Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Class 3A and 4A State Tournament Preview

June 11, 2015

By Ryan Quigley
Illinois Scouting Director

The Class 3A and 4A IHSA State Finals will take place this Friday and Saturday in Joliet at Silver Cross Field, featuring eight total teams and two championship games to be played on Saturday. Today we will take a look at the field, providing a brief synopsis of each team, key players, and the road they took to Joliet.

Class 3A

Click Here to view the bracket and game times for the Class 3A Tournament.

Wheaton St. Francis

First year coach Nick Hall has the Spartans (26-9) firing on all cylinders come playoff time. St. Francis is led by senior RHP/SS Jason Sullivan (Central Michigan signee), who shutout No. 9 Metamora 3-0 on Monday night in the Augustana Super-Sectional. Sullivan struck out seven, did not walk a batter, and also delivered two singles and the only RBI he’d need. Keep an eye on junior left-handed hitting catcher Brett Whelton, who has impressed all season long at the plate, and with his catch-and-throw skills

Nazareth Academy

The No. 14 ranked Roadrunners, led by coach Lee Milano, are looking for their first state baseball title in school history. Over the past several years, Milano has built a program perennially ranked with the PBR Illinois Power 25. Sitting at an impressive 31-8 overall, Nazareth rolled past Wauconda 7-2 in the North Central Super-Sectional, behind junior right-handed pitcher Carson Bartels. Bartels fired a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts, while adding two hits (a double and two RBI). Outfielder Ryan Kramer was red-hot for the Roadrunners in 2015, hitting .495 with nine doubles, one triple, four home runs, and 20 RBI, while playing stellar defense in the outfield.

Morgan Park

Perhaps well known for their powerhouse basketball program, the Mustangs of Morgan Park and coach Ernie Radcliffe are making their first appearance in the state finals, after narrowly losing to Manteno 2-1 in the Sectional Semifinal one year ago. A year older and wiser, Morgan Park defeated Illiana Christian 5-3 in the Crestwood Super-Sectional on Monday night behind a solid outing from junior RHP Jarren Norman. The Mustangs will come to Joliet with perhaps the fastest lineup top to bottom that the PBR staff has seen in 2015. Juniors Thalame Byrd and Darius Hill are both sub 6.7 runners, junior first baseman Christian Bullock (Michigan-commit) is a force in the middle of the lineup with his left-handed bat, and sophomore middle infielder Donivan Williams has impressed in the past with solid middle infield actions. Look for the Mustangs to make history attempting to become the first Chicago Public league program in recent memory to win a state title.

Highland

Sitting at 26-13, the Bulldogs slipped past Champaign Centennial 3-2 on Monday night in the Sauget Super-Sectional at GCS Ballpark. Cody Bentiage tripled then scored off an error to cut into a 2-0 Centennial lead. Andrew Winning then launched a two-run bomb in the sixth, giving Highland a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Tyler Kimmie fired two scoreless innings of relief for the win, as the Bulldogs look to capture there 2nd State Championship, the first of which they won in 2008 behind PBR Player of the year and current Tampa Bay Rays major leaguer Jake Odorizzi.

Class 4A

Click Here to view the bracket and game times for the Class 4A Tournament

Mount Carmel

The Caravan, ranked No. 2 in the final PBR Power 25 poll, are the favorite to win the class 4A State Title, and their second in three years after winning the 4A title in 2013. Coach Brian Hurry’s squad sits at 35-4 after Tuesday’s Super-Sectional extra-inning win over Plainfield North. Senior RHP Nelson Munoz earned the win in relief of freshman Cam Hupe, improving to 14-0 on the season. The Caravan will be at a disadvantage with their pitching, as the other three finalist all played Monday night, and Mount Carmel’s game with Plainfield North was pushed a day to Tuesday due to the doubleheader Super-Sectional game between Morgan Park and Illiana Christian being delayed several times. Mount Carmel may possess the deepest lineup from top-to-bottom of the entire field, as they roll out nine Division-I players. There’s too many to list, so check out their Preseason Team Preview HERE, but the surprise of the year has been the emergence of freshman phenom Alek Thomas, an outfielder who’s garnering national recruiting attention.

Jacobs

The Golden Eagles slipped past Stevenson in the Rockford Super-Sectional 3-1 behind Brenden Heiss, Ryan George, and Johnny Rhode. The three combined to throw a two-hitter, with Rhode striking out the side in the seventh and earning his 11th save of the season. The power-armed Heiss is capable of sitting in the 90-93 mph range, but senior RHP Ryan Sargent (Ohio signee) is the ace of the staff. Jacobs has as much pitching as anyone, and may be tough to beat with their power arms.

Oak Park-River Forest

The Huskies outlasted Evanston 4-0 in 11 grueling innings in the Niles West Sectional Finals, behind junior Hank Christie who allowed only five hits in 10 innings of work. Senior outfielder Ryan Fish’s huge three-run triple lifted the 31-7 Huskies over Glenbard North in the Schaumburg Super-Sectional 7-5, where Chris Atwood picked up the win.

Providence Catholic

The cardiac Celtics are on an incredible run, much like a year ago where they marched to coach Mark Smith’s first State Championship. Providence will look to repeat after coming from behind winning close games over Marist (3-2), Marian Catholic (4-3) in the Sectional Championship, and O’Fallon in the Normal Super-Sectional 4-3. The Celtics may not have the power arms they possessed in the past, but senior’s Brenton Villasenor, Jake Carlsen, and Justin Hunniford make up for it with competitiveness and strike throwing ability with multiple pitches and low-to-mid 80’s velocity. The lineup is loaded with junior infielders who were key cogs in last year’s run, and the Celtics look to become the first repeat state champion in 47 years.

Recent Headlines

----IL 6.16.15 ProspectID slide - 6.16.15PROSPECTidslide_final.jpg