PBR Class 2A Semifinal Preview

 

 

By Drake Skleba

Friday June 4 and Saturday June 5

 

Semifinal 1 Teutopolis (29-4) vs. Immaculate Conception (30-10), 3 P.M.

 

Teutopolis: The Wooden Shoes have arrived in Joliet. Teutopolis High School, located in Effingham County, 7 miles east of Effingham on US 40, makes its seventh trip to the state finals. The Wooden Shoes have guaranteed bringing home their fourth trophy, having finished second in Class A in 1999 and third in Class A in 2000 under head coach Rob Smith. The Shoes returned to Springfield under current head coach Justin Fleener and finished third again in Class A in 2005.

 

T- Town is led by their dynamic-duo on the mound. Eastern Illinois University-bound right-hander Luke Bushur is 9-0 with a miniscule 0.82 ERA. Bushur has fanned 109 in 68 innings of work. 6-foot-3 junior left-hander Derek Thompson is also 9-0 with a microscopic ERA of 0.47.Thompson has 93 Ks in 59 innings pitched. Another southpaw, senior Luke Lustig, is 4-1 with a 1.87 ERA for the Shoes.

 

Bo Blievernicht, a 6-foot-4 junior first baseman, leads the Shoes with a .447 batting average and has 2 homers and 18 RBI. Junior Garrett Overbeck leads T-Town with four homers and 19 RBI. The 6-foot, 220 pound junior is hitting .352 for the Shoes. The dynamic pitching duo can hit, too: Thompson has hit at a .407 clip and has knocked in 18. The future- EIU Panther, Bushur, chips in with three homers and 16 RBI with a robust .373 batting average.

 

Wooden Shoes Tidbits: The Wooden Shoes are 6-6 in state final competition…Head Coach Justin Fleener is in his ninth year at T-Town and has a glittering 215-55 record…The Shoes 2005 third-place team went 33-5…Once again the Niebrugge family is represented on a Wooden Shoes finalist…Senior Lance and sophomore Mark (.281; 13 RBI) represent the “First Family” of T-Town. The Niebrugges have been bringing trophies home to T-Town for three decades…Teutopolis has brought home eight state championship trophies. The Wooden Shoes boys basketball team won the Class A title in 1986. The Lady Shoes Girls basketball team is one of the most storied programs in Illinois Girls basketball history. The Lady Shoes won five state championships and finished second on four other occasions. The Lady Shoes Girls Track team chipped in with a pair of championships in 1984 &1985.

 

Immaculate Conception: The Knights make their first trip to state. The DuPage county school is located at 217 Cottage Hill in Elmhurst.

 

The Knights set a single-season record for wins with 30 in 2010. The Knights also won the new Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division title. Head Coach Dan Holleman, a 1995 graduate of I-C, is in his 4^th year and has a 69-65 record at his alma mater.

 

The Knights are led by their junior captain Jose Godinez and senior Matt McMahon. The amiable Godinez has done it all season with his powerful bat and his equally powerful right arm. When he is not on the mound, the multi-talented junior is behind the plate for the Knights. Godinez leads the Knights with a .467 batting average and has hit 6 bombs and drove in 48 this season. On the mound, Godinez is 7-3 on the season. Godinez has fired a pair of no-hitters this season as well. In the sectional semi-final against Lisle, Godinez struck out seven of the eight hitters he faced and then hit the game-winning bases-clearing double to give the Knights a thrilling 5-3 win.

 

In the Benedictine Super against Herscher, Godinez fired 5 2/3 innings of one-hit relief and struck out 13 Tiger hitters as the Knights advanced to Joliet with a 5-4, 10-inning win.

 

I-C senior right-hander Matt McMahon (8-2), who’s signed at Emory, and senior left-hander Kevin Nutley (6-2) have been solid all season on the mound for I-C. McMahon and Nutley can hit, too. Nutley is hitting .331 with 29 RBI and McMahon is hitting .328 with 23 RBI. Senior Steve Maloney provides power for the Knights with five homers and 24 ribbies.

 

Knight Tidbits: The Knights will play their first state final game on Friday…I-C has won four state championships…The boys football team took home the Class 3A crown in 2002 and the Class 2A crown in 2008…The Lady Knights volleyball team won two Class A titles in 1981 & 1984…Cottage Hill was the original name of the village of Elmhurst…

 

Semifinal 2: No.1 Harrisburg (39-0) vs. No. 8 Illinois Valley Central (32-5)

 

No. 1 Harrisburg: The Deep South’s representative is well-known all over the state. The PBR’s No.1 team for the last seven weeks, the Bulldogs have just pummeled their opponents this season. The Bulldogs are averaging over 11 runs per game this season. With a pair of wins this weekend, the Bulldogs will set the state record for an undefeated state championship season.

 

In 1998, under the legendary Tom Pile, Edwardsville won the Class AA State Championship with a 40-0 record, pounding Tinley Park Andrew 10-2 for the Tigers’ 40^th consecutive win of their championship season. If the Bulldogs can get by No. 8 Illinois Valley Central on Friday night and defeat the winner of our first semifinal between Teutopolis and Immaculate Conception on Saturday night, the standard for perfection in Illinois high school baseball will be raised to 41-0.

