Want to see some good baseball – and lots of it – this weekend? Well, good news, you have plenty of options. Edwardsville’s second-annual Intelligencer Tiger Classic is this Friday and Saturday, and the four-team round-robin event features some of the best squads in the state. The teams involved include No. 3 Chatham Glenwood, No. 4 Highland, perennial powerhouse Edwardsville, and Joliet Township.
Not only will you get to see the No. 1-ranked senior in the state, Highland’s RHP-SS Jake Odorizzi, who should be drafted in the top three rounds and who has thrown 35 consecutive scoreless innings through Tuesday, but you will also see the dedication ceremony of Edwardsville’s new field at 4 p.m., an hour before Highland takes on Edwardsville.
The schedule is as follows:
Friday, May 2
4:30 p.m. - Highland vs. Chatham Glenwood
7 p.m. - Joliet Township vs. Edwardsville
Saturday, May 3
11 a.m - Chatham Glenwood vs. Joliet (Twp.)
1:30 pm - Chatham Glenwood vs. Edwardsville
1:30 pm - Joliet (Twp.) vs. Highland
4 pm - Tiger Baseball Stadium Dedication Ceremony
5 pm - Highland vs. Edwardsville
Joliet Township, which was 14-6 through Tuesday, is the least hyped school of the event, but the Steelmen play an extremely tough schedule and have already knocked off No. 1 Joliet Catholic and perennial powerhouse Minooka.
* An equally strong option for good baseball is the Peoria Baseball Showdown at O’Brien Field in Peoria on Saturday, which also features some of the best talent across the state. At 10 a.m., Limestone plays O’Fallon; at 12:30 p.m., Illinois Valley Central plays Beardstown; at 3 p.m. Driscoll takes on Quincy Notre Dame; Troy Triad squares off against Washington at 5:30 p.m. in the final game. All eight participants other than Quincy Notre Dame have advanced to the state quarterfinals of their respective class in the last two years.
If you’re a Chicagoan and don’t feel like traveling, Downers Grove South (20-4) and the Jon Weaver-led Leyden Eagles (14-2) face off for the battle of West Suburban Gold supremacy. The doubleheader kicks off at 2 p.m. For a complete schedule of games, Click Here.
Southern Illinois Report: Belleville West RHP Otto Roberts, who’s the No. 3-ranked prospect in the senior class, continued to impress pro scouts with a 1-0, 15-strikeout performance against rival Belleville East on Tuesday. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Roberts, who’s committed to Creighton, improved to 6-0 with a 0.72 ERA for the Maroons. Roberts is following in the footsteps of PBR first-team All-State selection John Flanagan, and should be the school’s second draft pick in as many years.
* Carlyle (17-3) has become a serious contender for the Class 2A title after knocking off preseason No. 1 Columbia twice this season. Carlyle has gotten it done with a mix of strong pitching from Kurt Peppenhorst (6-0) and Tony Schaeffer (5-0), and the big bat of Jake Kampwerth (nine HRs, 29 RBI).
* No. 7 Harrisburg (21-1 through Monday), has won 19 straight games behind junior INF Christian Cummins (.400 BA, 5 HRs) and sophomore SS-RHP Reid Roper (.470 BA, 5 HRs), both top-ranked prospects within their respective classes. The Bulldogs, who for years has been one of the preeminent programs in Southern Illinois, produced Class of 2005 star Patrick Keating, now a top-level RHP at University of Florida.
* There is no one who promotes Southern Illinois baseball more than Page Kirkpatrick, and Kirkpatrick raves about the upside of juniors C-OF Austin Montgomery and Nathan Dorris of Marion HS. The rock-solid 6-foot-3, 205-pound Montgomery is hitting .573 through Monday and has a plus arm behind the plate. The 6-4 Dorris, who possesses a big curveball and a mid-to-upper 80s fastball, has a 0.47 ERA and is averaging 12 punch-outs a game. Marion HS produced LHP Eric Barrett, the No. 6-ranked prospect in the Class of 2005.
* Anna-Jonesboro outfielder Lucas Hileman, the No. 29-ranked Class of 2008 prospect who’s committed to Baylor, has hit six homers and batting .550.
* Eric Shannahan, a 6-2 RHP from Collinsville HS, is quickly becoming one of the best pitching prospects in the Class of 2009. Shannahan is 4-1 with a 0.91 ERA playing all the best competition in the St. Louis-metro area.
* Marissa HS is a stong contender for the Class A title, thanks to the emergence senior Cale Wine, who is 6-0 with a 0.23 ERA. Wine is averaging 10.5 strikeouts per seven innings.