays' offense.
Bluffs has outscored its state series opponents 23-1.
Joliet St. Paul went 23-0 to take the inaugural Class 1A crown a
year ago. This year Joliet St. Paul has outscored its state series
opponents 46-11. The only losses this year were to perennial Class
3A powers Minooka and Homer Glen Homer. A trio of right-handed
pitchers is a key to the Joliet St. Paul success. They are 5-7
pitcher-first baseman Kevin Duchene, 6-0 Christian Ochoa and 5-11
pitcher-first baseman Collin Boggetto. Leading hitters are second
baseman Zack Melone, shortstop Branden Boggetto and Collin Boggetto.
Branden is the son of head coach Brad Boggetto and Collin is the
coach's nephew.
Of the 134 players listed on the rosters of the eight finalists,
seven are sixth-graders, 32 are seventh-graders and 95 are
eighth-graders. Total enrollment of the eight finalists is 1,148.
The number of students in the seventh and eighth grade determines
IESA enrollments. The enrollments for this year's Class 2A field are
Joliet St. Paul 96, Pawnee 108, Carthage 131, McNabb Putnam County
147, Bluffs 148, Tremont 154, El Paso-Gridley 180 and Newton Jasper
County 184.
Class 3A
A trio of twice-beaten teams leads the pack in Class 3A.
Greenville (21-2) and Morton Junior High School (16-2) are in the
upper bracket, and Normal Parkside (15-2) is in the lower bracket.
Quarterfinal pairings: 10 a.m. -- Menteno (16-6) vs. Greenville
(21-2); 12:15 p.m. -- Frankfort Hickory Creek (8-5) vs. Morton JHS
(16-2); 2:30 p.m. -- Normal Parkside (15-2) vs. Auburn JHS at
Divernon (12-4); 4:45 p.m. -- Lisle (12-5) vs. Mattoon (13-4).
A pair of high-scoring teams will meet in the first quarterfinal
game. Manteno, which rolled past Forrest Prairie Central, 16-4, in
the sectional, has outscored its state series opponents 35-6.
Greenville, which edged perennial power Chatham Glenwood, 5-4, in
the sectional, has outscored its state series opponents 30-6.
Greenville is led by pitchers Dylan Bone, a 5-6 eighth-grader who
also plays shortstop, and 5-6 A.J. Childerson. Bone, first baseman
Jordan Zeeb and 5-10 catcher Brady Huber lead the Bluejays at the
plate. Greenville's only losses were to Teutopolis and St. Jacob
Triad.
Morton lost to both Washington Middle School and East Peoria
Central during the regular season. Seeded third in the regional, the
Junior Potters knocked off Washington 9-1 and then East Peoria
Central 3-1 to advance to the sectional, where they pounded Wenona
Fieldcrest 14-0. A pair of left-handed pitchers is a key to Morton's
success. They are 5-4 Mike Lacy and 5-10 Will Headean. The offense
is sparked by 6-2 outfielder Matt Hungate and 5-10 catcher Brock
Christianson.
Normal Parkside comes into the state final riding a two-game
shutout streak. After stopping Normal Kingsley 7-4 in the regional
semifinals, the Pythons blanked perennial power Stanford Olympia,
10-0, in the regional finale. Then Parkside beat Dunlap Middle
School 11-0 in the sectional. Four eighth-graders provide the Python
pitching. They are 5-10 pitcher-third baseman Wes Sery, 5-3
pitcher-first baseman Adam Klante, 5-8 Dustin Detweiler and 6-0 Ben
Smith. Leading batters are outfielder Calloway Clover, catcher Jake
McDowell, Sery and Smith.
Auburn and Divernon schools consolidated this year, creating
Auburn Junior High School at Divernon. Before the consolidation,
Divernon was a Class 1A school and Auburn was generally Class 2A in
the multiple-class IESA state series. In their first year together,
the baseball team made the Class 3A state final. Pitchers for the
Trojans are 5-9 right-hander Zack Patton and 5-3 right-hander Colby
Butler. Patton and 5-8 catcher Travis Cumming lead the hitters.
Of the 138 players listed on the rosters of the eight finalists,
four are sixth-graders, 33 are seventh-graders and 101 are
eighth-graders.
Total enrollment of the eight finalists is 3,139. The number of
students in the seventh and eighth grade determines IESA
enrollments. The enrollments for this year's Class 3A field are
Greenville 217, Auburn JHS at Divernon 219, Lisle 288, Manteno 342,
Morton JHS 450, Mattoon 489, Frankfort Hickory Creek 536 and Normal
Parkside 598.
[Text from file received from
IESA]
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