Class 2A State Semifinals Preview

Tomorrow, Friday, June 1, the class 1A and 2A State semifinals will begin. The 2A semifinals’ first game will take place at 3 p.m. between Herscher and Teutopolis at Dozer Park in Peoria. The second 2A semifinal will take place once game one is finalized, at approximately 5 p.m., between Tuscola and Hall.

The third-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday and the title game will follow it, beginning roughly at 5 p.m.  

You can visit IHSA’s official tournament page for more information.

Class 2A State Semifinal One – Friday, 3 p.m.

Herscher (33-7) vs. Teutopolis (29-6)

Herscher Tigers: Herscher is returning to the State playoffs for the first time since 2012, when they earned a third-place finish under head coach Eric Regez. Regez is still at the helm of this Tigers team that’s already made up for its Sectional finals defeat to Chicago Christian in 2017. They’ve been one of the hottest teams in the tournament and only really were challenged by Timothy Christian in the Super-Sectionals in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel that featured their senior ace, Tyler Stuart. Including last round’s victory, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 42-3 this tournament so far.

You may have noticed by now, but Stuart has been a major reason why. The Southern Mississippi commit has been one of the state’s premier pitching prospects. The 6-foot-8 Stuart towers over opposing hitters from the mound and it’s helped him strike out 114 batters in 63 innings this season – both, very obviously, team highs. He’s also taken at least an at-bat in 38 of his team’s 39 games played this spring and leads the team with a .491 batting average, to go along with his six homers. And he’s far from the only weapon within this team’s offense.

Tyler Jarnigan primarily operates as Herscher’s everyday shortstop, and occasionally works as a closer for this team, too (35 strikeouts in 17.2 innings). In the batter’s box, the senior leads the team in doubles (13), triples (7), and home runs (8), and he’s also tallied a team-high 41 RBIs – and his biggest one came in their Super-Sectional when he singled home the walk-off run against Timothy Christian.

And Anthony Koranda, another senior leader on this team, helps support Jarnigan on offense and Stuart in the rotation. The lefty outfielder has recorded a team-high 49 hits this season, which has helped him to a .437 batting average, and has slugged four homers to go along with it. On the mound, he’s 4-2 with a 2.42 ERA and has struck out 38 batters in 34.2 innings. Ryan Volk is the other senior starter to know within this staff. He’s maintained an ERA of 1.71 in 41 innings this season.

This team has the talent to take down the 2A reigning champs, Teutopolis, on Friday. In fact, the last time they won a State championship, it came against the Wooden Shoes in 1999’s title game.

Teutopolis Wooden Shoes: The Wooden Shoes have, by this point, established themselves as a class 2A powerhouse. They’ve been to State seven times since head coach Justin Fleener took over in 2001 and have won three titles since 2010, including last year’s after outscoring Orion and St. Joseph-Ogden 21-2 in their semifinal and final games. They’ve returned to State this spring in their first back-to-back appearance since 2010-11. It’s clear who this team runs through, too: Cody Jansen and Eric Kremer.

When one isn’t pitching, the other is. When one is in scoring position, the other drives him home. The tandem has been effective for Coach Fleener and he’s utilized it well, surrounding the two with a quality supporting cast that includes the team’s RBI leader (36) Drew Thoele. But, consider Jansen and Kremer table-setters in that equation.

Jansen is hitting .412, just under Kremer’s team-high .419 average. Jansen, a John A. Logan JC commit, has been the better slugger however, with nine homers this spring. Kremer,  Kaskaskia JC commit, has smacked three of his own. On the mound, the two have been one of the most apparent reasons why Teutopolis is back in Peoria this season. Jansen has pitched in 10 games, recording a team-high 49.2 innings pitched, and has kept an ERA under 2.00, at a 1.97. Kremer’s thrown 44.1 innings and has an ERA of 1.89. With nearly 100 solid innings between them, the Wooden Shoes don’t need to produce much on offense with a one-two combo atop their rotation like this.

They’ve matched their season-high eight-game win streak with their run through the playoffs and will look for a ninth consecutive tomorrow against Herscher.

Class 2A State Semifinal Two – Friday, 5 p.m.

Hall (28-3) vs. Tuscola (37-3)

Hall Red Devils: Hall actually entered this postseason on upset alert as a top-ranked Sectional team that was on a two-game losing streak. They’d lost just three times all season but those three losses were magnified when two of them came in the final two games of the regular season. Neither losses were bad, a narrow 1-0 loss to Plano and a 3-2 loss to a star-studded Joliet Catholic team, so Hall predictably rectified their course and has been very good these playoffs.

They kicked things off with a huge 10-0 win over Kewanee and a slid past Princeton, 2-1, in their Regional final and North Boone, 12-11, in the Sectional semis. But, in the Sectional title game they downed Alleman 12-1 in five innings and shut out Brimfield 12-0 in the Super-Sectional to earn their first-ever spot at the State tournament. And that’s also four straight 20-win seasons for head coach Tom Keegan.

Four straight is no coincidence considering it’s been four years now that their super slugging catcher Brant Vanaman has been in the program. The senior Kent State commit has been as reliable a bat as there is in the entire state. This spring he’s hitting .554 with 11 homers, five triples, 18 doubles, and 60 RBIs in 31 games, all team highs.

He generally the battery mate of starter Jimmy Deangelo, who’s 7-0 this season with a 1.84 ERA in 49.1 innings. He leads the team with 74 strikeouts and has walked 19 over that span. Ty Rybarczyk backs up Deangelo on the mound and Vanaman at the plate. The two-way threat is valuable in both places. On offense, he’s hitting .385 with 12 doubles and on the rubber he’s thrown 42 innings and has maintained a team-low 1.83 ERA and has walked just five batters all spring, to go along with 66 punch outs.

Though it might not have the experience of a Teutopolis, the Red Devils have the skill to accomplish its ultimate goal this tournament. And it must be comforting to know that no player in Tuscola’s dugout has any State playoff experience, either.

Tuscola Warriors: Tuscola’s come a long way since their Regional semifinals loss in 2017. They played one of Illinois’ heaviest schedules this spring, completing 40 games on their calendar and winning 37 of them. They’re on a 20-1 streak in which they’ve won 16 straight and are currently riding a 14-win streak. They’re regularly winning games with an onslaught of offense, too.

Prior to their 2-1 Super-Sectionals win over Pleasant Plains, the Warriors had not scored fewer than five runs in a game since their 2-0 loss to Champaign Central back in March. Along that same stretch, they scored 15 or more runs seven times. They’ve outscored their opponents in the playoffs 37-6 so far. It’s this type of lethal offense that can lift Tuscola all the way to its first State title in its program’s history.

Their lineup is filled with .400-plus hitters up and down. Andrew Erickson, Dalton Hoel, Tyler Meinhold, and Brayden VonLanken are all hitting above .400, and that’s without mentioning a few others hovering near that mark. Erickson leads the team with his even .500 batting average, 17 doubles, and 56 RBIs, and he’s also smashed seven homers this season. VonLanken leads the team with his nine home runs. Hoel has a team-high 67 runs scored. And Meinhold does a little bit of everything – he’s got six homers, 54 RBIs, and is hitting .438.

It’s hard to find an offense that’s able to churn out runs one through nine in the order like Tuscola.

On the mound, they’re led by Noah Pierce who’s thrown 57.1 innings this spring and has struck out 91 batters, maintaining a lowly ERA of 0.98.

The Warriors are a team that competes on all fronts and are capable of getting past Hall and either Herscher or Teutopolis. Another exciting element to this particular semifinals match-up is that the winner will be a team hunting for its program’s first State title. 

RELATED CONTENT