Final-Four bound Spartans meet Final Four Illini – The News-Gazette

CHAMPAIGN — The opportunity to stay together is a key piece of how St. Joseph-Ogden baseball coach Josh Haley has approached this week.

It’s the final week of the season for the Spartans, who will play Harvest-Westminster for a Class 2A state championship on Saturday night after beating Ottawa Marquette 6-1 on Friday night in a state semifinal game at Illinois Field.

And the final chance for nine seniors who have paved the way for a record-setting season by SJ-O to represent the Spartans. Getting to meet Illinois men’s basketball players Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic and Jake Davis was just an added bonus.

The Spartans got a few minutes with the trio of Illini who played an instrumental role in helping Brad Underwood’s program reach the Final Four this past season while having lunch on Thursday at Oishi Hibachi Steakhouse in Champaign.

SJ-O senior shortstop Kodey McKinney spotted the Ivisic twins and Davis, helping set up the chance encounter.

“It was a cool experience for the guys, especially since Illinois just went to the Final Four, as well,” Haley said. “Kodey is our social guy, so he asked for a photo and initiated the conversation.”

Most of the Spartans are Illini fans — senior pitcher and second baseman Asher Pruemer is one notable exception as he’s a Purdue fan since his dad, SJ-O assistant coach Mitch Pruemer, pitched for the Boilermakers — and savored the moment.

Especially the piece of knowledge Davis left with the SJ-O contingent.

“We asked them if they had any advice for us,” Haley said, “and Jake said, ‘Don’t lose.’”

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SJ-O had the shortest trip to Illinois Field of the eight teams who played 1A and 2A state semifinal games on Friday in Champaign.

Meaning the team received a send-off from its home field, Meier Field, at 5 p.m. on Friday before arriving in Champaign to play Ottawa Marquette.

And also meaning that the Spartans could sleep in their own beds on Friday night before playing again on Saturday, a contrast from when the 2016 and 2017 SJ-O teams finished second in state when the state tournament was at Dozer Park in downtown Peoria.

But Haley checked back this week on the itineraries he made up for on those two state tournament trips to help him this week.

“I kind of mimicked that except for the fact we’re not staying at a hotel,” Haley said.

The Spartans had another team meal together earlier on Friday, this time brunch at Maple & Yolk in Urbana, before heading to Illinois Field to get a feel for the environment while the 1A state semifinal games were going on.

Then, it was back to St. Joseph for some pregame work at Meier Field before heading back to Champaign.

“It’s going to feel a little bit normal,” Haley said, “and sometimes, that’s kind of nice.”

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The unpredictable and inclement weather throughout Illinois this week has caused an adjustment for how the Spartans have set up their pitching.

Asher Pruemer, who started Friday night against Ottawa Marquette, had thrown complete games in his first two postseason starts. He pitched all nine innings of last Saturday’s 6-4 sectional championship game win against Unity and threw all six during SJ-O’s 10-0 win against host Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin in the regional championship game on May 30.

Parker Fitch handled the pitching in the other three postseason games the Spartans played in before Friday night’s state semifinal game. The Lake Land signee threw 107 pitches in a three-hit shutout during SJ-O’s 9-0 win against Williamsville on Tuesday night in a super-sectional game in Springfield.

But because of that workload — and the fact the super-sectional game was pushed back a day instead of taking place as initially scheduled on Monday because of heavy rain on Monday — Fitch isn’t eligible to pitch on Saturday. The IHSA instituted pitch-count limits before the 2017 season, and pitchers can’t throw more than 115 pitches in a single game.

Anything between 76-115 pitches constitutes four days worth of rest.

“He would have had to throw under 75 on Tuesday night to even be eligible to pitch,” Haley said of Fitch, who improved to 10-2 on the season after his latest win. “The thought process is he’s thrown 75 innings this year. He was going to be on four days’ rest on Monday and four days’ rest again if the schedule had stayed the same. He’s only gone on four days’ rest once this season. We got him ready to do that this past Monday just so he could feel what it’s like.”

