What you should know about Saturday's Evansville-area IHSAA baseball regionals
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – This weekend will determine which teams can truly challenge for a state championship.
The IHSAA state baseball tournament continues with the regional round on Saturday. Win twice and advance to the final four of your respective class. Lose and your season is over.
Will any teams in the Courier & Press coverage area survive this weekend? Six remain with Jasper, Memorial, Vincennes Lincoln, Forest Park, Tecumseh and Barr-Reeve.
Here is a breakdown of each local regional, from the players to watch to thoughts from coaches. All times are in CT.
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Class 4A at Jasper
No. 8 Jasper (25-4) vs New Albany (23-7), 10 a.m.
Columbus East (13-16-1) vs No. 2 Mooresville (27-3), 12 p.m.
Championship, 6 p.m.
Players to Watch: Tucker Biven (New Albany), Blake Borkhardt (Columbus East), Hogan Denny (Mooresville), Connor Foley (Jasper), Ben Henke (Jasper), Ethan Ianni (Columbus East), Kody Morton (Jasper), Landon Tiesing (New Albany), Nick Wiley (Mooresville).
Outlook: The defending state champions find themselves in a familiar position.
For the second straight season, Jasper bested the Evansville sectional only to be not the favorite on paper in the regional. That distinction likely belongs to No. 2 Mooresville and its potent offense featuring Indiana commit Hogan Denny.
This is also Jasper at Ruxer Field. The Wildcats ousted a state contender last year during regional weekend on its journey to state title No. 6. They have the pieces to do so again, too. Jasper showed it during an eight-inning battle to beat Castle at Bosse Field.
Of course, the Wildcats aren't guaranteed to advance past the early game. Louisville recruit Tucker Biven, who had 15 strikeouts against Bedford North Lawrence in the sectional final, gives New Albany a strong chance. Jasper hit him hard in April but is expecting the top-shelf version this time.
If Connor Foley pitches well – the Indiana commit struck out 10 and held Castle to four hits – and the entire lineup produces, the Wildcats like their chances.
Jasper coach Terry Gobert: "It's going to be nasty. (The first meeting) was cold, rainy on a Friday night. We got two early home runs and his velocity was down. It will be a different story, trust me. (Biven) is a man. We didn't see the real dude out there."
Class 3A at Southridge
Memorial (17-8) vs Vincennes Lincoln (14-13), 10 a.m.
No. 5 Silver Creek (27-6) vs Connersville (12-16-1), 12 p.m.
Championship, 6:30 p.m.
Players to Watch: Chance Bentley (Connersville), Dominic Decker (Silver Creek), Adam Evans (Memorial), Collin Jackson (Vincennes Lincoln), Colin Kapust (Silver Creek), Brayden Lykins (Connersville), Thomas Lynch (Memorial), Cam Madden (Vincennes Lincoln), Josh Russell (Memorial).
Outlook: One Southern Athletic Conference team is guaranteed to play for a regional championship.
Memorial takes on Vincennes Lincoln in the opening semifinal. The Tigers won the regular-season meeting but don't view it as one of their better performances. These programs have previous postseason history as recent as 2019.
Class 3A sectional: Memorial shuts down Boonville to win fourth straight title
Pitching has been a key reason for a late-season surge – nine wins in 11 games – with junior Nick Wangler (1.85 ERA) likely getting the call. The offense did produce big hits in the sectional. Josh Russell (.468 average, 16 extra bases) has been on a hot streak in the leadoff spot.
The Alices are peaking after taking their lumps in the SIAC. Vincennes could turn to either sophomore Raden Benson (1.20 ERA) or senior Cam Madden (zero earned runs in 27 innings) on Saturday morning. Neither pitched against Memorial on May 14.
The winner likely faces perennial power Silver Creek in the final.
