From the way ranked teams have been knocked off in regional, sectional and supersectional play, this weekend’s Class AA state baseball tournament at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva looks wide open.
Of the teams ranked in the Chicago area’s top 15 two weeks ago, only three–St. Charles East, then No. 6; Mundelein, No. 10, and Andrew, No. 12–earned berths in the Elite Eight. Victims included the teams then ranked Nos. 1 through 5: Lyons Township, Schaumburg, Buffalo Grove, New Trier and Maine South.
Len Asquini’s St. Charles Saints (32-7) have won 26 of their last 28 games. They play at 7 p.m. Friday in the last quarterfinal against Edwardsville (30-7), winner of 13 of its last 14.
Nick Prater (10-3), one of four left-handers in the Saints’ rotation, is scheduled to start, perhaps against the Tigers’ junior lefty, Nathan Culp (13-0).
“We have to move the ball, put it in play, make the other team field it and make the plays–we’ve been doing that successfully,” said Asquini, who coached the Saints to the 1999 state title when his current seniors were freshmen.
Asquini figures his Saints enjoy three advantages over other teams in this field: the benefit of playing so close to home (St. Charles borders Geneva); the spillover effect from the ’99 state title; and the return to health of outfielder Eric Jones, who missed more than a month due to a shoulder injury.
“Except for pitching, Jones is doing everything he was doing before he was hurt,” Asquini said. “He’s hitting, stealing bases, diving for balls in the field. His return has been given us a big lift. He’s revitalized and rejuvenated us.
“No question playing close to home helps us. It was to our advantage in ’99. Our players stayed comfortable. They slept in their own beds, ate home-cooked meals. They were able to stick to their regular routine.
“Our seniors were all at the games as freshmen in ’99. They experienced the crowds, the excitement, the aura, the aroma of a state championship.”
To acclimate his players for a night game Asquini has held night practices this week. In contrast, coach Frank Ganser of Andrew (27-5) has held 7 a.m. practices, because he doesn’t want any sleepy-eyed Thunderbolts when they open the tournament at 9 a.m. Friday against Bartonville Limestone.
Ganser’s team won the state title in 1992 and finished second in 1998 to Edwardsville, which ended up 40-0. Strengths of the 2002 Andrew team include reliable fielding, the hitting of John DeCeault and Geoff Pignatiello and what Ganser called “very adequate pitching.”
“Our pitchers are very hittable,” he said. “Ryan McGuire is 10-1, but he only has about 30 strikeouts in 60-some innings. He gets batters to hit the ball, and our fielders make plays.”
Ganser is hesitant about starting McGuire on Friday, because McGuire threw 110 pitches in Monday’s supersectional victory over Providence.
DeCeault sets the table for Andrew as leadoff man. Pignatiello has had an MVP-type season because of his RBI production and his blocking of low pitches as catcher.
Friday’s other two quarterfinal games match Sandburg (24-9) against Glenbard West (24-13) at 11:30 p.m. and Public League champ Clemente (17-19) vs. Mundelein (31-8) at 4 p.m.
Glenbard West and Mundelein advanced to the Elite Eight on Wednesday when they eked out 3-2 victories over highly-ranked teams in supersectionals that began Monday and were then suspended because of bad weather. Glenbard edged No. 2 New Trier, and Mundelein beat No. 1 Schaumburg in 10 innings.
Tigers prowling: Edwardsville, well rested and on a roll, will represent southern Illinois when they play St. Charles East in the last of Friday’s four state quarterfinal games.
“We’ve won 13 of our last 14,” Edwardsville coach Tim Funkhouser said. “Our fielding was suspect earlier in the season and we didn’t hit very well either. The last few weeks our bats have been picking up.”
Edwardsville earned its Elite Eight berth when it routed Mattoon 13-3 in Monday’s supersectional at Southern Illinois in Carbondale. Culp pitched four innings. Funkhouser said he wasn’t sure if he will start Culp on three days’ rest Friday. If he doesn’t pitch, 10-game winner Steve Mueller will.
First baseman Danny Jackson and DH Jeremy Loemker provide much of the power in the Tigers’ offense. Jackson, voted to the coaches’ All-State team, tied a state record when he hit the 41st home run of his career in the sectionals. Loemker has 12 homers this season.
Hitting was the trademark of coach Tom Pile’s 1998 Edwardsville team. Upon arrival in the Fox Valley area, Pile’s team took batting practice in its hotel parking lot, bused to Elfstrom Stadium and smashed a majority of its extra-base hits to dead center field. When the title game was over, Pile said, “We may wear suspenders down around St. Louis, but we can sure play baseball”.
Going Public: Some critics contend Clemente’s appearance in Geneva this weekend will mark the Public League’s last Elite Eight appearance for many years.
Chicago teams lack the funding, facilities and large coaching staffs of suburban schools and have not fared well in recent state tournaments. Lane lost 20-0 to Marist in last year’s quarterfinals. Furthermore, a change in the playoff format will take away the league’s automatic quarterfinal berth beginning next year.
Clemente coach David Bain, however, paints a brighter picture for the league’s future in postseason play.
“The good Public League teams–Young, Lane and us–schedule our non-conference games almost exclusively against suburban competition,” he said. “We didn’t play another city team outside our division. That hurt our record (17-19), but it made us a better team.”
Joey Rivera’s home run triggered Monday’s seventh-inning rally that beat Young 5-4 at Wrigley Field in the Public League title game and moved Clemente into the Elite Eight. But don’t expect the Wildcats to swing for the fences at Elfstrom.
“Our bread and butter is `small ball,'” Bain said. “We’re more comfortable getting the bunt down and running the bases than doing anything else.
“I think our neighborhood appreciates and loves aggressive baseball. I know every time I have a runner on base the fans yell for me to send him on a steal. Our fans like me to be aggressive.”
