IHSA Postseason Roundtable Discussion

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

BIGGEST SURPRISE? MOST SURPRISING TEAM LEFT.

Drew Locascio: Elk Grove. The Grenadiers certainly had the talent to win a Regional Championship but the fashion in which they did so was extremely impressive. In the Regional Semi’s, Elk Grove (19-12), the No. 9 seed in the Sectional, took down a quality York squad, who was the No. 8 seed, 9-4. They then proceeded to knock off Willowbrook 14-3 in five innings. Willowbrook was the No. 1 seed and went 24-7-1 on the season. Don’t expect the Grenadiers to stop anytime soon as they have the arms, RHP Xander Rojahn (Xavier commit) and LHP Ryne Singsank (SIU commit), to make things really interesting in the Sectionals.

Andy Sroka: They did it last year, so we shouldn’t be totally surprised, but Lake Park is at it again. They entered the playoff picture as a No. 11 seed in the Glenbard West Sectional and beat Batavia, and No. 3-seeded South Elgin to earn a shot at St. Charles North in the sectional semis. The only team that was able to stop the Lancers in last year’s postseason was Huntley all the way in the state semifinals. Let’s see how far Lake Park can go this time, despite missing quite a few of the pieces that made last year’s run possible.

Adam Panayotovich: Biggest surprise to me personally, Barrington. Now let me explain myself. Barrington has been on a heater of a run over the last few weeks of regular season play finish 10-2 in their last twelve. The Broncos wrapped up April as our No. 25 team in the Power 25, which is when I saw them play on the road against New Trier (4/20). They were blanked by a solid Trevians squad 4-0 and there was nothing happening on the Bronco offense that told me they were poised to head into playoffs one of the hotter teams in 4A. Barrington has steady proved me wrong all year, now ranked No. 13 in IL and a top seed in the McHenry Sectional, and I do hope that Clark Elliot (Michigan commit) and crew continue to prove me wrong ten days out from State.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT? MOST SHOCKING TEAM TO LOSE/TEAM WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS THAT FALTERED.

Drew Locascio: In Class 3A, one team I had my eye on all year, was the Coalers of Coal City. The Coalers were led by dynamic two-way talent LHP/OF Payton Hutchings and a strong supporting cast. Coal City entered the playoffs in the Top 20 of the Power 25 but it wasn’t meant to be, as they fell to Morris (25-8), by the score of 4-2 in the Regional Finals. Coal City, who finished the season 27-5, had the talent to make a run in one of the toughest 3A Sectionals, which features No. 3 St. Laurence and No. 4 Joliet Catholic….with that said, keep an eye on Morris, who have wins over 4A Andrew, 2-of-3 over Yorkville and now a win over Coal City.

Andy Sroka: Seeing Lincoln-Way East lose in the regional semis was not something anyone, but maybe Romeoville, could reasonably have expected. The Griffins sent their ace Cole Kirschsieper to the mound and he did his job, allowing just a couple runs (one earned) in a complete-game effort. But LWE could only muster three hits and scraped by just a single run against Romeoville’s Hunter Frost and reliever Anthony Perez. The Griffins had the kind of pitching that thrives in the postseason, so it’s a shame the offense stagnated at exactly the wrong time.

Adam Panayotovich: Marian Catholic. After being wow’d by the surplus of returning talent heading into this season, the Spartans and Coach DeCarlo had an up and down year finishing 17-16 overall and 8-6 in ESC Conference play. They finished the season 2-8 in their last 10 games and ended their playoff hopes falling to the Stagg Chargers in the Regional Semifinals by a lopsided 15-5 final. In 2019, Marian Catholic had seven varsity players, ranging all classes, that fell within the top 125 in their perspective class rankings: 2019’s - #31 OF Pierce Jones (Northern Illinois commit), #124 C Angelo Cantelo (Lewis commit); 2020’s: #16 INF/RHP Alec Gonzalez (Tennessee commit), #31 UTIL/RHP Aidan Stewart, #59 CIF Dom Angellotti; 2021’s: #12 RHP Tyler Fullman, #14 OF Eddie King (Louisville commit). The athleticism is off the charts; I was so in on a late playoff push by this Spartan team. There is still tons of upside heading into next season, but I personally would have liked to see their senior leader and ESC Player of the Year, Angelo Cantelo and the Spartans run a little deeper into the playoffs.

TOP PLAYERS TO SEE THEIR SEASON’S END EARLY?

Drew Locascio: LHP/OF Payton Hutchings. As mentioned above, Hutchings and Coal City were one of my biggest disappointments to be knocked out of the playoffs. Part of the reason being, Hutchings is extremely fun to watch pitch. The Illinois commit, currently ranked No. 11 in the Illinois’ 2020 class, is highly-athletic, polished, pounds the strike zone and pitches like a man on a mission. It would have been fun to see Hutchings match-up against the likes of St. Laurence or Joliet Catholic in Sectional play. Luckily for Coal City, Hutchings is only a junior and there is plenty of young talent to be excited about for next year.

