By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

The Class 2A semifinals is set to begin at 3:00 pm on Friday afternoon. The title games are scheduled for Saturday, with the Class 1A game at 11:00 am and the 2A at 5:00 pm. St. Joseph-Ogden, Chicago Christian, Orion and Teutopolis round out the final four teams remaining in Class 2A.

In Class 2A, St. Joseph-Ogden faces Chicago Christian and Orion takes on Teutopolis.

CLASS 2A SEMIFINAL ONE - FRIDAY 3:00 PM

St. Joseph-Ogden (26-7) vs Chicago Christian (39-1)

St. Joseph-Ogden - The Spartans have earned a trip back to Peoria after a second place finish in one of the more memorable games of 2016. The Spartans trailed Reed-Custer for the majority of the game before storming back to tie the game and force extra-innings. They ultimately fell 7-6 (eight innings) to Reed-Custer in the thrilling championship game.

The Spartans punched their ticket on Monday with an 11-4 win over Quincy Notre Dame in the Springfield Super-Sectional. They outscored their five playoff opponents 56-16 en-route to Peoria.

Colton Hale has been the ace of the staff throughout the spring. Hale has thrown 72 innings, is 7-2 and has a 0.58 ERA. Hale has struck out 116 batters, allowed 35 hits and six earned runs. Hale has also done damage with the bat this spring. He is currently hitting .404 with 17 doubles, a triple, four homeruns, 39 RBI and 36 runs scored.

Mason Coon has been another valuable contributor for the Spartans. Coon is 8-1 with a 1.58 ERA. He has thrown 53.1 innings, with 96 strikeouts and allowed 30 hits. At the plate, Coon is hitting .315 with 12 doubles, five homeruns, 32 RBI and 32 runs.

Brant Hoveln adds some punch to their lineup. Hoveln is hitting .394 with nine doubles, two homeruns, with 25 RBI and 19 runs.

St. Joseph-Ogden is coached by Josh Haley.

Chicago Christian - The Knights notched their 39th win of the year and booked their first trip to state in a convincing 7-0 win over Timothy Christian in the Lisle Super-Sectional. Their one loss on the year was a 2-1 game against Class 4A Lockport.

The Knights pitching staff has been strong throughout the season and twirled three shutouts in their five postseason games.  The ace of the staff has been senior LHP Dan Vos. Vos is 11-1 and sports a 0.41 ERA. The southpaw has thrown 85 innings, struck out 150 batters and allowed 38 hits on the season.

John Vander Wall is another senior who has been equally impressive on the mound. Vander Wall is 13-0 with a 0.47 ERA in 74.2 innings. Vander Wall has only walked five batters on the year.

Tyler Edgar has provided added depth on the mound and is currently 9-0 with a 1.01 ERA. Edgar has struck out 64 batters in 55.2 innings.

At the plate, the Knights are led by Tommy Moran, Dan Vos and Jacob Bulthuis. Moran is hittting .418 with 15 doubles, five triples, five homeruns, 37 RBI and 44 runs. Vos has 13 doubles and two homeruns to go along with a .325 average. Bulthuis leads the team with 41 RBI and is hitting .364 with eight doubles and three triples.

The Knights are coached by Eric Brauer

CLASS 2A SEMIFINAL ONE - FRIDAY 5:00 PM

Orion (21-12) vs Teutoplis (29-6)

Orion - The Chargers are making their first state final appearance after a 4-3 Super-Sectional win over Warren (Coop). The Chargers are riding a nine game winning streak and have won 12 of their last 13.

Brady Grafton, Bryce Grafton and Brayden Newman have all thrown over 42 innings on the year and have won a total of 10 games. Brady has a 2.17 ERa and has struck out 47 in 48.1 innings. Bryce has struck out 50 in 42.1 innings. Newman has a 2.35 ERA and has struck out 40 in 44.2 innings.

At the plate, Daimon Zurcher, Landon Taets, Drake Schultz and Brayden Newman all have over 100 at-bats and are hitting above .300. Zurcher is leading the way at .380 and has five doubles. Taets has 10 doubles, two triples and two homeruns to go along with a .304 average. Schultz is hitting .327 with 12 doubles and five triples. Newman is hitting .314, has knocked in 30 and has hit seven doubles, a triple and two homeruns.

Orion is coached by Jeremy Jungwirth.

Teutopolis - Teutopolis is back in Peoria under coach Justin Fleener for the sixth time since 2001. They punched their ticket on Monday with a 4-3 Super-Sectional win over Nashville. The Wooden Shoes are currently riding an 18 game-winning streak and outscored opponents 36-6 in their five postseason games.

The pitching staff has been successful by committee. Nine players have spent time on the mound and six of them have thrown over 20 innings. Lane Belleville is 7-0 with a 1.57 ERA. In 49 innings pitched he has allowed 30 hits and struck out 59. Eric Kremer is also 7-0 and has a 1.37 ERA. In his 41 innings of work he has struck out 61. Some other notable arms on the staff are Lee Hariek, Brock Bueker, Collin Funneman and Ethyn Dust.

Belleville has been a force at the plate as well as on the mound. The right-handed hitter is hitting .423 with 38 RBI, 10 doubles, a triple and four homeruns. Carson Hartke and Cody Jansen are both hitting over .390. Hartke has scored 40 runs, hit 12 doubles, a triple and five homeruns. Jansen is hitting .396 with 10 doubles, six homeruns and 36 RBI.

Teutopolis is coached by Justin Fleener.

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