State tournament preview.
BASICS
What: 70th annual spring state baseball tournament. When: Tuesday-Thursday. Where: Fox Cities Stadium, Grand Chute. Tickets: $8 per session and $14 for an all-day ticket. Tickets are available at the stadium. Live feed: The Division 1 quarterfinals and the semifinals for all four divisions will be streamed live on WIAA.TV. A subscription is required. TV: The finals will be broadcast live. The Division 3 and 4 championship games will be shown on FS Wisconsin and the title games for Divisions 2 and 1 will be shown on the FS Wisconsin Plus Channel. Results: Go to wiaawi.org. 2016 champions: Division 1 – Burlington; Division 2 – Waupaca; Division 3 – St. Mary Catholic; Division 4 – Ithaca.
SCHEDULE
TUESDAY Division 1 quarterfinals Arrowhead (21-4) vs. Burlington (21-4), 8 a.m. Beloit Memorial (18-10) vs. Sun Prairie (22-6), 10:30 (approx.). Eau Claire North (21-2) vs. Green Bay Preble (29-0), 1 p.m. Waunakee (18-8) vs. Kimberly (19-7), 3:30 (approx.) Division 1 semifinals Arrowhead/Burlington winner vs. Beloit Memorial/Sun Prairie winner, 6 Eau Claire North/Green Bay Preble winner vs. Waunakee/ Kimberly (19-7) winner, 8:30 WEDNESDAY Division 4 semifinals Webster (21-6) vs. Independence/Gilmanton (22-5), 8 a.m. Athens (19-7) vs. Oakfield (19-4), 10:30 Division 3 semifinals Cumberland (18-6) vs. La Crosse Aquinas (19-10), 1 p.m. Iola-Scandinavia (17-6) vs. Laconia (12-11), 3:30 Division 2 semifinals West Salem (22-4) vs. Beloit Turner (25-3), 6 Mosinee (15-9) vs. Waupun (25-5), 8:30 p m.
LOWDOWN
DIVISION 1 Arrowhead: The Warhawks, who were ranked fourth in the final Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association state poll, tied for the Classic 8 title with Oconomowoc and Catholic Memorial. Its roster includes Indiana recruit Jeff Holtz and Winona State recruit Tanner Williams. The program has reached state twice in the three seasons since it returned to spring ball. Beloit Memorial: To reach state for the first time since 1993, the Purple Knights, who finished sixth in the Big Eight, upset third-ranked Janesville Craig in the sectional semifinal. Their tournament run featured sectional games won by one run and a regional final in which they won by two runs. Senior Drew Freitag leads the team in hitting (.451) and RBI (24). Burlington: With the exception of a three-game, lateseason losing streak, the defending champions enjoyed a relatively smooth campaign. Seniors Aaron Sturdevant and Zach Campbell are hitting over .400 and former pitcher Jacob Lindemann, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, is hitting .387 as a first baseman. Eau Claire North: The second-ranked Huskies are led by senior Tanner Halvorson, a .385 hitter who is also the team’s ace. He is 9-0 in nine starts with a 1.19 earned-run average. The team advanced with a 3-2 sectional final victory over tenth-ranked Eau Claire Memorial. Green Bay Preble: The topranked Hornets are back at state after reaching the semifinals last season. Senior Will Conard leads the team with a .413 batting average and is 5-0 with a 2.33 ERA. Kimberly: This is the Papermakers’ fourth straight appearance. They were the runner-up in 2014 and ’15. Wisconsin football recruit Danny Vanden-Boom is one of the team’s top pitchers with a 7-3 record and a 1.36 ERA. Sun Prairie: The fifth-ranked Cardinals have qualified for state five times in the last six years. In order to advance this year, they shut out ninthranked Oconomowoc in the sectional final and edged Fond du Lac in the sectional semifinals. Watch out for senior Walker Jenkins, a threat at the plate (.387 batting average) and on the mound (5-0, 1.04 ERA). Waunakee: The Warriors shared the Badger North title with Baraboo. The team’s average margin of victory in the tournament has been nine runs. DIVISION 2 Beloit Turner: The Rock Valley South champion, ranked second in the state, earned its first state berth since 2001 by defeating No. 2 Catholic Memorial in the sectional semifinal and eighthranked Mount Horeb in the sectional final. Mosinee: To reach state for the first time since 1991, the Indians upset sixth-ranked Antigo in the regional final and shut out No. 4 Luxemburg-Casco in the sectional final. Waupun: The fifth-ranked Warriors’ toughest test on the way to its first state berth since 2013 was the sectional semifinal where it scored a 2-1 victory over No. 9 Jefferson. Waupun won its other tournament games by at least 10 runs. West Salem: This will be the third straight appearance for the seventh-ranked Panthers, who went undefeated in the Coulee Conference. DIVISION 3 Cumberland: The Beavers finished second to Hayward in the Heart O’North Conference, but an upset victory over No. 8 Unity in the regional final paved the way for their first state berth since 1998. Iola-Scandinavia: The Thunderbirds earned their first state appearance by defeating second-ranked Coleman in the sectional final. The team finished third in the Central Wisconsin 8 behind Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Stevens Point Pacelli. Laconia: The Spartans, a first-time qualifier, finished fifth in the Wisconsin Flyway, but dominated its sectional after beating Markesan, 7-6, in the regional final. Their sectional victories came by at least six runs. La Crosse Aquinas: The Blugolds finished second in the Mississippi Valley behind La Crosse Central. The team’s most impressive postseason victory was a 10-0 win over 10th-ranked Neillsville in the regional final. DIVISION 4 Webster: The fifth-ranked Tigers stormed through the postseason to reach state for the first time. Their average margin of victory was 11 runs. Athens: This will be the Fighting Bluejays' first appearance since it won the Class C title in 1982. In the sectional, they defeated No. 7 Pittsville, 7-2, and then eliminated Niagara, 9-3, in nine innings in the sectional final. Oakfield: The unranked Oaks beat tenth-ranked Living Word Lutheran, 8-4, in the regional final and knocked off top-ranked Pecatonica, 10-6, in the sectional final. This is their first appearance since 1996. Independence/Gilmanton: This is the first appearance for this co-op and the first appearance for Gilmanton. The last time Independence reached state was 1948. Its tournament run included victories over No. 4 De Soto and No. 8 Royall.
AREA PLAYERS TO WATCH
Zach Campbell, Burlington: The senior pitcher-outfielder owns a 6-1 record with a 1.26 ERA and has 50 strikeouts in 50 innings. He also is second on the team with a .416 batting average and has driven in 20 runs and scored 20 times. Jeff Holtz, Arrowhead: The Indiana recruit, a junior, catches and carries a .474 batting average to state. He leads the team in hits (36), home runs (three) and is one off the pace for the lead in RBI. Aaron Sturdevant, Burlington: The senior catcher leads the Demons in hits (35) and batting average (.438) and has an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.063. Tanner Williams, Arrowhead: The senior shortstop, a Winona State recruit, is hitting .449 and is second on the team with 22 RBI and 31 hits.