Class 1A and 2A State Semifinal Preview

June 2, 2016

By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

The Class 1A and Class 2A semifinal weekend has arrived. On Friday at O' Brien Field in Peoria at 10:00 am, the Class 1A semifinals will begin. The Class 2A semifinals is set to begin at 3:00 pm on Friday afternoon. The title games are scheduled for Saturday, with the Class 1A game at 11:00 am and the 2A at 5:00 pm.

Catlin (Salt Fork), Goreville, Okawville and Somonauk round out the four Class 1A teams while Reed-Custer, Murphysboro, Rockford (Lutheran) and round out Class 2A.

In Class 1A, Salt Fork squares off with Somonauk while Goreville battles Okawville.

In Class 2A, Murphysboro faces off with St. Joseph-Ogden and Reed-Custer vs Rockford (Lutheran).

In Class 2A Murphysboro (21-12) knocked off Teutopolis 8-7 in the Sauget Super-Sectional on Monday. Reed-Custer (27-5) got a dominant performance by Brent Headrick on the mound to lead them past Depaul College Prep 5-0 in the Lisle 2 Super-Sectional on Monday evening.

Class 1A Semifinal One- Friday 10:00 am

Catlin (Salt Fork) 23-15 vs. Somonauk 23-6

Salt Fork – The Storm make it to state this season after knocking off Leroy 9-0 in the Champaign Super-Sectional. The Storm are led by multi-talented senior Josh Kimbro. Kimbro sports a 10-2 record and a 1.99 ERA. He has struck out 103 in 74 innings of work. Kimbro is also hitting .307 on the year with two doubles, two triples and two home runs.

Another key contributor on the mound and at the plate has been senior Connor Taylor. Taylor is 6-3 with a 1.23 ERA on the year. He has thrown 62.2 innings struck out 110 and has only given up 29 hits. At the plate he is hitting .305 with four double, two triples, a home run and 25 RBI.

Sophomore Austin Busher has gone deep six times for the Bulldogs with 40 RBI, both team-leading marks. Busher is hitting a robust .396. Senior Mike Kabbes (.358, 4 HR, 27 RBI) adds additional offensive punch for the Bulldogs.

Senior catcher Colton Baird has been a force offensively. Baird is hitting .363 with five doubles, two triples, two home runs and leads the team with 30 RBI.

The Storm have won 12 of their last 13 games entering Friday’s Semi-final game.

Salt Fork is coached by Ryan High.

Somonauk – The Bobcats got by Freeport (Aquin) 3-2 in the Lisle 1 Super-Sectional on Monday. In the Bobcats the pitching staff allowed seven total runs in their five postseason games. Junior two-way prospect Johnny Johnson has done it all for Aquin so far this season. He is hitting a remarkable .529 at the plate with six doubles, three triples and two home runs. He has also driven in 47 runs and scored 37 runs. On the mound he is 8-2 with a 1.96 ERA. He has only given up 13 hits in 57 innings pitched while striking out 63.

Left/left Nate Wegener has been another two-way prospect for the Bobcats to keep an eye on. Wegener a junior, is hitting .421 with seven doubles, three triples and a home run. On the mound he is 5-2 with a 1.79 ERA. He has thrown 43 innings and struck out 55 hitters.

Left-handed hitting Ryan Lumsden is the second leading hitter for the Bobcats. The junior is hitting .439 with six doubles, two triples and a home run.

Somonauk is coached by Troy Felton

Class 1A Semifinal 2- Friday Noon

Goreville (26-6) vs. Okawville (19-13-1)

Goreville – The Blackcats of Goreville punched their ticket with a convincing 12-1 win over North Clay in the Carbondale Super-Sectional. Talented sophomore Brodie Lenon has been a standout for the Blackcats throughout the season and is ranked No. 23 in the Illinois 2018 class. The 6-foot-3, 190- pound two-way prospect has a 1.00 ERA on the mound and is hitting .485 at the plate. On the mound he is 6-2, 56 inning’s pitched, struck out 74 and allowed 40 hits. At the plate Lenon has 11 doubles, 31 RBI and has scored 27 runs.

Junior Brant Glidewell is hitting .358 in 95 at-bats on the year. He has five doubles, three home runs, 34 RBI and 26 runs scored. He also is 6-2 on the mound. He has thrown 42.1 innings, 33 hits, 51 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA.

Another arm at the Blackcats disposal is senior Jared Vaughn. Vaughn is 3-0, 33.2 innings pitches, 27 hits, 29 strikeouts and a 0.62 ERA.

Goreville is back to Peoria once again after making consecutive appearances in 2010 and 2011.

Goreville is coached by Shawn Tripp.

Okawville – The Rockets are back to Peoria, looking to avenge last year’s second place finish, losing to Cobden in the Championship game. They were able to slip by A.-Avon 8-7 in the Springfield Super-Sectional on Monday.

The Rockets seemingly have gotten hot at the right time as they had lost three games in a row entering the playoffs. Pitching has been the key in the postseason as they gave up a total of three runs in the first four games.

