State tournament preview: Athens vs. Oakfield
The state tournament begins on June 13 with the Division 1 quarterfinals and semifinals, followed by the semifinals for Divisions 2 through 4 on June 14. All four state championship games will take place on June 15. We're breaking down every quarterfinal and semifinal matchup. Next up: Athens vs. Oakfield in the Division 4 semifinals.
The rundown
Athens is 19-7 heading into the state semifinals and is the co-champion of the Marawood North Conference along with Phillips. The Bluejays are making their second state tournament appearance in program history, with the first coming in 1982. They won their regional by defeating Northland Lutheran and Rib Lake. They punched their ticket to Appleton with wins over Pittsville and Niagara at sectionals. The Bluejays are a young team, with only one senior on the roster.
Oakfield is 19-4 this season and won the Trailways North Conference title. The Oaks are playing in the state tournament for the first time since 1996. They advanced here through regional wins over Hilbert/Stockbridge and Living Word Lutheran and sectional wins over Rosholt and top-ranked Pecatonica.
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.
*Note: Stats listed for Oakfield do not include stats from sectionals.
Hitting
Athens: 37 points
Oakfield: 35 points
Athens gets a slight edge on the offensive side of things. The Bluejays hit .337 as a team, and their starters swung particularly good bats this spring. Three of their everyday players hit over .400, and six hit over .340. Seth Coker led the team in many major categories, including batting average (.407), extra-base hits (15) and RBIs (27). He only struck out four times in 91 at-bats. Guyler Luther hit .403 for the Bluejays, while Marshall Westfall posted a .400 average with 15 RBIs. Dakota Willemssen (.376), Connor Westfall (.347) and Jake Stange (.341) also had strong years at the plate.
The Oaks have a team average of .307 this season. DuWayne Balthazor leads the club with a .397 average and 20 RBIs. Parker Dietzel is hitting .367 with 14 RBIs, and Jacob Newton is hitting an even .350. Jacob Cedar (.333), Mikey Towne (.313) and Tyler Franke (.309) are the other Oaks to have averages over .300 this season.
Pitching
Athens: 35 points
Oakfield: 35 points
These teams are pretty similar on the mound. Athens’ staff ERA is 2.17, while Oakfield’s is 2.12. Athens is likely to have Marshall Westfall start the game on the bump. The junior pitched 72 innings this year and compiled a 6-4 record with a 1.94 ERA. If he’s not the Bluejays’ choice, they could go with either Dakota Willemssen or Klay Ellenbrecker. Willemssen is 9-2 in 46 innings with a 3.50 ERA, while Ellenbrecker is 3-0 with a 1.01 ERA in 27.2 innings.
Oakfield has relied on two main pitchers this spring. Parker Dietzel is 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA in 53.1 innings, and Michael Schaefer is 6-2 with a 2.21 ERA in 50.2 innings. One of those two should get the start on Wednesday. The Oaks have some other solid arms for depth, too. Johnny Bovee is 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA, and Jacob Cedar is 2-0 and has posted a 2.11 ERA. Oakfield has a very well-rounded pitching staff.
Base running
Athens: 7 points
Oakfield: 4 points
Athens was much more active than Oakfield on the base paths this spring. The Bluejays stole 70 bases compared to Oakfield’s 26. Jake Stange and Marshall Westfall did most of the damage for Athens. Stange swiped 17 bags, and Westfall had 12 steals. Connor Westfall also contributed with nine steals, and Klay Ellenbrecker chipped in with eight.
Johnny Bovee led Oakfield with 9 steals, and Ethan Tapp followed with six. They both had a 100 percent success rate on their attempts. Beyond those two, the only other player with more than two steals was DuWayne Balthazor, who had four.
The verdict
Athens: 79 out of 100 points
Oakfield: 74 out of 100 points
These two teams are very similar to each other, but Athens is the marginal favorite by virtue of their offense’s potential both at the plate and on the base paths. The Bluejays scored seven runs or more in their last three games, and scored double digit runs seven times this season. Oakfield is fresh off postseason wins over the No. 1 and No. 10 ranked teams in Division 4, and their giant-slaying momentum could carry over to Appleton. Like the other Division 4 semifinal, this one pits two of the best teams in the Division against each other. The Division 4 state tournament games are often decided by who plays the cleanest game, and that should hold true here.
