WIAA Summer Playoffs: A Comprehensive Breakdown
The WIAA summer baseball regular season is in the books. The playoff brackets are set, and teams are now gearing up to make deep runs with dreams of hoisting the trophy when all is said and done. We’re breaking down the entire bracket for you, with teams to watch in each sectional and info on all of the top teams. Let’s get started.
Sectional #1
Team to watch: Howards Grove
The breakdown:
Sectional #1 is the weakest in the field, no doubt about it. Besides the top two seeds, nobody else was better than slightly above .500. Plymouth captured the top seed, and they are 20-7 this year. They finished the season ranked #7 in our power rankings. A year ago, they won their sectional and got to the state semifinals, and they are the favorites to do so again. The Panthers have four starters batting over .300, and one other that bats .299. Zac Cain led the team with a .419 average and 25 RBIs at the plate this year. He’s also their ace on the mound. In 40.2 innings, he posted a 1.38 ERA with 46 strikeouts. Perhaps worth noting is the fact that Plymouth has lost three of their last five games. We’ll see if that play carries over into the playoffs.
Howards Grove earned the #2 seed with their 17-4 record this season (not including a game on Monday against Sussex Hamilton). Simply put, the players on this team are not used to losing. Over the past two seasons, the Tigers are 39-7. They won the Central Lakeshore Conference this year with ease. The conference had a bit of a down year, but that doesn’t discredit the accomplishment of winning it. The Tigers did drop some nonconference games to good opponents earlier this year, such as Pewaukee and Homestead. The nonconference teams they would face on the road to state would not be as good as those teams, but Howards Grove needs to prove they can beat them. Some of their key players are Zach Fritz and Bryce Hoffmann.
Beyond the top two seeds, there are a bunch of pretty average teams. Sheboygan Falls, the #3 seed, finished the year 14-14, but lost their final three games of the season. Still, they have proven they can beat some of the top teams in the state. Their résumé includes wins over top-seeded Plymouth and Grafton, who ended the year as an honorable mention in our rankings.
#4 seed New Holstein went 14-11 this year, and they have some quality players that could lead them on a playoff run. Brady Halbach (.406 average) and Jacob Daun (.400 average) are key cogs in the lineup, while Justin Weber (2.53 ERA in 44.1 innings this year) will be their ace on the mound.
At the end of the day, it’ll likely be one of the top four seeds playing at the state tournament. Plymouth has valuable postseason experience, while Howards Grove will be hungry to make their first ever appearance at the state tournament. It’ll be up to the underdogs to stop either of those teams.
Sectional #2
Team to watch: Whitefish Bay
The breakdown:
Sectional #2 is considerably tougher than sectional #1. Any of the top six seeds could realistically make it to the state tournament. The favorites, of course, are the Spartans of West Bend West. They are 26-2 this season, and they are the top seed in the sectional. Their pitching staff is one of the biggest reasons they are so good. Over the course of the season, they tallied 11 shutouts and they allowed two runs or fewer in 20 of their 28 games. Their offense has been impressive too. They scored double digit runs in 12 games this year. They enter the playoffs ranked #2 in the state and on an eight game winning streak.
Homestead, the sectional champion from a year ago, is the #2 seed this year. The Highlanders are 24-6 this season and finished in 2nd place in the North Shore Conference behind West Bend West. They ended the year ranked #6 in our state rankings. They have some dangerous players capable of carrying them back to the state tournament, including St. Cloud State commit Trevor Cho and UW-La Crosse commit Mitch Sutton. They have a balanced pitching staff that allowed an average of only 3.37 runs per game. Their pitchers will need to be great in order to navigate this difficult bracket.
Menomonee Falls is the #3 seed in this sectional. The Indians finished the regular season with a 23-7 record, and they’re ranked #4 in our final state rankings of the year. Their pitching, led by University of Illinois commit Ty Weber, allows an average of 3.8 runs per game. Their offense scored a solid average of 6.5 runs per game. They played a really tough schedule during the regular season, and that should benefit them in the postseason.
