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