Memorial coach Rip Collins: "(Vincennes) has a pretty good group, especially the top of the lineup. It starts with our pitching. We're not going to strike everybody out. Our pitchers know that and don't pitch like that because they trust the guys behind them. We have to continue to stay strong and play as error-free as possible."
Vincennes Lincoln coach Tim Hutchison: "In the sectional, we slowed the game down. Our pitchers threw strikes and we played pretty well in the field. At the plate, we didn't strike out a lot, put the ball in play, and moved runners over. We know Memorial will be a tall task. Coach Collins has continued the tradition of having quality, well-prepared teams."
Class 2A at Bosse Field
Linton-Stockton (13-9-1) vs North Decatur (14-10), 10 a.m.
No. 8 Forest Park (20-7) vs Providence (18-10), 12 p.m.
Championship, 6 p.m.
Players to Watch: Grant Borden (Providence), Bracey Brenemen (Linton), Gabe Eslinger (Linton), Drew Howard (Forest Park), Reid Howard (Forest Park), Reid Messer (North Decatur), Jake Mirick (North Decatur), Jake Rodski (Providence), Clayton Weisheit (Forest Park)
Outlook: Is this the year for the Rangers?
Forest Park has not won a baseball regional since 1976. To be fair, the program has only reached the regional twice since losing in the state semifinals nearly 50 years ago. These Rangers have reason to believe.
First, they're likely the favorite at Bosse Field. The only ranked team in the group has good starting pitching between junior Clayton Weisheit (three runs in 12 postseason innings) and senior Drew Howard (no-hitter in sectional championship). Any starting point towards a victory begins on the mound.
Class 2A sectional: Forest Park won its first sectional title in 20 years
Defending state champion Providence poses an immediate threat. Linton surprisingly has never won a regional but again has talent. North Decatur has a 2.38 team ERA. The Rangers beat the Pioneers 4-3 on April 9.
Forest Park coach Jarred Howard: "You’ve got to be able to have guys who can go on the mound and compete. They’ve done that. We’ve just gotta find a way to score runs. If we can score runs, we can win because our pitching staff has been that good all year long."
Class A at Loogootee
New Washington (3-19) vs Tecumseh (16-12), 9:30 a.m.
No. 2 Barr-Reeve (21-6) vs No. 1 Borden (22-6-1), 11:30 a.m.
Championship, 6:30 p.m.
Players to Watch: AJ Agnew (Borden), Samuel Andes (New Washington), Conner Anglin (Tecumseh), Connor Bailey (New Washington), Drew Dupont (Tecumseh), Gavin Gentry (Borden), Lane Graber (Barr-Reeve), Brody Julian (Tecumseh), Reed Thompson (Barr-Reeve).
Outlook: A lot of eyes will be on the second semifinal. No. 1 versus No. 2. The winner could have another weekend or two in the state tournament.
The foolish would ignore Tecumseh. Winners of four straight sectional titles, the Braves come into the regional with victories over both Borden (7-0 on April 23) and Barr-Reeve (6-5 on May 19). Their record against a schedule full of 3A and 4A programs is deceiving. Tecumseh has a 10-3 record over the last month.
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Southern Indiana commit Conner Anglin is batting .481 with 24 RBI. He sports a 1.17 ERA since a mid-season move to the mound. Brody Julian (.369), Drew DuPont (.329) and Dax Bailey (.310) also headline a strong junior class.
The Braves won't dare overlook New Washington, the surprise winners of Sectional 62. But if Tecumseh advances to the championship, it has earned the confidence to take on either contender.
Tecumseh coach Ted Thompson: "Everything just clicked on all cylinders together. It's been a good thing to watch them develop. We've been playing some good baseball. We play a lot of tough situations and I think that helped us prevail through the whole sectional. We going to approach (New Washington) like we would against Barr-Reeve or Borden."
Follow Courier & Press sports reporter Kyle Sokeland on Twitter @kylesokeland.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA baseball: What you should know about Evansville-area regionals
