WIAA Playoffs: D-1 Regional Preview (Part One)

This week, the WIAA Division-1 playoffs commence. You can find all of the bracket information on the WIAA landing page here, but we’re going to spend some time breaking down the tournament today, too.

On Tuesday, May 28, regionals begin. Teams with a seed Nos. 1 to 4 have earned a first-round bye and will await their opponents on Thursday in their home park. Follow @PBRWisconsin for updates throughout the day tomorrow, and additional breakdowns as the field gets smaller and smaller.

Let’s examine the D-1 field.

SECTIONAL NO. 1 & 5

The sectional champs from either side of these brackets will meet each other in the state quarterfinals in Grand Chute on June 11. Here’s a .PDF of the bracket, courtesy of the WIAA.

SECTIONAL NO. 1

Let’s start by dissecting Sectional No. 1, led by top seed Stevens Point. The SPASH Panthers landed at No. 5 on our preseason countdown because we felt as if the Panthers were going to pitch their way to the top. While this staff has been dominant over the past two-plus weeks, it was really their bats that kept them afloat for the first part of the season. The Panthers suffered a few underwhelming losses in the first month of the season, but they’ve lost only once since April 23, and they’re pitching staff is hitting their stride at the right time.

They await the winner of tomorrow’s contest between La Crosse Central and Eau Claire Memorial at Carson Park. The Old Abes are rostering a ton of talent, including the top pitching prospect in the state’s 2021 class, Vincent Trapani (Arkansas commit), but their near-.500 finish to the spring shows that they haven’t yet put it together this spring. As for Central, they finished just behind Holmen for the Mississippi Valley title, and they’ll roll into tomorrow on a three-game win streak.

Chippewa Falls had been enjoying a great spring – until May hit. They’ve lost seven of their last eight but all will be forgotten with a win over the No. 12-ranked team in Sectional No. 1, Wausau West.

The No. 3-ranked team in the sectional and the No. 25-ranked program on the Power 25 is Holmen. The Vikings just debuted on our state rankings in the Monday update and they’ll enjoy a bye through the first round of the postseason, awaiting the winner of the Hudson-Marshfield game on Tuesday. Holmen has put together a strong spring and has flown under the radar to this point, and their resume includes wins over Sun Prairie and Eau Claire North, too.

Speaking of Eau Claire North, the Huskies are the No. 2 seed in this group. They’re riding a five-game win streak into the postseason and will play either Superior or D.C. Everest on Thursday.

SECTIONAL NO. 5

On the opposite bracket, Sectional No. 5, our top seed here is also the No. 1-ranked team on our Power 25: Janesville Craig. The Cougars have spent the past three weeks atop the rankings and they’ve consistently lived up to lofty expectations all spring long, when they were named our preseason No. 3. Winners of the cutthroat Big Eight by three big games, Craig has lost just twice this spring. They’re led by a talented senior core of SS/3B Dan Blomgren (Michigan), RHP Mitchell Woelfle (Air Force), and Micah Overley (Milwaukee School of Engin.), and have been boosted by the performances outside of this senior class as well, from the likes of two-way junior Eric Hughes and freshman infielder Gavin Kilen (Louisville). They’re a legitimate D-1 title favorite.

Craig plays on Thursday against either Mukwonago or Janesville Parker, and they’ve beaten the latter twice this spring, both times by a 7-0 score. They’ve yet to play Mukwonago.

The No. 5 seed in this sectional is traditional power Arrowhead, though the Warhawks have scuffled this spring, by their own standards anyway. We’re much more accustomed to seeing Arrowhead as a top seed in this tournament, much like they were last year on their way to a runner-up finish, but this year hasn’t been the same. They’ll need to get by Beloit Memorial on Tuesday in order to extend their season to Thursday, where they’d meet No. 4 seed Milton.

The Red Hawks finished their season in a three-way tie for the Badger South title, though have had an up-and-down month after what was a dominant April. They’re 6-5 over the last three weeks, so they’ll have to find some consistency if they want to make a serious run this postseason.

Sussex Hamilton has also battled to find a consistent form this spring and were just left off the latest Power 25 update after suffering losses last week to Homestead and ranked Burlington. With six losses in the month of May, the Chargers will use their bye this round to get right ahead of Thursday’s game with either the Waukesha North or West programs. West is the favorite in that crosstown game, and is actually an interesting underdog to consider in these playoffs.

Waukesha South is also playing on Tuesday, against Kettle Moraine, to determine which team will meet the Raccoons in Oconomowoc on Thursday. Oconomowoc has bounced back and forth between the Power 25 and the bubble, but there’s no doubt that this senior-heavy squad has what it takes to make a serious run inside this tournament as a No. 2 seed.

SECTIONAL NO. 2 & 8

The sectional champs from either side of sectionals Nos. 2 and 8 will meet each other in the state quarterfinals in Grand Chute on June 11. Here’s a .PDF of the bracket, courtesy of the WIAA.

