By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

The Class 4A semifinals is set to begin at 3:00 pm on Friday afternoon. The title games are scheduled for Saturday, with the Class 3A game at 11:00 am and the 4A at 5:00 pm. New Trier, Crystal Lake South, Edwardsville and St. Laurence round out the final four teams remaining in Class 4A.

New Trier faces Crystal Lake South and Edwardsville takes on St. Laurence.

CLASS 4A SEMIFINAL ONE - FRIDAY 3:00 PM

New Trier (30-4) vs. Crystal Lake South (34-5)

New Trier - The Trevians punched their ticket to Joliet with a tight 4-3 win over South Elgin in the Schaumburg Super-Sectional. New Trier returns to State for the first time since they won the Class 4A state title in 2009.

New Trier enters the weekend as one of the hottest teams in 4A or 3A, winning 27 of their last 28 games. In their five games this postseason they have not allowed more than three runs in any game and have outscored opponents 34-9.

On the mound New Trier has eight pitchers who have thrown over 20 innings on the season. Senior Thomas Nugent has led the way throwing 66.2 innings and boasts a 0.74 era to go along with a 12-1 record. In his 66+ innings of work he has only walked nine batters and given up 42 hits.

At the plate, the Trevians have two guys entering Joliet hitting over .400. Senior Kevin Donahue leads the way with a .429 average with 15 doubles, two triples, a home run and 41 runs scored. Junior catcher, Cam Redding is hitting .402 with 10 doubles, 25 RBI and 27 runs scored. Senior Matt Kann and junior Anthony Calarco also provide punch in the middle of the lineup. Kann has eight doubles, a triple and two homeruns to go along with a .337 average. Calarco is hitting .378 with 13 doubles, two homeruns and 29 RBI.

New Trier is coached by Mike Napoleon.

Crystal Lake South - The Gators make it back to Joliet for the first time since 1993 when they finished fourth in Class AA. Crystal Lake South advanced past last year’s Class 4A runner-up, Mundelein, defeating them 6-2 in the Schaumburg Super-Sectional.

In the Gators five postseason wins they outscored opponents 39-9 and didn’t allow over three runs in any game. Andrew Engelking and Kyle Lang were the two main arms throughout the year and had a combined record of 17-0. Engelking went 8-0 with a 1.84 ERA. In 68.1 innings he only walked 16 guys and allowed 55 hits. Lang, a junior right-hander went 9-0 with a 1.18 ERA. In his 65.1 innings he scattered 52 hits.

Offensively, Brian Fuentes, who moved from Venezuela over the summer has led the Gator offense. The talented infielder is hitting .448 with 20 doubles, a triple and six home runs. In 39 games, Fuentes has 48 RBI and 37 runs scored. Senior catcher, Ryan Parquette, is hitting .438 in 128 at-bats. Parquette has six doubles, a triple, home run and 35 RBI.

Brent Chubb, Griffin Bright, Noah Tyrell and Nick Wolski all had over 90 at-bats for the Gators and are hitting over .340 entering the weekend.

Crystal Lake South is coached by Brian Bogda.

CLASS 4A SEMIFINAL TWO - FRIDAY 5:00 PM

Edwardsville (33-7) vs St. Laurence (35-5)

Edwardsville - The Tigers punched their ticket to Joliet with an 11-3 win over Sandburg in the U of I Super-Sectional. Edwardsville scored eight runs in the fifth inning to help propel them to their first state final since 2007.

The Tigers have a potent lineup with their top two hitters hitting one-two in the order. Senior Dylan Burris has been the sprakplug at the top of the order. Burris is currently hitting .459 with 15 doubles, 14 triples and five homeruns. The 14 triples ties the IHSA record for the most triples in a season. Burris has also has scored 46 runs and drove in 36 from the leadoff spot. Freshman Drake Westcott has been hitting in the two-hole recently for Edwardsville. Westcott, already a Louisville commit, has put up huge numbers for a freshman. Entering Joliet he is hitting .444 with 12 doubles, two triples and 11 homeruns. In 39 games he has drive in 40 and scored 29 runs.

Will Messer, Joel Quirin and Dalton Wallace are all hitting over .340 with extra base hits. Messer is batting .360 with six doubles a triple and 29 runs. Quirin comes in at .345 with 10 doubles a home run and 36 RBI. Wallace, only a sophomore is hitting .342 with 11 doubles.

On the mound, senior Kade Burns has emerged as the ace. Burns is currently 10-1 with a 1.11 ERA. In 69.2 innings he has struck out 92 and only allowed 31 hits. Andrew Yancik has also thrown well for the Tigers this season and will most likely start the semi-final game on Friday against St. Laurence. Yancik is 5-1 with a 1.17 ERA. In his 54 innings he has struck out 62 and only allowed 29 hits.

Edwardsville is coached by Tim Funkhouser.

St. Laurence - The Vikings survived one of the toughest Sectionals in Class 4A and punched their ticket to Joliet with a 5-1 Super-Sectional win over then No. 1 Neuqua Valley who was 35-1-1 at the time.  

The pitching of St. Laurence carried them through the postseason as they allowed four runs in five game including two shutouts.

The Vikings had arguably the deepest pitching staff in the state this year and it is evident when looking at their stats. A total of 11 arms threw on the year and nine of them have an ERA under 3.00. Senior Angel Sandoval had the most impressive numbers of all. Sandoval went 11-0 with a 0.88 ERA. In 63.2 innings the right-hander only allowed 38 hits, struck out 55 and walked 14. Marius Balandis and Jimmy Burnette both have live arms had recorded an impressive number of strikeouts. Balandis went 6-3 on the year and in 44.2 innings he struck out 73. Burnette went 6-1 on the year and struck out 73 in 50.1 innings. Joe Vascik also added quality innings for the Vikings. Vascik went 7-1 with a 1.64 ERA. In his 47 innings he struck out 44 and allowed 41 hits.

Offensively, sophomore catcher Matt McCormick solidifies the middle of the order. McCormick hit .456 with 11 doubles, two triples, seven homeruns and 47 RBI in 40 games. Senior Tommy Farrell scored 41 runs, hit .373 with 10 doubles and two triples. Senior infielders Brian Lyle and Johnny Peterson both played in 40 games and enter Joliet hitting over .345. Lyle is currently hitting .378 with four doubles and scored 33 runs. Peterson is hitting .348 with eight doubles a triple and 32 runs.

St. Laurence is coached by Pete Lotus.

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