 

To begin with a preview of the 2010 Harrisburg Bulldogs starts with the amazing Roper brothers. Senior RHP/SS Reid and freshman RHP/SS Ryne have been phenomenal to say the least for the Bulldogs. Reid, a University of Illinois recruit, has been the ace of the Bulldog pitching staff. Roper is 11-0 with a 0.82 ERA. Roper has fanned 79 enemy batsman in 60 innings pitched.

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Little brother Ryne has been remarkable in his first year of high school baseball for Harrisburg head coach Jay Thompson this season. Ryne has a 10-0 mark with a 1.65 ERA with 72 Ks in 59 innings pitched.

 

The Roper boys can hit, too. Reid is hitting a team leading .513 with 10 homers and 50 RBI. Ryne has hit at a .417 clip with 6 dingers and 35 RBI.

 

Future SIU-Saluki Kollin Dowdy has hit at a .407 pace with 10 homers and 50 RBI. Senior catcher Noah King handles the pitching staff and has hit at a .330 clip with 8 homers and 29 RBI. Hard-hitting senior first baseman Dawson Montfort is hitting .373 with nine homers and 37 RBI.

 

Junior 3B/RHP Keelin Rasch has hammered the baseball at a .471 clip with 10 homers and 50 ribbies. Rasch is 6-0 on the mound for the Bulldogs with a 2.03 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 41 innings of work. Bulldog sophomore RHP Tyler McGovern adds additional strength to the Bulldog pitching staff. The sensational sophomore is 6-0 with a 0.89 ERA. Senior second baseman Cain Sheldon chips in with a .387 average with six homers and 41 RBI.

 

Bulldog Tidbits: Venerable Harrisburg head coach Jay Thompson is in his 23^rd year at the helm of the Bulldogs with a 586-164 record…The Bulldogs have brought home six trophies under the tutelage of Thompson, culnminating with the 1989 Class AA 32-1 state championship  and in 2004 with a Class A State Championship. In 1991, 1992 and 2003 the Bulldogs finished second and the’ Dogs took home a fourth place trophy in 1995…Of course the Bulldogs are guaranteed the seventh  trophy under Thompson this weekend…

 

Harrisburg is located in Saline County in the Little Egypt section of Southern Illinois. The nickname arose in the 1830s as the area of southern Illinois between the great rivers, the Mississippi and the Ohio resembled the agricultural paradise of ancient Egypt in the mighty Nile delta…the Bulldogs won the 2010 Southern Illinois River to River Conferemce Ohio Divison with a perfect 10-0 record…The Southern Illinois River-River Mississippi Division was won by Anna-Jonesboro, who the Bulldogs trounced 13-2 in the Harrisburg Regional final…Harrisburg has won six state championships…four by the Boys Track team and a perfect 14-0 Class 3A State Football Championship in 2000.

 

No. 8 Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central: The Grey Ghosts return to Joliet for the third time in five years under the leadership of head coach Jerry Rashid. The Ghosts won it all in 2006 in Class A and finished second in 2008 to Stanford Olympia. The 2006 champs finished an amazing 40-2.

 

The 2010 version of the Grey Ghosts began a three-game slide against Stanford Olympia on April 14. The Spartans lit up the Ghosts 13-8 and IVC dropped its next two games to Bartonville Limestone and Streator.

 

The Ghosts ripped off four in a row before falling to Bloomington Central Catholic on April 26. Since that day, the rampaging Grey Ghosts have not lost, winning 15 consecutive games, culminating with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Rockford Lutheran on Tuesday night in the Class 2A Augustana College Super-Sectional.

 

The Grey Ghosts are led on the mound by their senior left-hander Cody Kentzel. Kentzel has been lights out in the Ghosts’ playoff run. He is 9-1 with a 1.26 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched. University of Illinois-bound 6-foot-3 RHP Drasen Johnson has been tough all year for IVC as well, as he is 8-2 with a 2.04 ERA. Johnson has fanned 75 in 61 innings for the Ghosts. Junior lefty Brock Adcock has provided additional pitching help with a sparkling 5-0 record and a 2.07 ERA.

 

Bradley-bound catcher Derek Sprout has provided offensive leadership for the Grey Ghosts, hitting at a .426 clip with 13 homers and 47 RBI. Junior third baseman Dan Semtner is hitting at a .434 pace with 10 dingers and 41 RBI. Junior Trevor Black adds additional punch with a .398 average and 34 runs driven in. Johnson can hit the ball, too. Johnson is hitting .324 with four homers and 27 RBI.

 

Grey Ghosts Tidbits…Illinois Valley Central is located in the Illinois River town of Chillicothe…The school is a short walk from Goose Lake on the mighty Illinois River. Head Coach Jerry Rashid is in his sixth year at the Peoria County school with a sterling 190-37 record…Rashid has 683 wins in his 32 years of coaching…Rashid has coached at Princeville, the late Peoria Bergan and Peoria Notre Dame…The 2006 Class A State Championship is the only state title for the Grey Ghosts athletic program.

 

At Silver Cross Field in Joliet