Baseball: Libertyville will see mirror image in its return to 4A state tournament
It’s just a sliver.
That appears to be the difference between Libertyville and Normal when the two square off Friday at 7 p.m. in the Class 4A state baseball semifinals at Duly Health & Care Field in Joliet.
Both teams have strong pitching staffs and will have a junior pitcher starting Friday. Both teams are strong at the plate and are led offensively by their respective catchers. And both teams won their conference titles in convincing fashion and have a very strong following from their fan bases.
It’s what state baseball is all about.
“We are really excited,” Libertyville coach Matt Thompson said. “We trust our bats and our defense. We just want to make sure our bats are getting going. If they can heat up like they did Monday, it will be a fun weekend.”
Libertyville (34-4), which scored 13 runs in its supersectional win over Maine South, is making its first appearance at the state finals since 2013. The Wildcats went on to finish second that year.
The Wildcats are led both offensively and defensively by catcher Quinn Schambow. The Oklahoma State recruit is hitting .459 with 25 extra base hits and 47 RBI. He is also tough to run on and picked off a runner at second base Saturday in the sectional finals with a perfect throw form his knees.
Shortstop Cole Lockwood, who is committed to Valparaiso, bats first for Libertyville and gets the offense moving. He is hitting .412 with 50 runs scored.
Josh Holst pitched Monday and has greats stats on the bump and at the plate. Holst, who is committed to the Air Force Academy, is 12-0 on the mound with an ERA of 1.37 and 110 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. He is also hitting .359 with 5 homers and 39 RBI.
The Wildcats have also got great production from Carson Holmes (.412, 5 homers, 23 RBI), Ryan Wilberding (.395), Trevor Wallce (.308) and Jack Cenar (20 RBI).
Chase Lockwood, who is the likely starter Friday, is 9-0 with an ERA of 0.95. He has 57 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings. Brady Buenik, Charlie Gratz, Zachary Seiler and Nico Harper have also seen plenty of work for the Wildcats this season.
Normal Community (35-4) has set a school record for wins. They are making their first appearance at state since 2004 when the Ironmen qualified as a AA team in the old two-system format.
Max Heineman, who has committed to play at UIC next season, leads the Ironmen in hitting. The catcher is batting .471 with four homers and 41 RBI. Gavin Michaels (.388), Drew Stevens (.380), Carter Harris (.342) and Gavin Swartz (.316) have also keyed the offense. Kyle Beaty leads the team with 37 runs scored.
The Ironmen have been solid on the bump, tossing 14 shutouts this season. Normal has many live arms including juniors Landyn Corbin and Swartz along with senior Luke Klunke. Corbin is 8-1 with an ERA of 0.70 and has 55 strikeouts in 40 innings. Swartz is also 8-1 with an ERA of 1.89 and has fanned 88 in 63 innings. Klunke pitched Monday and will be unavailable to pitch Friday.
The winner of Friday’s game will play for the 4A state title at 7 p.m. Saturday. They will meet the winner of the second semifinal between McHenry (32-4-1) and Brother Rice (36-3).
Class 3A tournament
In 3A, the second semifinal at 1 p.m. Friday pits Benet (26-12) against Cary-Grove (25-12).
Benet opened its season with a pair of losses. But the Redwings have bounced all the way back, winning their last 7 games to make their first state final appearance since 1989.
Merrick Sullivan has been one of the hitting stars for the Redwings with a .364 average, 33 RBI and 21 extra base hits. Luke Doyle (.392), Quinn Rooney (.382), Ethan Mendez (.354) and Josh Gugora (.358) have also hit well for Benet.
Jake Rifenberg, who is committed to Northwestern, is 5-3, but has an ERA of 0.89 and 80 strikeouts in 55 innings. Jonathon Rossi (5-0, 2.28 ERA) and Gino Zagorac (5-2, 2.49) are also keys on the mound.
Cary-Grove finished behind 4A semifinalist McHenry in the Fox Valley Conference.
Brock Iverson is hitting .400 with 31 RBI for the Trojans. Jacob Duvall (.348), Keenan Krysh (.361) and Oskar Freund (.344) along with Ricky Barnes (29 RBI), Francis Panko (22 RBI) and Peyton Seaburg (20 RBI) are all tough at the plate.
Charlie Taczy, who has thrown 73 innings this year and fanned 103, has been the workhorse for the Trojans. Kayden Norman (4-0, 2.28) and Andrew McGee are next in innings pitched for Cary-Grove.
The winner will meet the winner of St. Laurence (35-5) and Triad (34-6) in Saturday’s final.