The 2015 IHSA Class 1A & Class 2A Baseball State Finals return to Dozer Park, home of the St. Louis Cardinal affiliate Peoria Chiefs, in Peoria on Friday and Saturday, June 5-6. Friday’s semifinals will unfold at 10:00 a.m. and noon, respectively, with the Class 2A semifinals following at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Saturday’s game times remain the same as Friday, as the Class 1A third-place game will be followed by the 1A state championship, before the Class 2A third-place and title games in the afternoon. All eights games this weekend will be broadcast live by the NFHS Network on www.IHSA.tv as IHSA TV veterans Dave Bernhard and Mark Lindo return to call the action.

A preview is below (note that statistics are through Sectionals for teams who played Super-Sectionals on Tuesday):

Class 1A Semifinals
COBDEN APPLEKNOCKERS (25-6)  vs.
FULTON STEAMERS (21-8)
Cobden returns to the IHSA Baseball State Finals for the third time ever and first since 1987, as Craig Partridge’s group enters Peoria with an eight-game winning streak after starting the year 12-1. Junior standout Logan Splat is a two-way standout following in his father’s footsteps, as his dad was a part of Cobden’s 1979 state final team. Splat is 13-1 on the mound (0.54 ERA, 104 K) and hitting .429 with 38 RBI, while senior catcher Sam Cohen (.388, 24 RBI) provides another big bat in the lineup.

Fulton fell behind defending state champ Illinois Lutheran 3-0 in Tuesday’s Super-Sectional before emphatically rallying to punch its first-ever state final ticket with a 17-4 victory. Head coach Kyle Miller’s club, which won its first Sectional in school history days earlier, has averaged over 10 runs per game during its five postseason victories. The Steamer offense is paced by junior Devon Ballard (.365, 13 RBI), who is also a standout pitcher (7-2, 1.68 ERA), and senior outfielder Colin Houzenga (.345, 17 RBI).

OKAWVILLE ROCKETS (16-17)  vs.
OKAW VALLEY TIMBERWOLVES (26-6)
Okawville appears to be the tourney underdog, but the team’s 3-9 record to open the year, which was influenced by a late arrival for several players due to a Super-Sectional basketball run, has been erased by its current eight-game winning streak. Head coach Jackie Smith’s Rockets are at state for the second time (1992) in school history and can only finish above .500 on the year if they win the state title. Junior Brendan Killion (8-3, 2.30 ERA) has emerged as the staff ace, while junior catcher Brad Fuhrhop (.417, 5 HR) has paced the Rocket offense.

First-time state final qualifier Okaw Valley started the year by winning 18 of its first 19 games, and have shown that a 3-5 regular-season finish was no cause for concern, as Andrew Hagerman’s club has allowed just nine runs in the postseason. The senior pitching combo of 6-4 lefty Devon Still (10-2, 0.74 ERA, 118 K) and right-handed Peyton Hagerman (8-2, 1.55 ERA, 126 K) has made life difficult on opposing hitters. The emergence of freshmen catcher Garrett Fritz (.411, 29 RBI) has helped Okaw Valley tally 10 runs or more 10 times this season.

Class 2A Semifinals
ST. BEDE BRUINS (23-8) vs.
ROCKFORD CHRISTIAN ROYAL LIONS (34-6)
St. Bede head coach Bill Booker won a pair of IHSA state trophies at LaSalle-Peru and now has St. Bede back at the finals for the first time since 1992 in his inaugural campaign at the school. Booker has a legit ace in senior lefty Jarrett Olson (10-1, 0.38 ERA, 117 K), who also routinely helps his own cause at the plate (.446, 22 RBI). Coach Booker’s son, sophomore outfielder Brady Booker, gives St. Bede a potent lefthanded bat in the lineup (.310, 21 RBI) as well.

Rockford Christian is in the midst of the best season in school history under fifth-year head coach Mike McClellan, culminating in the school’s first state final trip. The Royal Lions enter having won 22 of their last 23, including extra inning victories in the Regional final and Super-Sectional. A walkoff walk clinched the Super-Sectional title, but the Rockford Christian bats have been hot all season, especially for sophomore outfielder David Prisby (.366, 34 RBI) and junior Alec Powell (.383, 19 RBI), who is also 10-0 (0.43 ERA) as the Royal Lions’ ace pitcher.

TEUTOPOLIS WOODEN SHOES (32-7) vs.
WILLIAMSVILLE BULLETS (30-6)
Few programs in the state have been as consistent as Teutopolis since 2000, as the Wooden Shoes reach the state finals for the sixth time under head coach Justin Fleener since 2005, including states titles in 2010 and 2011. Winners of 20 of their last 21 games, Teutopolis boasts a deep pitching staff with five players who have thrown 28 innings or more, including senior Louis Niemerg who is a standout on the mound (10-0, 1.19 ERA) and at the dish (.414, 25 RBI). Left-handed hitting senior Brooke Mette (.389, 24 RBI, 3 HR) offers another veteran presence in the Wooden Shoe lineup.

Luke Bleyer quarterbacked Williamsville to the IHSA Class 3A football title game back in November, where the team came up just short, and now has the Bullets on the cusp of another title game. Jess Buttry’s squad, who knocked off defending state champ Pleasant Plains in the Sectional final, returns to state for the first time since 2005 behind a deep pitching staff led by Bleyer (11-4, 2.41 ERA) and junior John Beal (6-1, 1.76 ERA). At the plate, the Bullets depend on sophomore shortstop Talon Bile (.422, 37 R, 39 RBI) to spark the offense.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
76th annual State Series
8th year of 4-Class Series
5th year at Dozer Park


SITE
Dozer Park (Peoria)
Directions


WEATHER
Updates/delays posted on Twitter at @IHSAWeather


SCHEDULE
Friday, June 5
Class 1A Semifinals
10:00 a.m.
Cobden vs. Fulton

12:00 p.m.
Okawville vs. Okaw Valley

Class 2A Semifinals
3:00 p.m.
St. Bede vs. Rockford Christian

5:00 p.m.
Teutopolis vs. Williamsville

Saturday, June 6
Class 1A Finals
9:00 a.m. - Third-Place
11:30 p.m. - Championship

Class 2A Finals
3:00 p.m. - Third-Place
5:00 p.m. - Championship


WATCH
All games available live on www.IHSA.tv


LISTEN
WIBH 1440 AM (Anna)
Online Broadcast
Cobden games

WNSV 104.7 FM (Nashville)
Online Broadcast
Okawville games

WSVZ 98.3 FM (Taylorville)
Online Broadcast
Okaw Valley games

WLPO 1220 AM & 103.9 FM (LaSalle)
St. Bede games

WXEF 97.9 FM (Effingham)
Online Broadcast
Teutopolis games


RESULTS & BOX SCORES
IHSA Baseball Page


TICKETS
$6 per day


INTERACT
Twitter Coverage:
@IHSAState    #IHSA

Facebook Page

Photos

Classic IHSA Baseball Film


HISTORY & RECORDS
2015 1A State Series

2015 2A State Series

Record Book & Past Champions
 

PLAYER SAFETY
Play Smart. Play Hard.

@PlaySmartHard

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