Class 4A Playoff Predictions
May 27, 2014
By Sean Duncan
Executive Director
The Class 4A playoffs began Monday with play-in games, followed by regional semifinals on Wednesday/Thursday. Regional championships are set for Saturday, and sectionals begin next Wednesday/Thursday. The Class 4A state semifinals will once again be at Silver Cross Field in Joliet on June 13-14.
This year’s 4A playoffs are up for grabs – and that’s clearly reflected in our predictions. More so than past seasons, this year’s bracket is riddled with landmines. In other words, expect the unexpected the next few weeks.
While there are several sectionals that are loaded with good match-ups, the Reavis Sectional is a walk-off winner for the most absurdly overloaded group of teams in the state. Crammed into this sectional are No. 4 St. Rita, No. 5 St. Laurence, No. 15 defending champion Mount Carmel, 2012 champion Oak Park, and 2011 champion Lyons, to name a few. No. 20 Lyons and Oak Park, who played in the 2012 state title game, will likely square off in the regional final on Saturday. The winner will likely play St. Rita, which held the No. 1-ranking for two consecutive months prior to this week.
The Andrew Sectional is no cakewalk, either. No. 2 Lincoln-Way North, No. 14 Brother Rice, Sandburg, Providence, Lincoln-Way Central, Lockport, Homewood-Flossmoor and Richards, to name a few, all feed into this sectional. If you like pitching, this is the sectional for you.
Not to be outdone, the Bloomington Sectional also features the likes of No. 7 O’Fallon, No. 9 Minooka, No. 16 Edwardsville, Moline, Normal West, Alton, etc.
The Glenbrook South Sectional should also be hotly contested between No. 10 Glenbrook South, No. 11 Mundelein, No. 12 Libertyville and Carmel, to name a few.
Because the 4A playoffs are packed with so many good match-ups, the Guru Drake Skleba and I took to different methodologies to our predictions. The Guru, of course, analyzed schedules, roster compositions, pitching rotations, possible match-ups, and playoff histories to make his predictions. I, on the other hand, polled my mother-in-law, a retired circus monkey and some dude named Horse that I randomly met last week. Their collective opinions are reflected in my predictions.
Here’s a look at our sectional by sectional predictions, in bracket order:
Drake "The Guru" Skleba |
Sean Duncan |
|
CHAMPAIGN SUPER-SECTIONAL | CHAMPAIGN SUPER-SECTIONAL | |
Illinois Wesleyan Sectional |
Illinois Wesleyan Sectional |
|
O'Fallon d. Edwardsville | O'Fallon d. Edwardsville | |
Minooka d. Normal West | Minooka d. Moline | |
O'Fallon d. Minooka | Minooka d. O'Fallon | |
Andrew Sectional |
Andrew Sectional |
|
Lincoln-Way North d. Homewood-Flossmoor | Lincoln-Way North d. Homewood-Flossmoor | |
Brother Rice d. Sandburg | Brother Rice d. Sandburg | |
Brother Rice d. Lincoln-Way North | Lincoln-Way North d. Brother Rice | |
|
||
Champaign Super |
Champaign Super |
|
O'Fallon d. Brother Rice | Lincoln-Way North d. Minooka | |
O'Fallon advances to Joliet | Lincoln-Way North advances to Joliet | |
ROCKFORD SUPER-SECTIONAL | ROCKFORD SUPER-SECTIONAL | |
Glenbrook South Sectional |
Glenbrook South Sectional |
|
Libetyville d. Carmel | Carmel d. Libetyville | |
Glenbrook South d. Mundelein | Glenbrook South d. Mundelein | |
Glenbrook South d. Libertyville | Glenbrook South d. Carmel | |
McHenry Sectional |
McHenry Sectional |
|
Huntley d. Grant | Huntley d. Grant | |
Barrington d. Hononegah | Jacobs d. Hononegah | |
Huntley d. Barrington | Huntley d. Jacobs | |
Rockford Super |
Rockford Super |
|
Glenbrook South d. Huntley | Glenbrook South d. Huntley | |
Glenbrook South advances to Joliet | Glenbrook South advances to Joliet | |
CRESTWOOD SUPER-SECTIONAL | CRESTWOOD SUPER-SECTIONAL | |
Reavis Sectional |
Reavis Sectional |
|
St. Rita d. Lyons Township | St. Rita d. Oak Park | |
St. Laurence d. Mount Carmel | Mount Carmel d. St. Laurence | |
St. Laurence d. St. Rita | St. Rita d. Mount Carmel | |
Oswego Sectional |
Oswego Sectional |
|
Plainfield North d. Naperville Central | Plainfield North d. Naperville Central | |
Marmion d. Yorkville | Downers Grove South d. Yorkville | |
Plainfield North d. Marmion | Plainfield North d. Downers Grove South | |
Crestwood Super |
Crestwood Super |
|
St. Laurence d. Plainfield North | St. Rita d. Plainfield North | |
St. Laurence advances to Joliet | St. Rita advances to Joliet | |
SCHAUMBURG SUPER-SECTIONAL | SCHAUMBURG SUPER-SECTIONAL | |
Schaumburg Sectional |
Schaumburg Sectional |
|
Batavia d. Schaumburg | Batavia d. Schaumburg | |
St. Charles East d. Glenbard North | St. Charles East d. Glenbard North | |
Batavia d. St. Charles East | Batavia d. St. Charles East | |
Loyola Sectional |
Loyola Sectional |
|
Maine South d. Notre Dame | Maine South d. Notre Dame | |
Elk Grove d. New Trier | New Trier d. Loyola | |
Maine South d. Elk Grove | Maine South d. New Trier | |
Schaumburg Super |
Schaumburg Super |
|
Batavia d. Maine South | Batavia d. Maine South | |
Batavia advances to Joliet | Batavia advances to Joliet | |
STATE SEMIFINALS |
STATE SEMIFINALS |
|
O'Fallon d. Glenbrook South | Lincoln-Way North d. Glenbrook South | |
St. Laurence d. Batavia | St. Rita d. Batavia | |
THIRD PLACE |
THIRD PLACE |
|
Glenbrook South d. Batavia | Batavia d. Glenbrook South | |
CHAMPIONSHIP |
CHAMPIONSHIP |
|
St. Laurence d. O'Fallon | St. Rita d. Lincoln-Way North |
CLICK HERE to view IHSA 4A brackets and schedules