By Sean Duncan

The Class 2A and 1A state semifinals begin Friday at O?Brien Field in Peoria. Certainly, the 2A tournament didn?t go as planned or predicted, as three of the four teams still playing are big surprises. At least to us. This topsy-turvy 2A tournament began when Rock Falls got knocked out in the regionals, and the shockers didn?t stop. Defending 2A champion Teutopolis, behind ace LHP Derek Thompson, is the heavy favorite to win the title again.

A look at Friday?s two Class 2A semifinal games:

Walther Lutheran (17-14) vs. DuQuoin (18-12), 3 p.m.

As you can see from both teams? records, neither squad is what one would consider dominant. Both teams have knocked off high seeds to advance, but none more so than Walther Lutheran, which had to beat Westminster Christian and Herscher in consecutive games to advance. The Broncos? only other state appearance came in 2007, when they placed third. This year?s edition is led offensively by a pair of physical junior prospects, 3B Chris Stevens (.510 BA, 7 HR, 39 RBI) and 1B Shaq Cockrell (.361 BA, 4 HR). Senior OF/RHP Danny LoDolce (.383 BA, 7 HR, 37 RBI; 2.04 ERA) is the staff leader and a hard-nosed talent. Pitching is not the Broncos? strength, as they have a team 4.38 ERA.

DuQuoin, which defeated favorite Anna-Jonesboro in the supersectional, is led by Southern Illinois-bound shortstop J.C. Davis. The left-handed hitting Davis is batting .475 with 11 doubles, 4 homers and 48 hits. Conner Wheeler leads the team with 32 RBI. The Indians aren?t particularly strong on the mound either, carrying a team ERA of 4.53. RHP Trent Bigham (8-4, 3.05 ERA) and RHP Brandon George (5-3, 2.23 ERA), who?s the younger brother of former SIU ace Bryant George, are the go-to guys. The Indians have appeared six times in the state tournament, the last coming in 2000, and they have never placed.

Flip a DuQuoin, umm, coin on this one.

Teutopolis (29-2) vs. Prophetstown (25-5)

Aside from having one of the best nicknames, the Wooden Shoes also have a big-time guy on the mound, senior LHP Derek Thompson. As a junior, Thompson earned PBR second-team All-State honors after leading Teutopolis to the state championship over heavily favored Harrisburg. This time, the Wooden Shoes are the front-runners. The athletic 6-foot-3, 175-pound Thompson has been incredible this season, posting a 9-0 record with a 0.13 ERA. In 52 innings, the John A. Logan JC recruit has 95 strikeouts to only four walks. Last year, Thompson, who is scheduled to start Friday, went 9-1 with 101 Ks. Thompson is also hitting .451 with 9 homers and 37 RBI. Thompson is far from the only talent on the team, however. Junior RHP Mark Niebrugge (7-0) is a hard-throwing prospect who is coming off a knee injury. Senior catcher Derek Repking (John A. Logan JC recruit) is one of the best catch-and-throw guys in the state. Senior Bo Blievernicht (.479 BA, 40 RBI, 11 doubles) leads the team in hitting.

Prophetstown is making its first state appearance, but the Panthers have certainly earned their spot. Their road started with a shocking win over Rock Falls in the regionals, and they proceeded to mow quality opponents down. Senior RHP/INF Eann Cox is the team leader. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Cox is 10-1 with a 1.13 ERA on the mound, and is batting .519 with 35 RBI. Senior RHP Brandon Schmidt (7-1, 2.32 ERA) also has had a big season. Prophetstown is not especially an offensive-minded team, holding a team batting average of .295 with only 12 home runs collectively. On the mound, however, the Panthers have allowed only 13 runs in six playoff games.

Class 1A Matchups

Carrollton (28-1-1) vs. Tremont (21-8), 10 a.m.

Behind the Coonrod brothers, Carrollton is the Class 1A favorite. Sammy Coonrod, a hard-throwing 6-foot-3 Southern Illinois recruit, is 10-0 with a 1.01 ERA. His younger brother, junior RHP Joey Coonrod, is also 10-0 with a 1.28 ERA.

Goreville (20-10) vs. Lanark-Eastland (16-5), Noon

Goreville, behind senior LHP/1B Nick Andros, finished runner-up last season in Class 1A.