EVANSVILLE – Only two wins separate the teams from a trip to Victory Field.
The IHSAA baseball state tournament continues Saturday with the semistate round. Three southwest Indiana teams are still competing for a state championship: Memorial, North Posey and Barr-Reeve. The latter lost in the 1A state championship a year ago. The others could expand on their impressive program stories.
Could any advance to Indianapolis? Here’s a look at each home semistate, including the players to watch:
Further:Memorial and North Posey win IHSAA regional baseball championships
Class 3A at Braun Stadium
Crawfordsville (19-12) vs. No. 13 Brebeuf Jesuit (23-9), 10 a.m.
No. 18 Silver Creek (24-8) vs. No. 11 Memorial (19-9), 1 p.m.
Championship, 7 p.m.
Players to watch: Preston Burton, Silver Creek; Bryce Dowell, Crawfordsville; Matthew Fisher, Memorial; Christian Forniss, Brébeuf; Clark Gries, Memorial; Thomas Lynch, Memorial; Simon Schulz, Memorial; Anthony Suscha, Brebeuf; Brady Weitzel, Silver Creek; Kale Wemer, Crawfordsville; Mikey Williamson, Silver Creek.
Panorama: Memorial is making a second straight semistate appearance against a familiar opponent. Silver Creek, the defending Class 3A state champion, has defeated the Tigers three times in the postseason since 2018, including last year. The rematch could be another low-scoring battle with Preston Burton likely taking the mound for the Dragons.
Memorial has the pitching to compete, but the only question is how long will Indiana commit Matthew Fisher? He knows the difference could be in the lineup after struggling to hit in the regional. The Crawfordsville-Brebeuf semifinal will feature Purdue recruit Kale Wemer against Northwestern recruit Christian Forniss.
Memorial coach Rip Collins: “(Silver Creek) is always in the mix. A quality team and always well prepared. That’s good for us and hopefully we can get out of the schneid. We need to be much more relaxed at the plate and not get so nervous, a lot of pressure on ourselves. At this point in the year, a race is big.
Class 2A in Plainfield
Greencastle (16-10) vs. No. 1 North Posey (24-5), 10 a.m.
Knightstown (18-8) vs. No. 9 Providence (19-7), 1 p.m.
Championship, 7 p.m.
Players to watch: Angel Colby, Posey Norte; Sam Gooch, Greencastle; Bryce Gorman, Knightstown; Bryton Gregg, Greencastle; Gavin Jackson, Providence; Luke Kruer, Providence; Travis Louks, Knightstown; Easton Luigs, Posey North; Ethan Mansfield, Posey North; Logan Simmons, Posey North; Nathan Sutherlin, Greencastle.
Panorama: The No. 1 Vikings are making their first semistate appearance in 18 years with the goal of playing an extra weekend. It starts against a Greencastle program that won its first regional since 1989. The Tiger Cubs are led by a deep sophomore class, but will likely topple freshman Bryton Gregg in the semifinal. A good pitching day would be ideal, but North Posey is left with one of the best lineups in the 2A tournament.
Waiting in the championship game could be Providence, the same program that beat North Posey in the 2021 regional en route to a state title. Knightstown is making its first semistate appearance in eight years.
North Posey coach Mark Kirkman: “You have to play well or you go home. If we can get our 7-8-9 hitters to continue to find ways to get on base, it will really expand our lineup and improve our chances of scoring. I think The biggest key is if we can get deeper into the personnel and continue to throw strikes. If we do that, I think we’ll have a good chance to be successful.”
Class 1A in Jasper
South Central (Elizabeth) (14-8) vs. No. 11 Indianapolis Lutheran (17-15), 10 a.m.
No. 2 Barr-Reeve (25-6) vs. No. 3 Shakamak (21-7), 1 p.m.
Championship, 7 p.m.
Players to watch: Jaxon Cox, Shakamak; Ethan Graber, Barr-Reeve; Linden Jenkins, Shakamak; Christian Kiper, South Center; Levi Lester, Barr-Reeve; Gage Meaney, Indianapolis Lutheran; Hudson Mills, Lutheran of Indianapolis; Jake Pauw, Barr-Reeve; Cole Thomas, South Central; Seth Wagler, Barr-Reeve.
Panorama: The Vikings’ redemption tour continues with a rematch of last spring’s semistate championship. It could also be one of the best games around. Barr-Reeve has won seven straight and his last loss was to Shakamak on May 13. Seth Wagler did not pitch in that game and has not allowed an earned run in 26 innings.
This is the fourth consecutive semistate appearance for the Lakers, who will likely give the ball to Jaxon Cox (11 strikeouts in the sectional semifinal against Bloomfield). Hudson Mills threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts for Lutheran in the regional against South Decatur. South Central is making its first semistate appearance since 2012.
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