The Cedarburg Bulldogs are the number 4 seed. They are 18-6 this season and finished in the top four of the highly competitive North Shore Conference. They came in at the #8 spot in the final edition of our summer rankings. Their pitching staff is really solid, led by Indiana University commit Jonathan Stiever and Olivet Nazarene commit Drake Daniels. The Bulldogs were one of two teams that were able to beat top-seeded West Bend West this season.
Grafton is a very capable #5 seed. They finished the year 17-7 and in the honorable mentions of our final rankings. The Black Hawks have already beaten Cedarburg and Whitefish Bay this year, but it remains to be seen if they can replicate that in the playoffs.
Whitefish Bay (the #6 seed) is our team to watch in this sectional. They are absolutely on fire coming into the playoffs. Following an 8-9 start to the year, the Blue Dukes finished out the year on a 12-1 tear. Their only loss during that run came from West Bend West, and they beat teams like Cedarburg and Homestead (twice) along the way. They’re currently on a nine game win streak and look like they can beat anybody on any given day.
Overall, this sectional will be very difficult to navigate. West Bend West is the favorite, but there are several teams in the bracket capable of pulling off an upset and making a trip to the state tournament.
Sectional #3
Team to watch: Pewaukee
The breakdown:
This sectional is weaker than #2 and #4, but there are still some good teams to be found. Waukesha West claimed the top seed with their 21-9 record. They finished in second place of the Classic Eight Conference behind Muskego, and they were ranked #10 in our final state rankings this year. They are led by players like South Mountain CC commit Chase Scharnek and Carroll University commit Alex Kermendy. The Wolverines were one of two teams to beat Muskego, who ended the season ranked #3 in the state. In fact, West beat the Warriors twice this year. They also have a quality win over Woodland East champion Cudahy. Since June 30th, they have given up more than five runs in a game just once. In addition, their offense averages 6.57 runs scored per game. They’ll be a tough out in this bracket.
Sussex Hamilton is the #2 seed in this sectional. They finished the year 17-10 (not including a game on Monday against Howards Grove) and were able to recover from a serious midseason cold streak. From mid to late June, the Chargers lost seven out of ten games. They bounced back with a 5-2 showing to this point in July. They have wins over two of the four #1 seeds this season, so they know that when they’re playing their best they are capable of beating anyone.
Third-seeded Brookfield Central, like Sussex Hamilton, had a poor run midseason that hurt their place in the standings a little bit. In early June, they went through a stretch that saw them lose six of eleven games. However, they closed out the year winning eight of their last twelve to get back on track. They are 19-11 overall this year. On the mound they use three key guys: Zach Schmidt, Jonathan Keane, and Justin Stollberg. They’ll be key to the Lancers chances of defending their state title.
Marquette got the #4 seed with an 18-11 record, and they have a talented ball team that is capable of beating anyone. Their résumé features wins over the likes of Menomonee Falls, Greendale, Brookfield Central, and Sussex Hamilton. They have four 2nd team all-GMC players on their team, including infielder Peter Ahn. The Hilltoppers face Kettle Moraine in the opening round.
Pewaukee was a tale of two teams this season, and they’re our team to watch in this sectional. They started out the season 12-0 and climbed to the #2 spot in our rankings at one point. They ended the year with an 8-10 stretch. If they can figure things out and start playing like they did in the beginning of the year, they will be a force to be reckoned with. If not, they will not end the season the way they want to. Catcher Zach Brennan led the offense with a .390 batting average and 27 walks, but overall the Pirates had six starters bat over .300. On the mound, they are led by senior southpaw Brandon Knoke, who has a 1.86 ERA in 49 innings pitched this year. Their other three main pitchers all have ERAs of 3.50 or lower, so they’re in good hands all around. Only time will tell which Pewaukee team shows up in the postseason.
