1A State Preview
May 25, 2011
1A Preview
Teams To Watch:
Frontier: Frontier has two tough arms on the mound that will carry them deep in the postseason. Travis Demerly is 6-2 with a 0.56 ERA with 82 Ks and Hunter Gladish is 8-0 with a 1.65 ERA with 66 Ks. The offense is impressive with six hitters above a .333 BA, led by Demerly who is hitting at a .484 clip with nine homeruns and 32 RBIs. Frontier has two other players above .400 Silas Maxwell .432 with six homeruns and 38 RBIs and Dylan Cain .439 with 23 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. At 23-4 Frontier could have a tough matchup in the sectional championship with Lafayette Central Catholic, who beat them last year in the sectional championship.
North Central (Farmersburg): At 19-5 NC should be able to make a deep run relying on the arms and bats of Connor Strain and Craig Bell. Strain boasts at 6-2 record with 1.60 ERA and 71 Ks, while Bell has a 5-1 record with a 3.28 ERA. Nolan Kinnett will also be a key arm for NC to do damage in the postseason. Offensively NC is led by Bell who is hitting .492 with six homeruns and 24 RBIs. Strain is hitting at a .463 clip with two homeruns and 27 RBIs. Cole Johnson is the third play for NC hitting above four hundred at .413 with two homeruns and 22 RBIs. As reigning sectional champs Shakamak looks to be their toughest obstacle to overcome to repeat as champs.
Lafayette Central Catholic: At 19-8 LCC comes in as the two-time defending state champion. It seems likely that LCC and Frontier will meet in the sectional championship again this year. LCC has a bunch of quality wins this season over Frontier, Northview, and FW Northrop are a few. LCC is lead by 2011 Parkland commit Brett Haan, Austin Munn, Nick Stone, and Cody Schrader.
Riverton Parke: At 20-7 RP might be a slight favorite to win their sectional, but will have a tough first round matchup with Covington, who they split with this year. Tim Johnson will be a player to watch for RP. The Southeastern Illinois commit has a fastball that sits in the mid to upper 80s and a sharp 12-6 breaking ball.
Tri-County: Riley Benner leads 19-7 TC on the mound. Benner is 7-0 with a 2.84 ERA, seven complete games (1 shutout), and leads the state with 104 strikeouts. Benner is also one of the leaders offensively hitting .488 with four homeruns and 37 RBIs. Seniors Clayton Lear and Travis Winger and Junior Connor Ferdinand are also main contributors to the offense all hitting over .330.
Vincennes Rivet: Ranked 6th in the coaches? poll at 16-8 VR will have to get through North Daviess and defending sectional champion Barr-Reeve.
North Daviess: Last year the lost in 8 innings to Barr-Reeve in the sectional championship game. At 14-8 ND should have a good chance to make it back into that game this year. They could face Vincennes Rivet, who they beat this year 5-3, in the second round.
Whiting: At 17-11 Whiting comes in a as a contender for their sectional championship, looking to repeat as champion. They started the season a little slow, but have really come on of late. They could have a tough matchup in the sectional final with Washington Township.
Cowan: Cowan ran through their sectional last year scoring double figure runs in each game. They come into this sectional at 14-8 and still a favorite to win their sectional. On the mound they are lead by a group of Juniors Tyler Rumfelt, Alex Delk, Bryce Oxley, and Aaron Wells. Jon Miller leads the offense hitting .479 with two homeruns and 24 RBIs. Grant Newlin is also a key to offense hitting .386 with two homeruns and 21 stolen bases. Delk and Wells are both important to the offense as well hitting .373 and .382 respectively.
Washington Township: At 16-8 they could set up a possible showdown with Whiting in the sectional final. Earlier in the season Washington Township beat Whiting 2-1.
Caston: At 17-11 Caston look to be a favorite to advance into their sectional final. They would have to deal with a tough Tri-County team or the defending sectional champion North White. Caston has split with both of the teams this season, so they could create an interesting championship matchup.
Raising Sun: Raising Sun (15-6) puts out two impressive arms on the mound Tyler Jones and Miles Morris. Jones is 7-0 with a 1.70 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 51 Ks and Morris is 6-1 with a 1.45 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 47 Ks, and two shutouts.
Players To Watch:
DJ Buschman, North White: 6-4, 59.1 IP, 2.83 ERA, 64 Ks, 7 CG, 1 SHO
Dillon Downs, Blue River Valley: 6-4, 59 IP, 2.25 ERA, 76 Ks, 4 CG, 1 SHO
Dan Snyder, South Central (Union Mills): 5-3, 41.1 IP, 1.83 ERA, 43 Ks, 4 CG
Jeff Woods, Turkey Run: 0.571 BA, 15 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 8 HRs, 38 RBIs, 0.612 OBP, 1.107 SLG
Tyler Sims, Bethesda Christian: 0.471 BA, 6 HRs, 25 RBIs, 0.540 OBP, 1.461 SLG
Drew Bennett, Bethesda Christian: 0.600 BA, 5 HRs, 27 RBIs, 0.667 OBP, 1.733 SLG
Garrett Walker, South Central (Union Mills), 0.368 BA, 5 HRs, 0.443,
Last Year?s Sectional Champions:
Sectional 49: Whiting
Sectional 50: South Central (Union Mills)
Sectional 51: FW Blackhawk Christian
Sectional 52: North White
Sectional 53: Lafayette Central Catholic
Sectional 54: Cowan
Sectional 55: Randolph Southern
Sectional 56: Attica
Sectional 57: North Central (Farmersburg
Sectional 58: Edinburgh
Sectional 59: Indianapolis Lutheran
Sectional 60: Oldenburg Academy
Sectional 61: Northeast Dubois
Sectional 62: Lanesville
Sectional 63: Barr-Reeve
Sectional 64: Tecumseh