While Fitch and Pruemer have dominated the pitching in the postseason, the Spartans also received steady contributions on the mound this season from senior Trevor Ames (7-0, 1.24 ERA in 34 innings), junior Dalton York (5-0, 1.24 ERA in 34 innings) and sophomore Jameson Ehler (4-0, 2.80 ERA in 20 innings) before Friday night’s state semifinal game.

And, another factor to consider: the potential for more bad weather on Saturday could possibly affect the state tournament schedule. If any games on Saturday are moved back to Sunday or Monday, Fitch would be eligible to pitch since he’ll have had four days worth of rest.

All these are scenarios Haley and his coaching staff have considered heading into the weekend. Along with the overriding principle they’ve always operated with since Haley arrived at SJ-O before the 2012 season. Win the game they’re currently playing.

“That’s how we’ve always approached it,” Haley said. “We’ve always went at teams. We’ve never split games and brought guys back on short rest, and that’s one of the reasons why our guys have been good.”

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The Spartans have taken pictures near home plate after their wins in the regional championship game, the sectional title game and the super-sectional game to display their latest piece of IHSA hardware. All players and coaches.

Except for SJ-O assistant coaches Kody Haas and Jaden Miller. But Haas and Miller have played an important role the past two-plus weeks for the Spartans by going to other postseason games and getting a scouting report done on potential teams the Spartans might see.

“Kody and Jaden call it their World Tour,” Haley said with a laugh.

Or at least a tour of Illinois.

On Tuesday night, the duo was in Peru to get an in-person look at Ottawa Marquette as the Crusaders beat Brimfield 9-6 to punch their ticket to Champaign. Last Saturday, they were in Herscher to see Ottawa Marquette beat Wilmington 11-2 in a sectional championship game.

The duo was also in Pleasant Plains on June 3 to watch Williamsville beat Roxana 2-1 in nine innings in a sectional semifinal game and Pleasant Plains beat Alton Marquette 9-1.

While SJ-O was beating BHRA on May 30 to win a regional title, Haas and Miller started their Saturday driving to Pana to watch Tri-Valley beat Pana 9-5 in a regional championship game. It was their second trip to Pana that week, and the Spartans ended up beating Tri-Valley 6-3 on June 3 in a sectional semifinal game in Monticello.

Then, once Haas and Miller were finished in Pana, they headed to Clinton later that Saturday to watch Maroa-Forsyth beat Clinton 2-1 in a regional title game. Maroa-Forsyth made it to the Monticello Sectional and could have played SJ-O in the sectional title game, but lost to Unity in a sectional semifinal game.

“They’ve been scouting everywhere,” Haley said. “We started this back in 2013 with Kody traveling. That’s why we’ve been ahead of everybody. To have a guy like Kody that is willing to do this is invaluable. He’s missed every picture after a postseason plaque, but he’s a huge part of this program.”

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Two SJ-O players who have also handled their roles well not only in the postseason, but all season long, have stood out to Haley.

Branson Pearman is one of nine seniors on the roster, but the only one who doesn’t start for the Spartans. An outfielder, Pearman has scored seven runs this season in a limited role off the bench.

“Branson has been a program guy all four years,” Haley said. “His goal was to be a player this year, and he’s had some big starts for us in the outfield when we’ve had some guys down. He’s a guy that’s very dependable.”

Pearman is also responsible for another off-field role: judge of the Spartans’ kangaroo court, where he imposes minor infractions on miscellaneous and harmless items.

“He’s so well-liked and respected among the guys, and you need guys like him on the team,” Haley said. “He’s a starter on almost any other team in this area. It says a lot about his character how he’s handled everything.”

Same for York. A junior who has contributed on the mound and in the batter’s box at times this season, York has started every postseason game for SJ-O. He just hasn’t had the opportunity to hit. York started at second base on Friday night, a position Asher Pruemer usually plays when he’s not on the mound. In the postseason games where Fitch has started, York starts in left field.

“York is our glue guy,” Haley said. “He does everything really well. His demeanor is very calm. He’s not afraid to make plays. He’s not afraid of the moment. What he’s done at second base when Asher is pitching has been huge, and the same when he’s been in left field.

“The very first pitch of the regional in Bismarck, he made a heck of play in the left-center field gap. He’s just made play after play, and he’s a guy the team has a lot of trust in.”

Matt Daniels