As the IHSA baseball postseason kicks in, the best of the best make playoff runs, while the rest go home fairly quickly.
And it all starts on Monday, Memorial Day, with the top seeds jumping into the action later in the week as regionals unfold. The best in the Rockford area, like almost-NIC-10 champion Harlem, are hoping this will be their moment.
“He’s the one of the best pitchers I’ve ever coached, and this is a great team right now,” Harlem head coach Scott Scholl said of his ace, Jackson Heidemann, and of his 23-win Huskies. “We’re in a really hard sub-regional this postseason … But we feel really good where we’re at.”
He’s not the only coach that feels that way around the Rockford area. But how many of those teams will win out?
Rockford Christian won the Class 2A state championship back in 2015, which was the last state title for any team in the Rockford area. Byron took second in 2A in 2014 and 1995, and Boylan took second in 2003 while Guilford was state runner-up way back in 1968. No NIC-10 or NUIC team has ever won a state baseball title.
Here is our Top 10 Rockford-area High School Baseball Power Rankings, and possibly the 10 teams with the best shot at winning it all this year, as we head into the postseason.
No. 1: Byron (24-7, 16-1 BNC)
Byron had a 16-game win streak earlier this year but lost back-to-back games for the first time since Week 1 on Monday and Tuesday. One of those was to 25-2 Sterling Newman, but Byron is still looking to regroup before the postseason kicks in. That shouldn’t be a problem as this is one of the most talented teams in the area, and state, led by pitcher and shortstop Andrew Talbert, as well as all-around star Caden Considine.
Considine has taken the mound a lot more for the Tigers this year, and it has been key. He is 3-1 with 45 strikeouts with a 1.63 ERA, while also hitting .549 with 30 RBIs and 47 runs scored. Talbert is 6-0 on the mound with a 0.46 ERA, and he is hitting .459 with nine homers, 44 RBIs and 41 runs scored.
“Those two guys are special players, and they’ve been great leaders,” Byron head coach Jeff Boyer said. “We’ve gotten some really strong performances ― really from everyone.”
Byron opens the postseason against Stillman Valley or Pecatonica next Wednesday, and it hosts both a regional and a sectional in 2A this year.
No. 2: Harlem (23-8-1, 15-1 NIC-10)
The Huskies have one of the area’s top hitters in defending NIC-10 MVP Finn Stovall, who is hitting .490 this season with eight home runs and 41 RBIs. They also have one of the best pitchers in Jackson Heidemann, who has thrown a one-hitter and a three-hitter in his past two outings, striking out 24 in those two complete-game gems. This team is playing its best ball at just the right time.
“We are super amped to get some momentum going into the playoffs,” Stovall said after Harlem knocked off Hononegah 7-0 on Monday, basically clinching the NIC-10 crown. “We’ve had our bats going, and we’ve got the best pitcher in the state on fire right now. So, we’re ready.”
The Huskies had won 16 of 17 games before falling 8-3 to Crystal Lake Central on Tuesday, but they should get back on track against winless East later this week as they most likely clinch the conference title and build speed for the postseason. They open the postseason at DeKalb next Thursday, and there’s a good chance Huntley will be waiting in the regional finals on Saturday.
No. 3: Lena-Winslow (23-2, 9-1 NUIC)
Le-Win has a nice mix of power and speed and is led by senior Aiden Wild, who is hitting .446 with five homers, nine doubles and 38 RBIs. Luke Madigan, who is hitting .429 with nine doubles, is also 10-0 with a 0.5 ERA and 99 strikeouts. Le-Win handed Sterling Newman one of its two losses on the season earlier this year, and especially with Madigan on the hill, this is a very dangerous team. Eight players on this team are hitting over .300.
No. 4: Hononegah (24-7, 14-2 NIC-10)
Hononegah put a scare into Harlem when it forced the NIC-10 race down to the wire, but Heidemann shut them down on Monday. This team can hit, though, led by Max Miller’s .438 average with four home runs, five triples, 10 doubles and 41 runs scored. Hononegah had won 16 of 17 before dropping two of its last four headed into its matchups with Guilford on Wednesday and Friday. It opens the postseason against Hampshire next Thursday, but Guilford or Algonquin Jacobs would then be next, and probably a strong McHenry team after that, so this is no easy road.
No. 5: Boylan (20-13, 9-8 NIC-10)
The Titans only finished sixth in the NIC-10, but they showed up of late. Boylan dropped seven of eight during a dismal late-season stretch, but the Titans have regrouped and won six in a row headed into Wednesday’s game against Auburn. This team can hit, when it’s on.
No. 6: Belvidere North (16-10-1, 10-6 NIC-10)
The Blue Thunder shook up the NIC-10 title race with their 8-7 win over Hononegah last Wednesday, and its two losses to Harlem this year came by a total of three runs. This is a team that could get through its regional. Junior Rylan Zuroske is hitting .434 with nine doubles, three homers, three triples and 25 RBIs headed into the final week of the regular season, while Tanner Walton has amassed a 0.89 ERA.
No. 7: Guilford (13-8, 11-5 NIC-10)
The Vikings have a pair of three-game win streaks this year to prove that they can get on a roll. But can they do it now? Guilford wound up third in the league, just ahead of Belvidere North, and they showed they could make some noise in the postseason if they play well.
No. 8: North Boone (17-15, 7-3 BNC)
North Boone has some big wins this season, like a strong sweep of Belvidere North early in the season and a dominant sweep of Oregon just last week. This is a team that could catch fire this time of year. The Vikings have 67 doubles on the season, led by Andrew Self, who has 14 doubles while hitting .446 with 21 RBIs and 29 runs.
No. 9: Winnebago (18-11, 11-7 BNC)
Winnebago recently dropped three of four, but has gotten it going again with back-to-back wins headed into Wednesday’s game at Fulton. The Vikings have three, four-game winning streaks this season, but four losing streaks as well.
No. 10: Pearl City (16-8, 7-3 NUIC)
Pearl City has gotten a big season out of senior Kip Martens, who is hitting .333 with six doubles, three triples and a homer, and from pitchers Brandon Hillie and Parker Allen. This squad has been better down the stretch, and even when swept by Le-Win earlier this month, it fell 5-3 and 4-3 and led in both games.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford-area baseball teams hit postseason. Here’s our power rankings
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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