State tournament preview: Mosinee vs. Waupun
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: Mosinee vs. Waupun in the Division 2 semifinals.
The rundown
Mosinee is 15-9 this season and finished in third place in the Great Northern Conference. The Indians are making their first state tournament appearance since 1991, although they’ve consistently reached sectionals over the last five years. They won their regional by beating Lakeland and Antigo, and advanced through sectionals with wins over Seymour and Luxemburg-Casco.
Waupun enters the state tournament with a 25-5 record and as the champion of the East Central Conference. The Warriors are playing in the state tournament for the first time since 2013, when they lost in the semifinals. To get to Appleton, they beat Omro and Ripon in regional play and Jefferson and Mayville at sectionals. They were ranked No. 5 in the final WBCA rankings of the year.
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
Mosinee: 32 points
Waupun: 42 points
Waupun has the edge at the plate. The Warriors’ lineup has done a tremendous job hitting the ball this season. They bat .343 as a team, and have eight starters batting over .300. Drew Behling, an all-state selection last year, has a team-high .439 average with five home runs and 29 RBIs this year. Baron Bucholz hits .434 for the Warriors with 19 RBIs. Caleb Sauer has a .386 average and 25 RBIs. Reece Homan has been a major run producer this year, driving in 42 runs to go along with his .365 average. Bryce Burmania is batting .361 for Waupun. Their lineup is deep and any player is capable of having a big day at the plate.
Mosinee has done well offensively this season, just not to the extent that Waupun has. The Indians are led by Jace Bauman, who may be in line for some postseason all-state recognition after the tournament. The senior is hitting .494 with 12 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs. Ben Vandehey is hitting .377 this season with seven doubles and a home run. Zach Bednar is also batting .377 with nine extra-base hits. Matt Olson has a .368 batting average for the Indians. Those four have been the top hitters by far in the Indian lineup.
Pitching
Mosinee: 33 points
Waupun: 37 points
Both the Indians and Warriors have been solid on the mound, but Waupun has a slight advantage. Their top two pitchers, Brenden Bille and Caden Bronkhorst, have been excellent throughout the spring. They’re both 9-2 this season. Bille has a 0.89 ERA in 55.1 innings, while Bronkhorst has a 1.54 ERA in 59 innings. Reece Homan (3-1, 3.50 ERA) and Drew Behling (2-0) provide depth in the pitching staff.
Jace Bauman has been Mosinee’s top pitcher this year. He’s 5-2 in 40.2 innings with a 2.61 ERA and has averaged about one strikeout per inning. Ben Vandehey is 4-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 42.2 innings. The next guys up in the rotation, Dominick Collelo and Zach Bednar, have filled their roles well. Collelo is 2-2 but has a 2.11 ERA in 33.2 innings. Bednar is also 2-2 and has a 2.06 ERA in 27.2 innings.
Base running
Mosinee: 5 points
Waupun: 7 points
The Warriors have been more of a threat on the bases than Mosinee. Baron Bucholz did a ton of damage, stealing 24 bases for Waupun. Caleb Sauer was really good too, tallying 17 steals to this point in the year. The Warriors had three other players with at least eight stolen bases.
The Indians stole 47 bases with an 82 percent success rate this spring, led by Jace Bauman’s 12 steals. Seth Kuhn had eight swipes, and both Brandon Carlson and Ty Cook had six. The running game isn’t all that spread out for Mosinee, but their top stealers have had success.
The verdict
Mosinee: 70 out of 100 points
Waupun: 86 out of 100 points
Waupun will be the strong favorite in this game, which won’t surprise many people. The Warriors have been one of the top teams in Division 2 all season, and they’ll be tough to beat. The good news for Mosinee is that they’ve been killing giants all postseason, so they’re more than capable of doing it again. They took down No. 6 ranked Antigo in the regional finals and No. 4 Luxemburg-Casco in the sectional finals, so they should be feeling good about themselves heading into this game. The Indians have held opponents to an average of two runs per game in the playoffs, and they will definitely need to continue their strong pitching to pull off the upset in this semifinal.
