In the season preview issue of the Prep Baseball Report I wrote about how much I disliked the new four-class playoff system. I expressed displeasure about several topics, one of which was Class 3A. It was going to be a disaster, I thought - completely watered-down, and a geographical nightmare to boot.
OK, so you’re still going to pay at the pump to travel to playoff games, but competition-wise, it’s admittedly much better than anticipated. In fact, the 3A playoffs might be the most interesting of all the classes.
See for yourself: In the updated PBR team rankings, No. 1 Joliet Catholic, No. 2 Rock Falls, No. 4 Highland, No. 11 Glenwood and No. 17 Oak Forest are all Class 3A teams. Aside from JCA and Oak Forest, Class 3A in the Chicagoland area is weak and loaded with Public League schools. But around the state, 3A is extremely tough.
Rock Falls (20-0 through Sunday) features Iowa-bound left-hander Jarred Hippen, who is 7-0 and can beat any team in the state. Rock Falls, which has outscored its opponents 234-30 this season, also has senior catcher Shane Blair (.434 BA, 4HR), OF Tim Jacobs (.538 BA, 7 HR, 31 RBI) and junior LHP Taylor Eikenberry (6-0, 70 Ks, 1 run, 34 innings; .429 BA, 9 doubles). Also making big waves for the Rockets is freshman sensation Jake Junis, who’s hitting .453 with six homers, 29 RBI and is 3-0 on the mound. And it’s not like success is anything new for Rock Falls – last year it advanced to the Class AA supersectionals behind ace Seth Blair, who’s now at Arizona State.
Highland features the best player in the state, Jake Odorizzi. At last check, Odorizzi has thrown 43 consecutive scoreless innings, is one of the state’s most prolific hitters and is slated to be a top-round draft pick come June. Glenwood, too, has been a consistent powerhouse in Class AA for years, and just beat Highland on Saturday.
No. 1 Joliet Catholic, which isn’t the most talented Hilltopper squad coach Jared Voss has in the last four years, but it very well may be the scrappiest. No team in the state has played a more difficult schedule than JCA.
News and Notes:
Benet coach Jeff Bonebrake isn’t one to sugarcoat his evaluations. Nevertheless, one had to arch an eyebrow when he predicted before the season that senior Bryan Roberts was going to be the best pitcher in the state. Sure, Roberts possessed one of the state’s strongest arms, but it was primarily showcased as a catcher.
Well, call Bonebrake clairvoyant, because he’s not far off the mark. Although the state’s best pitcher is unquestionably Odorizzi, Roberts has become arguably the Chicago-area’s most dominant pitcher this spring.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander has recorded 80 strikeouts to eight walks in 37 innings, and has yielded only two earned runs. On Tuesday, the Illinois-bound Roberts improved to 5-1 after he threw a two-hit, 12-strikeout masterpiece in Benet’s 3-0 victory over No. 1 Joliet Catholic.
“He’s better than I even expected,” said Bonebrake. “I obviously expected a lot, but he’s just been dominant.”
As a junior, splitting time catching and pitching, Roberts went 7-2 with 88 strikeouts in 58.2 innings. In the offseason, Bonebrake relieved Roberts of his catching responsibilities and had him focus solely on pitching. The results speak for themselves. Aside from his gaudy strikeout totals, Roberts’ 88-91 mph fastball and sharp-breaking curveball have drawn considerable interest from pro scouts.
* Huntley outfielder Craig Lipp has established himself as one of the best hitters in the junior class. Through Tuesday, the left-handed hitting Lipp was batting .476 with eight doubles, three triples and four homers. Last week alone Lipp went 12-for-15 with six doubles, a triple and a grand slam. “Anything that’s been thrown at him he hit it hard,” said Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski.
* Lincoln-Way East senior catcher Joe Turek has been on fire. Last Saturday, Turek went 3-for-3 with three home runs and seven RBI, then came back on Tuesday to go 4-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. Both games were against rival Lincoln-Way Central.