State Tournament Preview: Sun Prairie vs. Arrowhead
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 Sun Prairie vs. Arrowhead.
The rundown
Sun Prairie is 23-5 this season and finished in second place in the Big Eight Conference behind Janesville Craig. The Cardinals are making their thirteenth appearance at the state tournament, and their fourth appearance in the last five years. To return to Appleton, they beat Oshkosh West, Watertown and Oconomowoc in the playoffs.
Arrowhead has a Wisconsin Little Ten Conference title and a 27-2 record to its name this season. The Warkhawks are making their first appearance at the spring state tournament since 1957, but they qualified for the summer tournament seven times before switching to spring ball. Their playoff journey saw them beat Milwaukee Bradley Tech., Milwaukee King and Milwaukee Riverside.
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
Sun Prairie: 38 points
Arrowhead: 45 points
Arrowhead has an unreal lineup that scores runs in bunches, and that gives them the advantage in the hitting department. The Warhawks bat .387 collectively, which is the highest total for any team in the Division 1 field. They have five starters batting over .425 this season. Indiana commit Jeff Holtz has produced all-state caliber numbers. He’s hitting .463 this year with 16 extra base hits (including three home runs) and 35 RBIs. Tanner Williams has a .453 average with 23 RBIs from the leadoff spot, and Johnny Duranso is batting .435 with 18 runs driven in. Dominic Clementi helps set the table from the number two spot in the lineup with a .429 batting average, while Nate Brown bats .427 with 32 RBIs from the cleanup spot. The Warhawks have hit 57 doubles and eight home runs this season, so they’ve also got a lot of power.
The Cardinals have also had a strong season at the plate. They have eight starters batting .300 or higher. Walker Jenkins has a team-high .387 average, and he also has 19 RBIs. Justus Benson is hitting .372 with 20 RBIs, and Jack Maastricht hits .364 with 24 RBIs. Kasey Bass (.370), Ben Hauser (.354) and Bryce Hanson (.333) are among the team’s other top hitters. The entire lineup is able to produce runs when needed. Eight starters have at least 10 RBIs or more this season.
Pitching
Sun Prairie: 32 points
Arrowhead: 40 points
The Warhawks have a decided edge on the mound. Their pitching staff is anchored by two future Division 1 pitchers in Florida signee Nate Brown and Illinois signee Ryan Schmitt. Brown was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 40th round of the MLB Draft this week, and although it’s very unlikely he’ll sign with them, it’s still worth mentioning. He’s 6-1 with a 1.31 ERA in 48 innings this season. He averages about 1.33 strikeouts per inning. He started in the sectional semifinals, so we might see him on the Fox Cities Stadium mound in the quarterfinals. If not Brown, then Schmitt will get the start. He’s 11-0 this year with a staggering 0.49 ERA in 57 innings. He also averages over a strikeout per inning. The Warhawks’ number three pitcher is junior Derek Crawley. He’s 6-0 with a 1.36 ERA this season.
Sun Prairie spread out the work very evenly on the mound this year. The Cardinals aren’t afraid to use three or four pitchers per game. Marquis Reuter has pitched the most innings on the team. He’s 5-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 49.2 innings. Ben Hauser tossed 39.2 innings this season, and he has a 4-0 record and a 2.47 ERA to show for it. Walker Jenkins is 5-0 this year for the Cardinals with a 1.88 ERA. Luke Deprey has a 2.21 ERA in 31.2 innings.
Base running
Sun Prairie: 8 points
Arrowhead: 5 points
The Cardinals have the Warhawks beaten in the base running department. Their starters have stolen 80 bases this season, and four of them finished with double digit swipes. Walker Jenkins and Marquis Reuter led the squad with 18 steals. Jack Maastricht has 14, while Justus Benson has 12.
Arrowhead stole 50 bases with an 86% success rate this spring. Dom Clementi did most of the damage with 16 steals. Tanner Williams chipped in with 10, and Johnny Duranso had seven. The only other player that posed a threat on the base paths was Nick Bastien, who had 5 steals.
The verdict
Sun Prairie: 78/100 points
Arrowhead: 90/100 points
Arrowhead is the highest-ranked team remaining in the field for a reason. They are dominant in all the right areas, and they will be very tough to beat at the state tournament. The good news for Sun Prairie is that they’ve played a really tough schedule this season to prepare themselves for a game like this. If the Cardinals are going to win, they’re going to need a great performance out of their pitching staff and some timely hitting at the plate. That’ll be easier said than done, as Arrowhead has played like a team on a mission this season. This is the final game of the quarterfinal round, and like all of the other games, it should be an exciting one for fans to take in.