SECTIONAL NO. 2

Ranked No. 3 on our latest Power 25, Kimberly is among the D-1 favorites in this tournament. They’re bolstered by a memorable and tight-knit senior class that’s gone the distance before. The Papermakers suffered a couple of close losses in the first month of the season, but they haven’t lost since April 26. That’s 14 straight wins for Kimberly. The Central Michigan-bound Lechnir twins, Drew and Zach, as well as Beau Schumacher (Minnesota State), John Nett (St. Cloud State), and a cast of other seniors has the Papermakers in the driver’s seat in this sectional. The emergence of junior southpaw Donovan Schultz has steadied this rotation, too.

Kimberly will play either Pulaski or Appleton North on Thursday. The Lightning have the edge as the home team and did beat Pulaski back on May 11, which would set up a rematch with the Papermakers in the next round, as they look to avenge a 7-2 loss to Kimberly suffered on May 17.

Appleton West has had a strong season, but as a No. 5 seed, they’ll need to defeat Green Bay Southwest on Tuesday in the opening round of the playoffs to set up a game with De Pere next round. The Terrors beat ranked Hortonville twice this spring but have otherwise struggled against Power 25 opponents.

De Pere is the No. 4 seed in this sectional and the Redbirds are flying extra high entering the postseason after defeating Green Bay Preble to close the regular season on May 21. They’re the No. 16-ranked team on our Power 25 and are playing some of their best baseball of the season at just the right time.

The No. 3 seed in this sectional, Bay Port, has steadily climbed to the No. 14 spot on our Power 25 and it looks like they have a real chance at coming out of this group, too. The Pirates tied Preble atop the Fox River Classic and have the depth on staff –  Carter Highline (Heartland CC), Jett Thielke (Madison JC), and Call Verlanic – to sustain postseason success. It helps that they’re rostering one of the state’s best bats, too, in backstop Jake Berg (Jacksonville).

Hortonville’s tough May has them seeded No. 6 in this sectional, forcing them to play Green Bay East/West. A win on Tuesday would have them visit Bay Port on Thursday.

Preble, the No. 7 team on our Power 25, has two of the best players in the state: LHP Ryan Stefiuk (Vanderbilt) and INF Max Wagner (Clemson). The Hornets’ loss to De Pere on Tuesday snapped a 15-game win streak, but they got right back on track, winning their final two games of the spring. They’ll be playing the winner of Appleton East-Kaukauna on Thursday.

SECTIONAL NO. 8

On the other side of the bracket, over in Sectional No. 8, No. 1 seed Burlington headlines this group. The Demons spent a portion of this spring as the state’s No. 1-ranked team on our Power 25, though they’ll enter the playoffs as in the No. 4 spot. Still, you could make the case that they are the most daunting opponent for any other D-1 team in the state, not just this sectional. With a staff led by not one, but two senior aces, RHP Trent Turzenski (Valparaiso) and LHP Trey Krause (Illinois State), Burlington has the makings of a state-bound roster. They can hit, too, though they won’t need much run support if these two can pitch like they have been all spring long.

The Demons await the winner of the contest between Badger and Westosha Central on Thursday – two teams they’ve beaten twice each this season.

Westosha Central has fallen short of expectations this season, after entering the season ranked. They still have the talent to make a sizable dent on the playoff picture however, with a couple talented seniors Alex Salerno (Heartland CC) and Austin Glidden (Illinois-Springfield).

Wilmot Union will play Racine Park on Tuesday as well, for a spot to face No. 4 seed Muskego next round. Wilmot is a hard-nosed bunch that owns a couple of name-brand wins over the last couple of weeks, against the likes of Burlington, Arrowhead, and Westosha Central. The Demons came back and beat them last Tuesday, but the Panthers proved that they can hang.

Muskego, the reigning summer champs, are out to prove that they have what it takes to win in the spring as well. The Warriors finished tied atop the Classic Eight, arguably one of the toughest conferences in the state, in their inaugural spring campaign. They’re one of the hottest teams entering the postseason as well, with just one loss in May. Minnesota commit Steve Jamroziak is one of the state’s elite athletes and is capable of carrying an offense on any given day.

The next group is comprised of mostly Kenosha-area programs, led by No. 2 seed Bradford. The Red Devils earned the Southeast Conference title outright, capitalizing on a Franklin stumble across the finish line. Outside of a tough trip to Florida, Bradford has lost just three times this season to Wisconsin programs. They’ve also won six straight and have not allowed more than two runs in any of those games. Bradford is measured and talented and is almost totally made up of senior contributors, which should considerably help their chances of making it to Grand Chute in a couple of weeks.

Waterford and Racine Case will play tomorrow to see which squad will meet the Red Devils on Thursday.

Indian Trail is also going to be in action tomorrow, playing Racine Horlick in the opening round of the playoffs. The Hawks began the season 10-2 but lost 10 straight to bring them crashing back down. They won their last three though, including a pair against Horlick. Indian Trail is young and exciting, but lacked the experience it takes to shake off tough stretches. Now that they looked like they persevered past that big skid, IT could be a squad capable of pulling off an upset or two.

The winner of Indian Trail-Horlick will play Tremper on Thursday. The Trojans opened their season against IT, actually, and dropped two of three games in the series. So, if the Hawks are their opponent, that’ll be fresh on their minds. Tremper also endured a slow stretch of baseball in this month, losing five in a row before beating Franklin last week. They ended the regular season with a 13-8 loss to Union Grove, too, so they’re using this bye round to get back into their mid-season form.

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