State Tournament Preview: Marathon vs Aquinas
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 3 semifinals. In this edition, we'll look at Marathon vs. Aquinas.
The Rundown
Marathon is 26-2 this year and the champion of the Marawood South Conference. Their road to Appleton featured wins over Colby and Spencer in regionals. In the sectional semifinals they beat Pacelli by one and hammered Coleman in the final. The Red Raiders last played at the state tournament in 2010.
Aquinas is 26-3 this season and the champion of the Mississippi Valley Conference, which is composed of several Division 1 teams. In regionals, the Blugolds beat Necedah and Riverdale. They beat Neillsville pretty handily in the sectional semifinals before pounding Wisconsin Heights in the final. Their last state appearance was in 2010.
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 each in the hitting and pitching categories, and 10 in the base running category.
Hitting
Marathon: 35/45 points
Aquinas: 30/45 points
Marathon gets the edge in the hitting department in this matchup. As a team they batted .337 with 59 extra base hits. Landen Williamson’s .449 batting average and 32 RBIs were both the highest on the team. Other top contributors include Isaac Barber (.432 average, 8 doubles, 30 RBIs), Karter Underwood (.353 average, 12 doubles, 2 home runs, 19 RBIs), Ryan Gassner (.361 average, 2 home runs, 30 RBIs), and Noah Dirks (.369 average, 15 RBIs). Overall, the Red Raiders had 6 starters bat over .300, and one other batted .299.
Aquinas’s offensive performance this year was pretty top-heavy. As a team they hit .311 this season, and had 4 starters bat over .300. Ohio University signee Rudy Rott was far and away the Blugolds’ best hitter. He batted .606 this season with 14 doubles, 2 triples, a home run, and 24 RBIs. He was a guy that opposing pitchers tried to work around, as he drew 30 walks this year. UIC signee Alex Dee also had a great season for Aquinas. He hit .424 with 12 doubles and 29 RBIs. The only other starters to bat over .300 were Chris Curti (.333 average, 7 doubles, 27 RBIs) and Alex Schulte (.325 average, 28 RBIs). None of their other starters batted over .250, so those 4 guys did most of the damage.
Pitching
Marathon: 35/45 points
Aquinas: 40/45 points
Aquinas had a fantastic season on the mound, and they get the edge in the pitching category. Their team ERA this season was 1.82, and they have not allowed a single run to score against them in the postseason so far. Alex Schulte dominated on the mound for the Blugolds, and he figures to get the start in the semifinals. In 10 starts this year, he went 9-0 with a 1.08 ERA and 3 complete games. Rudy Rott went 5-0 in 6 starts with a 1.40 ERA, and Andy Gundersen was 3-0 with a 2.60 ERA in 8 appearances to round out a solid staff for Aquinas.
Marathon also has a good pitching staff, although theirs isn’t quite as dominant as Aquinas’s. Their top pitcher was Ryan Gassner, who went 9-0 with a 0.99 ERA in 10 games (9 starts). He averaged about 2 strikeouts per inning, and he will probably get the start in the semifinals. Karter Underwood was the Red Raiders’ next most used pitcher. He was 6-0 in 10 games with a 2.77 ERA. Matt Braun rounded out the pitching staff with a 6-1 record and a 2.37 ERA in 9 games.
Base Running
Marathon: 5/10 points
Aquinas: 6/10 points
Neither of these teams is an absolute terror on the base paths, but they are capable of stealing a few bases per game. Aquinas stole 49 bases with an 84% success rate this year, while Marathon stole 43 with a 90% success rate. Rudy Rott’s 10 steals led Aquinas, and they had 4 players with at least 8 steals this year. Alex Blume had the most steals for Marathon with 10, and they had 4 players with at least 7 steals.
The Verdict
Marathon: 75/100 points
Aquinas: 76/100 points
This game should be a tightly contested affair. There’s no clear-cut favorite at this point in time. It could very well be a pitchers’ duel between Schulte and Gassner, which would be a lot of fun to watch. You can’t always say that two of the best teams in a given Division are playing each other at the state tournament. You can say that about this game, though. These are undoubtedly two of the best teams in Division 3, and that fact should make for a great game.
