State Tournament Preview: Eau Claire North vs. Kimberly
The 2016 edition of the spring baseball state tournament begins on June 14. There will be 20 teams competing for a state championship across four divisions. The Division 1 quarterfinals and semifinals take place on Tuesday, followed by the Divisions 2-4 semifinals on Wednesday. All four Divisions will play their championship games on Thursday. Today, we're breaking down some of the Division 1 quarterfinals. In this edition, we're taking a look at Eau Claire North vs. Kimberly.
The rundown
Eau Claire North is 23-3 this season, and the co-champion of the Big Rivers Conference. The Huskies are making their eleventh appearance at the state tournament, and their first since winning the Division 1 state title in 2011. To reach the state quarterfinals, they beat Marshfield, Stevens Point and Eau Claire Memorial.
Kimberly has a 23-4 record and a Fox Valley Association championship this year. The Papermakers are at the state tournament for the tenth time, and for the third straight season. They lost in the state championship game in both 2014 and 2015. Their road to the state tournament saw them beat Neenah, Hortonville and West De Pere.
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
Eau Claire North: 42 points
Kimberly: 38 points
Eau Claire North has one of the best offenses in Wisconsin, which gives them the advantage at the plate. The Huskies have four starters batting over .400 this year, and seven over .300. Leadoff hitter Zac Stange gets things going with a .468 batting average, and he has one of the highest RBI totals on the team with 24. Outfielder Ryan Venne is hitting .421 this year with 22 RBIs, and Tanner Halvorson has a .405 average and 21 RBIs. Carson Lemanski bats .423 for the Huskies. Cal Sauro finished just below the .400 mark with a .395 average, and he bashed three home runs and tallied 28 RBIs this year. Adam LaRock (.329 average) leads the team in homers with four.
The Papermakers bat .331 as a team, and six of their starters are hitting over .300. They’ve got a huge amount of power in their lineup. They are led by Kent State signee Ben Carew, who is hitting .443 this season with four home runs and 27 RBIs. Chicago State commit Steven Jacobsen has a .398 average with 14 extra base hits and 26 RBIs. Danny VandenBoom has the highest extra base hit total on the team at 18 (including six home runs), and he is batting .346 this spring. Zach Carney is hitting .354 with nine extra base hits. Ryan Carney has produced a lot of runs for the Papermakers (he has 27 RBIs), and he’s batting .284. As a team, Kimberly hit 14 home runs this year, which is the highest total among Division 1 quarterfinalists by far.
Pitching
Eau Claire North: 35 points
Kimberly: 35 points
These two teams are very evenly matched on the mound. Their pitchers put up comparable numbers this season. Eau Claire North’s ace is southpaw Tanner Halvorson. He is 8-1 this season with a 1.76 ERA over 55.2 innings pitched. Lukas Lanners has a 5-1 record for the Huskies, and he has posted a 1.25 ERA in 39 innings. Ryan Venne started in the sectional finals. He’s 4-1 with a 1.12 ERA in 31 innings pitched.
The Papermakers are led by workhorse Tanner Haessly on the mound. He has an 8-1 record this year with a 1.84 ERA in 68.2 innings. He was the starting pitched in last year’s state title game. Danny VandenBoom provides a very solid number two option. He’s a perfect 6-0 in 32.2 innings with a 1.30 ERA. Ben Carew has also given some good innings for the Papermakers. He has a 3.04 ERA in seven appearances. Max Anderson has pitched exclusively in relief this season. In 10 appearances, he has a 0.92 ERA.
Base running
Eau Claire North: 4 points
Kimberly: 4 points
North and Kimberly both have similar numbers on the base paths. The Huskies’ starters have stolen 41 bases this season. Zac Stange leads the group with 10 steals, and Adam LaRock isn’t far behind with seven. Overall, six of their starters stole four or more bases this year.
The Papermakers stole 43 bases this spring with a 90% success rate. Two players did over half the damage for Kimberly. Zach Carney led the team with 14 steals, and Ben Carew followed with 10. Apart from Bailey Marasch, who stole five bases, nobody else did much running this year.
The verdict
Eau Claire North: 81/100 points
Kimberly: 77/100 points
These teams are even in all facets of the game besides hitting, where Eau Claire North has an advantage. That makes the Huskies a small favorite in this quarterfinal. Still, it’s hard to pick against Kimberly, who has a 4-2 record at the state tournament over the last two seasons. Tanner Halvorson has been lights-out in his last few starts on the mound for the Huskies, and if he continues that streak it’ll be hard for the Papermakers to scratch out a win. Kimberly has beaten some of the best teams in the state this season, so they should be up to the task of giving the Huskies a great game.
