Teutopolis Set To Take On Orion At State

Teutopolis High School is set to take on Orion in opening round play of the Class 2A State Baseball Tournament today at Dozier Park in Peoria.

Coach Justin Fleener's squad enters the fray with a 29-6 record. Members of the team include Collin Funneman, Jackson Goeckner, Brant Bueker, Conner Mette, Blake Kitten, Carson Hartke, Brock Bueker, Jason Kenter, Evan Althoff, Lane Belleville, Collin Kreke, Drew Thoele, Caleb Wendt, Lee Hardiek, Jared Bloemer, Dylan Bloemer, John Tomlinson, Eric Kremer, Cody Jansen and Ethyn Dust.

The Wooden Shoes enter the state tourney on an 18-game winning streak. T-town went 11-6 to start the season before getting on the winning streak by beating Nashville 12-2 April 22 and then turning around and beating Nashville again, this time at the Sauget Super-Sectional 4-3 to reach the Final Four.

The Shoes have nine players who have pitched this season. Lane Belleville is a perfect 7-0 with a 1.57 ERA. He has pitched 49 innings, allowed 30 hits, 14 walks and struck out 59. Eric Kremer also has a 7-0 record. He has thrown 41 innings, allowed 16 hits, 21 walks and struck out 61. He has an ERA of 1.37. Collin Funneman is 4-0, going 22 innings, allowing 34 hits, seven walks and striking out 16.

Belleville has led the team in hitting with a .423 average. He has 44 hits and driven in 38 runs. Jansen has a .396 average with 36 hits and 34 RBI while Hartke has a .393 average with 42 hits and 19 RBI. Brant Bueker has a .358 average with 34 hits and 18 RBI and Kremer is at .336 with 38 hits and 36 RBI.

Fleener has taken the Shoes to state six previous times, winning the championship in 2010 and 2011 and finishing third in 2005, 2013 and 2015.

T-town will take on an Orion team that has reached state for the first time in the school's history. The Chargers are 21-12 on the season and are on a nine-game winning streak.

Orion won the Rock Island Super-Sectional by edging Warren 4-3.

Jeremy Jungwirth has coached the squad for four years and has a 59-64 record.

Leading pitchers for the Chargers include Drake Schultz who is 6-0. He's thrown 23.0 innings, allowed 15 hits, 22 walks and struck out 26. He has an ERA of 2.43. Brady Grafton is 4-2. He's gone 48.1 innings, allowed 35 hits, 33 walks, struck out 47 and has a 2.17 ERA. Bryce Grafton is 4-1 with a 3.31 ERA. He has thrown 42 innings, allowed 42 hits, 25 walks and struck out 50.

Leading hitters include Daimon Zurcher who has a .380 average with 46 hits and 22 RBI, Schultz who has a .327 average with 12 doubles and five triples. He's had 36 hits and driven in 25 runs. Brayden Newton has a .314 average with 33 hits and 30 RBI. Brady Grafton is at .309 with 25 hits and 17 RBI. Bryce Grafton has 28 hits and 17 RBI for a .286 average.

The Shoes will meet Orion at 5 p.m. The previous game at 3 p.m. features St. Joseph-Ogden against Palos Heights Chicago  Christian.

St. Joseph-Ogden (26-7) is making only its third appearance at state. The squad finished second last year, losing to Braidwood Reed Custer 2-1 in the state championship game.

Palos Heights Chicago Christian is making its first appearance at state. The team is 39-1.