State Tournament Preview: Notre Dame vs River Valley
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! Today we'll be breaking down the Division 2 semifinals. In this edition, we'll take a look at Notre Dame vs. River Valley.
The Rundown
Notre Dame is 19-10 this season and finished in 2nd place in the Fox River Classic Conference, in which they are the only team that is not Division 1. To get to Appleton, they defeated Clintonville and Seymour in the regional rounds. In the sectional semifinals they beat Mosinee in walk-off fashion, and in the final they shutout Denmark, the #1 team in Division 2. This is the fourth time in the last five years that the Tritons have reached the state tournament.
River Valley is 22-6 this season and finished in 2nd place in the Southwest Wisconsin Conference behind Prairie du Chien. Their path to Appleton saw them beat Dodgeville and Prairie du Chien in regional action. In the sectional semis, they outlasted Wisconsin Dells in extra innings and handled Lodi by nine runs in the final. This is the first time the Blackhawks have played at the state tournament since 2003.
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
Notre Dame: 30/45 points
River Valley: 35/45 points
The Blackhawks have a slight edge in the hitting department in this matchup. They hit .324 as a team this season, and had 4 starters hit over .300. Lucas Price was a beast at the plate for River Valley. He hit .482 with 10 doubles, 3 triples, a home run, and 32 RBIs. Ryan Wickman also had a great year for the Blackhawks. He batted .425 and tallied 23 RBIs. The only other starters to hit over .300 were Elijah Alt (.333) and Derek Bodendein (.312), but everybody in the lineup helped drive in runs this year. Cole Mahoney (.263) and Jacob Straw (.262) both knocked in over 17 runs this spring. Overall, the Blackhawks have a balanced attack at the plate.
Notre Dame is a solid hitting team as well. They hit .271 as a squad this year, and they also had 4 starters hit over .300. Connor Yakel was the team’s best hitter, as he posted a .373 average and drove in 20 runs from the 3-hole. Nick Martzahl hit .333 this year and tallied 14 RBIs, while all-conference outfielder Davis Elm hit .317 with 10 extra base hits and 14 RBIs. Noah Wlezcyk (.304) was the only other starter to bat over .300, but the rest of the lineup hit between .250 and .290. Sean Green (.289 average) led the team with 27 RBIs. It’s worth noting that the Tritons faced Division 1 teams almost exclusively this year, which makes their batting statistics slightly deceiving when it comes time to play Division 2 teams.
Pitching
Notre Dame: 37/45 points
River Valley: 32/45 points
Notre Dame gets the nod in the pitching category. The Tritons have a few arms that they are confident in, and that was shown at their sectional. Ty Yewman (6-1, 2.19 ERA in 9 starts) got the start in the sectional semifinals and Davis Elm (5-1, 1.57 ERA in 9 starts) came in to relieve him, while freshman Jonathan Zacharias (3-0, 1.70 ERA in 6 appearances) was the starter in the sectional final and threw a complete game two-hitter. It’s unclear who will start for the Tritons in the semifinals, but they could realistically go with any three of those guys and still win the game.
According to the stats available to us, River Valley only used 3 pitchers this year. They all performed pretty well, but it would hurt their chances of winning a state title if they need to use a few relief pitchers in the semifinals. Lucas Price was their most used pitcher, and he went 8-3 this year with a 3.04 ERA in 15 games. Next in line was Elijah Alt, who was 9-1 with a 2.82 ERA in 10 games. He was the winning pitcher in the sectional final. Finally, Matthew Yanke was 4-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 11 appearances. It seems like Price will get the start in this game, but any of these guys would be a good option.
Base Running
Notre Dame: 7/10 points
River Valley: 5/10 points
Notre Dame gets the slightest of edges in the base running category. The Tritons stole 62 bases as a team and had 5 players steal 6 bases or more. Davis Elm led the team with 15 steals, and Nick Martzahl wasn’t far behind with 13. Connor Yakel had 10 steals of his own for the Tritons.
There are no base running stats available for River Valley, but they figure to have some speed in their squad. They had 7 triples as a team, and 40 doubles. While that’s not necessarily indicative of having great team speed, they’re certainly not a bunch of Prince Fielders lumbering around out there with those numbers (no offense, Prince).
The Verdict
Notre Dame: 74/100 points
River Valley: 72/100 points
Another Division 2 semifinal, another close matchup on paper. Both of these teams have a realistic shot of advancing to the state championship. Notre Dame has more experience at the state tournament, and that might make a difference. Some players on the Tritons’ squad have played 21 innings of state tournament baseball in their careers. Still, it would be foolish to count River Valley out due to a lack of tournament experience. Whichever pitcher is able to stay on an even keel and execute consistently is likely to propel his team to the championship game. This game should be decided by two or three runs, so it should be an exciting affair for fans and players alike.
