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State Tournament Preview: West Salem vs Milwaukee Lutheran


West Salem vs Milwaukee Lutheran.jpg

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. First up: West Salem vs. Milwaukee Lutheran.

The Rundown

West Salem is 23-4 this year and finished as co-champion of the Coulee Conference along with Westby. To get to the state tournament, they defeated Viroqua and Nekoosa in the regional rounds. In sectionals, they outlasted Prescott in an 11-inning thriller in the semifinals and topped Hayward by three in the final. This is the school’s first ever appearance at the spring state tournament, although they appeared at the summer state tournament several times before making the switch to spring ball.

Milwaukee Lutheran is 17-13 this spring and finished in 7th in the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference, which is home to six Division 1 teams. To get to Appleton, they beat St. Francis, Wisconsin Lutheran, and St. Thomas More in regional action. At sectionals, they dethroned defending state champions Jefferson in the semis and beat Waupaca in walk-off fashion in the final. This is the Red Knights’ first appearance 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

West Salem: 32/45 points

Milwaukee Lutheran: 32/45 points

The Panthers and Red Knights are very evenly matched at the plate. West Salem batted .317 as a team, and had 5 starters bat over .300. Nick LaFleur and Adam Klos batted .439 and .417, respectively. Klos had 13 extra base hits and 38 RBIs, so he’ll be a bat that Milwaukee Lutheran wants to avoid. The other top bats for the Panthers include Bailey Valencia (.346 average), Trent Kastenschmidt (.333 average, 19 RBIs), and Drew Tschumper (.318 average, 13 RBIs).

Milwaukee Lutheran also batted .317 as a team. They have 4 starters that hit over .300, and one bat to watch will be Nick Winter’s. Winter hit .484 this year and had 12 extra base hits to go along with 15 RBIs. TD Walker has also been a power threat for the Red Knights this year. He batted .406 with 11 doubles, 2 home runs, and 32 RBIs. Other top contributors include Matthew Brandt (.368 average), Ryan Selner (.313 average, 6 doubles, 13 RBIs), and Alex Weber (.293 average, 12 RBIs).

Pitching

West Salem: 35/45 points

Milwaukee Lutheran: 35/45 points

These two squads are pretty much even in the pitching department as well. Milwaukee Lutheran’s top two guys have been excellent this year. Nick Winter has been their most-used pitcher. He’s 7-3 in 13 games (10 starts) and has posted a 1.12 ERA and 7 complete games. He has 112 strikeouts this year, so he has avoided a lot of bats in his outings. Besides Winter, TD Walker has been a great pitcher for Milwaukee Lutheran this year. He’s 6-2 in 12 games (7 starts) this year with a 2.16 ERA. He doesn’t strikeout as many guys as Winter does, but he finds ways to get outs. Beyond Winter and Walker, the pitching staff struggled this year for the Red Knights, so they’ll hope to get an efficient outing from their starter in hopes that he can go deep into the game.

Much like Milwaukee Lutheran, West Salem has been reliant on their two main pitchers this season. Adam Klos and Nick LaFleur have been workhorses for the Panthers. Klos was 5-2 in 11 starts with a 1.02 ERA and 65 strikeouts. LaFleur was 8-1 in 14 games (12 starts) with a 2.85 ERA. In relief, the Panthers often turned to Bailey Valencia (4-0, 2.21 ERA). Overall, their pitching staff is more well-rounded than Milwaukee Lutheran’s, but the Red Knights’ top two guys have had slightly better seasons than West Salem’s. The pitching matchup in this game should be fun to watch.

Base Running

West Salem: 10/10 points

Milwaukee Lutheran: 7/10 points

Both of these teams are good on the bases, but West Salem has the edge in this category. As a team, they stole an impressive 91 bases with a 94% success rate. They had 5 players with 8 stolen bases or more, led by Collin Hass’s 21 steals. Nick LaFleur was 2nd on the team with 16 steals, while Trent Kastenschmidt was 3rd with 10.

Milwaukee Lutheran collected their fair share of stolen bases, too. Their team total for the season was 71 steals with a 72% success rate. Nick Winter led the team with an incredible 29 steals, while TD Walker and Christian Gerner both had 12 of their own. Those 3 players did most of the damage for the team, as no other player had more than 4 stolen bases.

The Verdict

West Salem: 77/100 points

Milwaukee Lutheran: 74/100 points

This game should be a close one, at least on paper. The two teams are very level with each other according to this breakdown. West Salem has dominated Division 2 and Division 3 opponents for most of the year, while Milwaukee Lutheran played a really tough schedule against several Division 1 teams and still comes into the semifinals with a winning record. It could very well be a pitchers’ duel, and if that’s the case, the 1st team to score might be the one moving on to the state championship game. This should be a fun one to watch.

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