Andy Sroka: One of the state’s top-ranked juniors, Jack Mahoney, gutted out a big performance from the mound for Saint Viator last round against Warren. He went seven innings strong but the Lions lost the ballgame in the eighth. We’ll see the South Carolina commit again next spring for his senior season, but Viator had the makings of a Joliet-bound team, they just couldn’t find the consistency after an up-and-down spring season.

Adam Panayotovich: Perhaps one of my favorite players in the IL 2019 class, RHP Grant Leader (Illinois commit). Just watching his performance at the Super 60 is enough to tell a baseball fan that you love this kid. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound spark plug has tons of explosiveness in his actions with a low-90’s heater and multiple swing and miss secondaries. Leader and the Lyons Township Lions ran into a rolling Mount Carmel Caravan team in the Regional Finals eventually losing 8-6. Leader came in relief of RHP Michael Walsh (Yale commit) and threw three innings allowing two earned with five K’s. Leader and Co. made up one of the more intriguing staffs in the state of Illinois and they put the Lions on quite a run towards the end of the 2019 season. He is the type of guy that could single handedly win any game in any atmosphere and he put together quite a prep career. Don’t be shocked to see him in the mix for innings in the Big 10 as a freshman next year.

TEAM POISED TO MAKE A RUN?

Drew Locascio: The Providence Catholic Celtics. If the Celtics have taught us anything over the last handful of years, it is, do not bet against them come playoff time. Led by the man at the helm, Mark Smith, the Celtics have proven that regular season results can be thrown out the window come playoffs. Providence had 14 regular season losses in 2014, their first of three consecutive state titles. This season Providence entered the playoffs with 15 losses but a six-run comeback, 8-7 win, over a talented Homewood-Flossmoor and a 10-7 win over Romeoville have the Celtics tasting a playoff run once again. Next up for Providence is Stagg and if they get past them, they play the winner of Sandburg vs No. 6 Marist for the Sectional Championship.

Andy Sroka: You’re going to see Drew touch on this point in the next question, but expect a representative from the Fox Valley Conference to position themselves for yet another run to Joliet. In my mind, I foresee the Huntley Red Raiders challenging for a state title yet again, after finishing as runners-up a year ago. While they’re missing a couple of members of last year’s squad that helped carry them to state, this spring’s team looks largely the same. They’re a hard-nosed, competitive squad that fights for every run. Given the experience garnered during last season’s run, I believe they have what it takes to get right back into the state title scene.

Seniors Hunter Rumachik, A.J. Henkle, Kyle Maurer, and Jason Peters are a tight-knit group who will continue playing together in the fall at McHenry County JC, but I think they’ll do their best to wrap up their prep careers on the highest note. They have a meeting with Cary and Quinn Priester today, but they have the formula to beat him, following the same script that Prairie Ridge used to end the regular season.

Adam Panayotovich: The Marist Redhawks. This team has the talent up and down the roster to compete with anyone in the state of Illinois. They have seven seniors that are regular contributors on offense and three guys in Jason Hodges, Kendal Ewell & Jack Brannigan who have a more than likely chance to see their names called come draft time. The pitching staff has been the achilles heel for Marist, but spark plug backstop Max Malley knows how to control a game behind the dish. LHH CIF Justin Janas can bop in the middle of that lineup and LHH CF Dane Thomas can change a game on the basepaths or manning the outfield grass. On-field talent aside, former Major League utilityman and head coach Kevin Sefcik will have this team ready to rock as they have a doozy of a schedule ahead.

WHO IS YOUR DARK HORSE PICK?

Drew Locascio: Cary-Grove. The Trojans have had an up-and-down season (22-13) but when senior RHP Quinn Priester is on the mound, they are capable of beating anyone in the state. The Trojans have been tested all year playing in a loaded Fox Valley conference and have plenty of quality wins under their belt. If they can ride some momentum and get the right matchups with Priester on the mound, it would not be a shock to see them in Joliet. Their toughest task may come in the Sectional Semi-Final against conference-foe, No. 10 Huntley, who is plenty familiar with Priester and finished runner-up in 4A last spring.

Andy Sroka: I think, of the remaining four teams in the Saint Viator Sectional, Lake Forest has as good a chance as any to break through and earn a super-sectional berth – and once you get there, anything can happen. The Scouts just grinded out a 5-4 win over a quality Lake Zurich team, led by lefty ace Noah DeLuga.

Today, they probably expected to meet a Stevenson team that bested them twice in the regular season. Instead, they’ll play Highland Park, a No. 15 seed that upset the Patriots last round. Lake Forest is coming in with an edge and has the personnel to dodge the upset and play for a sectional title on Saturday.

Breck Nowik has had an electric season at the plate, hitting .379 and slugging over .630. He isn’t the only Scout, however, helping churn out runs. Matthew Birtman, Will Davis, Luke Nolan, and Peter Turelli are all everyday players hitting .300 or better this season. Junior lefty Michael Vallone has been an effective No. 1 option on the pitching staff, too.

