Tuesday, July 31, 2007 11:02 PM CDT
Who will be here next week at state?
By BRIAN NIELSON Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
Pencil in Danville as Mattoon Post 88’s first opponent in next week’s American Legion state baseball tournament.
Before that 7 p.m. game of the event’s opening day on Aug. 8, fans might want to come in the afternoon as well to see defending champion Arlington’s lineup of college players or college prospects.
Arlington could be facing another perennial legion power Rock Island in a 3:30 p.m. game.
Of course this all depends on the favorites coming through this week’s division tournaments.
Only Mattoon, 23-27 for the season and knocked out after going 1-2 in the 19th District, is assured of playing next week at Grimes Field because it is the host of the six-team state tournament.
Five other state berths are being determined through division tourneys stretching from Harrisburg to Cook County.
Mattoon is to face the winner of the Fourth Division tourney at Litchfield where Danville is to play Rantoul Wednesday, Lincoln is to play Taylorville and Decatur and Litchfield have first-round byes.
“Just from guys I talked to I think Danville definitely is the team to beat,” Rantoul coach Gary Smith.
Then again, who figured after seeing Rantoul go 0-4 in Mattoon’s Firecracker Classic that it would beat Mattoon and be one of the two District 19 teams advancing to the Fourth Division.
Jacob Herbert recovered from an injury to pitch against Mattoon in the district and Rantoul added to the old that’s-why-you-play-the-game adage.
Still, the Danville Post 210 Speakers with a 32-11 record look loaded.
Just ask Toledo Post 764 coach and former Mattoon assistant Jim Miller, whose team lost to Danville 24-4 to decide the District 18 title at Paris.
“They’re a real good hitting team,” Miller said. “They have three or four college players. I mean they hit monster blasts. When we were in Paris there was a poor tree that took a beating.”
The tree was past the left field fence at the field at Paris.
David Worthington, who is to be a sophomore at Danville Area Community College, has hit 11 home runs this year for Danville, which swept Mattoon during the regular season.
The main attraction next week still could be Arlington, which has won eight of the last nine Cook County division titles.
This year’s Arlington team has pitcher Trace Ruffie, who is 10-0 heading into the division after pitching for NCAA Division III World Series qualifier Carthage College in the spring.
Arlington also has Valparaiso-bound Will Hagel on a pitching staff, catcher Andrew Butkus from junior college power Oakton, where Mattoon’s Ryan Willison is headed.
Then there is Illinois-Chicago recruit Jason Ganak at shortstop, third baseman Tim Scanlan who is being recruited by Eastern Kentucky, first baseman Matt Serna from Lincoln College and pitcher/center fielder Scott Winters of Wisconsin-Parkside.
But to get to play at Mattoon, Arlington has to get past Elk Grove, which won 28 of its first 29 games before a slump, and Wilmette, whose nucleus comes from the high school state runner-up New Trier team.
If Elk Grove upsets Arlington and wins that division, it would bring Duke recruit Grant Monroe, who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox this year. Monroe is the son of Larry Monroe, who was the No. 1 pick of the White Sox in the 1974 draft.
Elk Grove also has 6-foot-7 pitcher Will Osmanski who pitched for Wisconsin-Platteville after helping Elk Grove High School to the 2006 state high school quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Rock Island, Chillicothe and Galesburg are among the top contenders who could emerge from the Third Division to face the Cook County winner.
Don’t look for another tradition-rich legion program Edwardsville to be in Mattoon.
Alton topped Edwardsville 7-2 for a 22nd District title and is one of the favorites to come from the south in the Fifth Division tourney.
That Fifth Division also includes Carmi with an impressive 23-4 record.
Whoever comes from the tourney at Harrisburg would play a noon state opener against the winner of the Second Division that has Chicago suburban and Rockford area teams. Among those is Libertyville, which beat Mattoon in the 2002 state championship game before Mattoon won its state title in ‘03.
You can check Web sites, call a few people and make projections from past legion tournaments but you just don’t know.
All I know is I’m glad Mattoon puts forth the effort to bring the best of Illinois’ baseball for ages 19-and-under to town next week.
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