Amongst the other teams in the bracket, Pius XI probably has the best chance of making a run. The Popes were in the honorable mentions of our rankings a few times this year, and they can compete with the great teams when they’re at their best.
Sectional #4
Team to watch: Greendale/Cudahy
The breakdown:
Every team that was not drawn in sectional #4 should thank their lucky stars, because it is about as tough as tough can get. The top five seeds are all ranked in our final power rankings of the season, and South Milwaukee, the #6 seed, narrowly missed out. Oak Creek earned the top seed with a 25-5 record this summer. They are the champions of the Greater Metro Conference and the #1 ranked team in the state. They have five college commits on their roster, including utility man Doran Turchin (Illinois) and DJ Ellifson (St. Cloud State), pitchers Mitchel Makarewicz (Xavier) and Matt Hamilton (Illinois State), and freshman infielder Alex Binelas (Louisville). Some of the teams they have beaten this year include Franklin, Menomonee Falls, Brookfield Central, and Greendale. They got to the state semifinals last year, and they could do even better this year.
Muskego got the #2 seed on the back of their 25-3 record this year. They finished the year ranked #3 in our rankings and are highly talented for a two seed. The Warriors have beaten top teams like Waukesha West (a #1 seed) and Cudahy (Woodland East champs) already this season. They are led at the plate by a few dangerous hitters. Outfielder Caleb Wagner is hitting well over .400 to lead the team. Noah Jensen has been a solid pitcher on the mound with a sub-2.50 ERA and St. Cloud State commit Luke Thomka recently returned from injury to give Muskego a big boost. All things considered, they are probably the best #2 seed in the field.
So, let’s take a minute to think about this. Sectional #4 already has the best #1 seed and best #2 in the playoffs. Tough enough already, right? Unfortunately for the other teams in the bracket, it doesn’t end there.
Franklin is the number three seed in this one. The Sabers ended the year ranked #5 in our rankings thanks to their 23-7 record. They closed out the year with a 16-2 run, which included a win over Oak Creek. Joe Fortman has been a workhorse on the mound for Franklin this year, and he has a 7-1 record to show for it. Their number two, Kyle Cortez, is 6-3 this summer. The Sabers are just about level with Menomonee Falls in terms of quality as a #3 seed, which is saying a lot.
Greendale, the #9 team in our latest rankings, is the #4 seed. Think about that for a second. A top ten team in the state is the fourth-best team in this sectional’s seeding. The Panthers are 20-10 this season, with wins over Menomonee Falls, Cudahy, Homestead, Pewaukee, and South Milwaukee already under their belts. They are led by players like Ty Ramirez, a Creighton commit who mows down batters on the mound, and Sam Sabinash, the 2015 Woodland Conference Player of the Year and UW-Stevens Point commit. Their pitching staff will be key to their playoff success. In games where the Panthers have given up more than five runs, they have gone 2-8.
Cudahy won the Woodland East regular season title and the Woodland Conference tournament. They’re the #5 seed in this sectional. The Packers are 19-10 overall this season, and have several talented players on their team. McHenry County JC commit JT Athy is probably their most widely-recognized guy, but several others have impressed this year. Josh Nelson has been solid on the mound, while all-conference infielder Alex Rodriguez (no, not that Alex Rodriguez) has been good at the plate. As conference champs, one has to think that Cudahy will prove to be a tough out in the playoffs.
South Milwaukee spent some time in the honorable mentions of our rankings, and they’re the #6 seed in this sectional with a 17-11 record. They have a talented squad that is capable of springing an upset or two.
Seventh-seeded Whitnall finished the year going 10-1 in their final 11 conference games, and they aren’t a team that should be taken lightly in a single elimination game.
Sectional #4 will be fun to watch unfold given the fact that there are five ranked teams in the bracket. The winner will be battle tested and ready for whatever challenges the state tournament might hold.