Adam Panayotovich: Galesburg. The Streaks put together quite a year finishing 28-7 in the regular season and 9-1 in a respectable Western Big Six Conference. They have multiple arms that can win them big games and put up big time K’s in big time situations. Senior RHP Connor Aten (Bradley commit) possesses an upper 80’s heater with swing and miss secondaries while putting up eye-popping numbers all year. Aten most recently struck out 10 in the Regional Semi’s last week and K’d 89 in 55IP with a 0.51 ERA and nine victories in 2019. 2020 RHP Noah Matheny,  2020 RHP Mitchel Sampson and 2019 RHP Nick Fields (Heartland CC commit) will all add to the fray as the Streaks have real firepower on the bump to make things interesting in Sectionals. They have a tough schedule ahead facing off with No. 15 Normal U-High today at 4:30 p.m.

POTENTIAL BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT?

Drew Locascio: Kendal Ewell (Marist). Marist is loaded with talent, many whom are single handedly capable of carrying the team during the playoffs. Ewell however, may have the most raw talent of them all and after a slow start to the spring, has begun to tap into it as of late. If Ewell continues on his recent pace, he provides the Red Hawks with a game-changing, middle-of-the-order bat, that can leave the yard at any time. Entering the playoffs, Ewell had his average up to .370 with seven doubles, three triples, six home runs and 36 RBI. It would be fun to watch Ewell have a big finish to the playoffs.

Andy Sroka: I’ll cheat a little bit because I mentioned him in my previous answer, but I believe these two questions can go hand in hand. If Lake Forest is set to make an unlikely run a sectional title and beyond, uncommitted junior Breck Nowik is going to be a critical reason why. At our Preseason All-State event in February, Nowik made a statement from the mound, taking a huge velocity leap, up to 88 mph in his bullpen.

He hasn’t been used much in this season on the mound, so it remains to be seen if he’ll be featured at all from the bullpen, but he’s still a dynamic position player and one that will be arguably the most important for Lake Forest if they’re looking to achieve big things the rest of the way. Nowik is the No. 57-ranked prospect on the state’s 2020 board, and a big finish to the postseason might not have him on the market for long.

Adam Panayotovich: Drake Westcott (Edwardsville). Westcott, to me, has the prettiest swing in the entire state of Illinois. Standing at an imposing and strong 6-foot-3, 217-pounds, the LHH junior has the hand speed, the bat strength and the confidence in the batters box that pairs nicely with innate ability repeatedly barrel up baseballs to all fields and all heights. Westcott is a main reason why the Tigers haven’t fallen outside of the top-5 in the state since late April and lives in the heart of that potent Tigers lineup. Look out for the Louisville commit to have a huge impact on the Tigers postseason run.

WHO WILL WIN THE 4A/3A/2A/1A FINAL?

Drew Locascio: 1A - Harvest Christian; The Lions are riding a 10 game-winning streak and are 22-1 in their last 23 games. In the Lions last eight games they have limited opponents to two runs or fewer. 2A - Teutopolis; The Wooden Shoes are no stranger to Peoria and will be looking to avenge last year’s second-place finish. 3A. St. Laurence; The Vikings play in the daunted CCL-Blue and have been tested all year. They will have to get through a tough sectional, which includes No. 4 Joliet Catholic, but they have arguably the best middle of the order’s in the state and the supporting cast who is more than capable of getting the job done. 4A Edwardsville; We’ve gotten our fair share of seeing the Tigers throughout the spring and they’re arguably the deepest, more complete team in the state. The Tigers have a few high-end arms, play good team baseball and have one of the biggest power threats in the state in Drake Westcott. I would not be surprised to see Edwardsville back in the state finals for the second time in three years.

Andy Sroka: I think the winner of the first semifinals game, between Marquette and Harvest Christian Academy, will lift the 1A trophy. And although they’ve made it this far, I think Marquette is going to be missing its biggest contributor from last spring, Bryce Foster, on the big stage. With that, I’m going to pick Harvest Christian, behind a sturdy senior core led by Brock Wilken and Grant Young. On the 2A side, Aurora Christian, up a class this spring, still looks a lot like the team that won 1A state last year. The trio of M.J. Stavola, Sam Tickel, and Jake Kuntzendorf have been heating up these playoffs, and they can make it happen again. The 3A race has my full attention. There are so many teams to choose from and a ton of talent spread across the state. But for me, Prairie Ridge plays the game at a different level. This is a special group that just knows how to win. Seniors Dominic Listi, Michael Patterson, Alex Powers, Ben Harris, and Luke Fiantago help make the Wolves one of the most fundamentally sound squads in the state. Finally, in the 4A bracket, I’m going to go with Neuqua Valley. They’re going to be tested today against the defending champs Plainfield North and won’t have it any easier if they’re able to make it to Saturday’s sectional championship, but this is a talented group led by two ace-like arms: Anthony Sterchele and Jacob Karaba. They play hard and smart, too. Projecting to the super-sectional round, they’d be paired with the winner of the Glenbard West Sectional, which would bode well for the Wildcats.