Senior multi-positional Brendan Killion has been the horse on the mound for the Rockets. He has logged 85.1 innings this spring and sports a 9-2 record. He has struck out 94 and has an ERA of 3.20.

Senior catcher Brad Furhop has led the way at the plate, hitting .440 in 100 at-bats on the year. He has eight doubles, one triple and five home runs. He also is leading the team with 25 runs and 27 RBI.

Despite a 1-4 record sophomore Payten Harre has a 1.31 ERA in 32 innings pitched.

Okawville is coached by Jackie Smith.

Class 2A Semifinal One - Friday 3:00 pm

Murphysboro 21-12 vs. St. Joseph-Ogden 34-3

Murphysboro – The Red Devils advance to the state finals for the first time since 1966 after defeating Teutopolis 8-7 in the Sauget Super-Sectional on Monday.

Senior Braden Miller has been the ace for the Red Devils. He is 9-1 on the year with a 1.71 ERA. He has thrown 69.2 innings, given up 30 hits, struck out 50 and only walked 11.

Junior Brandon Graeff has been impressive on the mound as well. He is 6-2 with a 2.01 ERA on the year. Graeff can also hold his own at the plate. He is hitting .326 with seven doubles and 20 runs scored.

Marshall Grammer has a .382 batting average in 102 at-bats. He has five doubles, one triple and one home run. He is leading the team with 29 runs scored.

Murphysboro, a member of the Southern Illinois River-to-River conference, is coached by Andrew Winters.

St. Joseph-Ogden – The Spartans have been a Top 25 Team the last three years and one of the favorites to take home the state title but have failed to make it to Peoria. This year however, The Spartans have finally broken through after a third straight 30 win season, and a dominating postseason run. The Spartans outscored their five postseason opponents 49-2.

St. Joseph-Ogden is led by senior ace and Purdue commit Dalton Parker. Parker, the career leader in wins at St. Joseph-Ogden, may be having his best year yet. Parker is 10-1 with a 0.20 ERA. He has only allowed two earned runs in 71 innings pitched this spring. In the 71 innings he has struck out 145 batter and only given up 24 hits.

The Spartans have one of the best pitching staffs in Class 2A as six of the seven pitchers have ERA’s under a 3. Their number two arm Colton Carr has thrown more innings than Parker, 77 1/3, is 13-0 and has an ERA of 0.27.

Offensively, Carr leads the way with a .443 batting average and 40 RBI in 106 at-bats. Not far behind Carr is senior Ty Brown. Brown is hitting .372 in 121 at-bats. He also has nine doubles, one triple and three home runs.

St. Joseph-Ogden’s basketball team took home the state title this winter. The Spartans are the favorite to take home the Class 2A baseball crown this crown.

St. Joseph-Ogden is coached by Josh Haley.

Class 2A Semifinal 2 Friday 3:00 pm

Reed-Custer 27-5 vs. Rockford (Lutheran) 26-5

Reed-Custer – The Comets bounced back from an early Regional Semi-Final exit last season, having one of their best seasons in recent memory. The Comets defeated Depaul College Prep 5-0 in the Lisle Super-Sectional on Monday behind a complete game, 17 strikeout performance from their senior ace and Illinois State commit, Brent Headrick.

6-foot-6, left-handed Headrick is 10-1 on the year and has recently been touching 90 with his fastball. He has thrown 71 innings, struck out 109, given up 40 hits and sports a 1.68 ERA.

The Comets pitching staff consists of six arms, all of whom have and ERA under 2.30. Senior Junior Eddie Wilkins is having a breakout season for the Comets, going 6-0 on the mound with a 1.24 ERA. He has allowed 27 hits, struck out 62 and only walked 13 in 45.1 innings. Senior Jordan Walden, an Eastern Illinois recruit has also logged 49.2 innings and struck out 58 batters.

Offensively, the Comets are led by Travis Schoonover, Hunter Murawski and Jordan Walden who are all hitting over .400. Left-handed hitting Schoonover also has eight doubles, six triples.

Reed-Custer is coached by Jerry Cougill.

Rockford (Lutheran) – The Crusaders ride an 11 game winning streak into Peoria. They knocked off Macomb 12-9 in the Rock Island Super-Sectional final on Monday.

Three arms have thrown 50 innings, have an ERA under two and have a combined 18-3 record for the Crusaders. Senior Johnny Sanchez features a live arm and struck out 72 batters in 50.2 innings pitched and has a 1.66 ERA. He also has 12 doubles and three home runs on the year.

LHP Justin Mercer went 6-0 and has a 1.40 ERA. He also struck out 63 batters in 50 innings.

Offensively, seven hitters with over 80 at-bats on the year are hitting over .300 on the season. Catcher Brady West is the most dangerous hitter in the Crusader lineup. He is hitting .384 and has nine doubles and nine home runs on the year.

Junior Nick Brigham also adds some punch to the lineup with nine doubles and three home runs in 83 at-bats this spring.

Rockford (Lutheran) is coached by Neal Bertram.