State Tournament Preview: Kimberly vs. Kenosha Indian Trail
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By Spencer Flaten, lead writer
The state tournament field is set, and we're bringing you complete coverage of the tournament and its matchups. We'll break down every quarterfinal and semifinal game, so follow along for everything you need to know about the teams competing for a state title this year! First up: Kimberly vs. Kenosha Indian Trail.
The Rundown
Kimberly is 24-4 this season and won the Fox Valley Association title as conference champions. To get to the state tournament, they beat Oshkosh West, Appleton North, and West De Pere. This is the second consecutive year that the Papermakers have played at the state tournament.
Kenosha Indian Trail is 22-7 this season and finished the year in 2nd place of the Southeast Conference behind Kenosha Bradford. To get to Appleton, they defeated Racine Case, Westosha Central, Kenosha Bradford, and Wilmot Union. This is the school’s first ever appearance at the state tournament.
Here’s a breakdown of the matchup based on the following categories: hitting, pitching, and base running. The teams are rated on a 100 point scale, with 100 being the best. There are a possible 45 points in both the hitting and pitching categories, and 10 in the base running category.
Hitting
Kimberly: 30/45 points
Kenosha Indian Trail: 37/45 points
Kenosha Indian Trail’s bats have a slight edge in this matchup. The Hawks hit .350 as a team, bashed 41 doubles, 20 triples, and 8 home runs. Gavin Lux might be the best player at the state tournament this year, and his bat will be one that Kimberly wants to avoid. The junior hit .475 this year with 11 doubles, 4 triples, and 32 RBIs. Jared Hoerter was the only other Indian Trail player to hit over .400 (he has a .434 average this year), but the Hawks have 5 starters that bat over .300, and one other who hit .298. They’ve also got some power hitters in their lineup. Nick Elsen led the team with 4 home runs, while Hoerter wasn’t far behind with 3.
Kimberly is no slouch at the plate either. They collectively hit .282, and were led by Ben Carew’s team-high .390 batting average. Austin Weyenberg did most of the run producing for the Papermakers (he finished with 35 RBIs), while Brice Swick led the team with 5 home runs this year. Overall, Kimberly had four starters bat over .300, and seven over .250. When everyone in the lineup contributes, the Papermakers are tough to beat.
Pitching
Kimberly: 40/45 points
Kenosha Indian Trail: 30/45 points
Kimberly’s pitching has the advantage over Indian Trail’s in this game. Swick, the Papermakers’ ace, went 8-1 this year with a 0.56 ERA in 11 starts. He’ll probably get the start in the quarterfinals for Kimberly. If he doesn’t, the team has a few other really solid options they could go with. Ethan Taggart was also 8-1 this year with a 1.34 ERA in 11 games (9 of which were starts), while Tanner Haessly was 5-0 with a 1.68 ERA in 7 games (5 starts).
Indian Trail also has a couple of options to pitch in this one. They could give the ball to junior righty Jeremy Stouffer, who was 8-1 this spring with a 2.50 ERA, or they could start with sophomore righty Ryan Hoerter, who had a 4-3 record and 2.64 ERA. Another option they could turn to is Ryne Sack, who was 5-1 with a 1.09 ERA this year. The Hawks only have one other pitcher with significant experience this year (Evan Myers- 3.74 ERA), so those three are just about all Indian Trail has. If they need to dip into their relief pitchers it’ll hurt their chances of winning a state title.
Base Running
Kimberly: 5/10 points
Kenosha Indian Trail: 8/10 points
The Hawks are better on the bases than Kimberly, although not by a massive margin. Jared Hoerter led Indian Trail with 18 steals, followed by Gavin Lux with 15 and Chase Fanelle with 14. Those three did most of the damage for the Hawks, but as a team they stole 73 bases in 82 attempts, which was good for an 89% success rate.
The Papermakers did not run as much as Indian Trail this season. They collected 43 stolen bases in 47 attempts (91% success rate). Griffin Hawley led the team with 15 steals, but Ben Carew is the only other player with more than 5 steals (he has 6).
The Vedict
Kimberly: 75/100 points
Kenosha Indian Trail: 75/100 points
This game is too close to call beforehand. Both teams are evenly matched, so there’s no clear favorite. Kimberly has great pitching, but Indian Trail has the offense to nullify that fact. This game will be played at 8 AM, so both teams will have to get going a lot earlier than they are used to, and that could affect the game. All things considered, this could be one of the best quarterfinal matchups. Look for one of these teams’ stars to have a big game to propel his squad to the semifinals.