By Dave Kane
Remember the old comedy film “The Jerk,” starring Steve Martin? His character, Navin R. Johnson, couldn’t contain his excitement when he declared, “The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!”
I get giddy like Navin when the Illinois High School Association releases postseason seedings and pairings for team sports. There they are in all their glory: the roadmaps to the state finals.
This week we’ve learned seedings and destinations for Class 1A and 2A baseball, softball and girls soccer. Baseball and softball regionals begin May 19 or 20; Class 1A soccer regionals start May 16, and 2A soccer regionals commence May 20.
Here are a few quick takes on the top local small-school hopefuls heading toward postseason.
CLASS 2A BASEBALL: A timely 2-1 victory over Sacred Heart-Griffin on Monday (one day before the seeding deadline) earned Pleasant Plains the top seed in Sub-Sectional B of the 2A Plains Sectional.
So, the Cardinals and No. 4 Pittsfield will be assigned to the Riverton Regional, while No. 2 SHG will go to the Quincy Notre Dame Regional hosted by the No. 3 Raiders.
North Mac, 14-5 through Monday, is the top seed in the Plains Sectional’s Sub-Sectional A, and the Panthers will host their own 2A regional. Also at North Mac will be No. 3 Shelbyville, while No. 2 Litchfield will be at a regional hosted by No. 4 Auburn.
Fans of teams like Plains (22-5 through Tuesday) and Auburn can dream big. If they get on a roll, they wouldn’t have to leave Sangamon County until the final four. The Plains Sectional will be followed by the super sectional on June 2 at Lincoln Land Community College.
And unlike recent years, the state-final destination for Class 1A and 2A baseball has changed. The University of Illinois in Champaign will host state June 6-7 because of a scheduling conflict at Dozer Park in Peoria.
CLASS 1A BASEBALL: Mount Pulaski, 16-3 through Tuesday, is the No. 2 seed behind Arcola in Sub-Sectional A of the Class 1A Arcola Sectional.
The Hilltoppers and No. 3 Decatur St. Teresa will play at the Tuscola Regional, while the No. 1 Purple Riders will be at a regional hosted by No. 4 Argenta-Oreana.
Pawnee, 15-10 through Tuesday, is No. 3 in Sub-Sectional B of the 1A Altamont Sectional. The Indians will host a regional that will include No. 2 Neoga, while top-seeded Stewardson-Strasburg and No. 4 Nokomis will play in a regional hosted by Okaw Valley.
Looking westward, the West Central Cougars (17-4 through Tuesday) are No. 1 in Sub-Sectional B of the Illinois College Sectional. West Central will host a regional, while second-seeded Jacksonville Routt (15-8) will play at the Mendon Unity Regional.
CLASS 2A SOFTBALL: The Auburn-Lutheran co-op team, seeking its second straight trip to state, is the top seed in Sub-Sectional A of the Macomb Sectional. The Trojans (19-4 through Tuesday) will host a regional including No. 4 Carlinville.
Third-seeded Tri-City will play at a regional hosted by No. 2 Quincy Notre Dame.
In Sub-Sectional B of the Macomb Sectional, Williamsville (14-10 through Monday) is the top seed and will play at the Carthage Illini West Regional along with No 4 Beardstown.
CLASS 1A SOFTBALL: The Pawnee Indians are No. 3 in Sub-Sectional A of the Hardin Calhoun Sectional. PHS and No. 2 Calhoun will play at the Mulberry Grove Regional, while No. 1 Carrollton will play at a regional hosted by No. 4 Raymond Lincolnwood.
Meanwhile, Concord Triopia (18-5 through Monday) is No. 1 in Sub-Sectional B of the Triopia Sectional. The Trojans also host their own regional that will include No. 4 Payson Seymour.
Athens will host a 1A super sectional between the Triopia and Calhoun sectional champions on June 2.
CLASS 2A GIRLS SOCCER: There could be two regional championship showdowns between local teams.
In the Class 2A Springfield Regional at Memorial Stadium, top-seeded Springfield High (17-1-1 through Monday) meets No. 8 Taylorville in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. May 20, followed by No. 4 Rochester (10-7-1) against No. 7 Macon Meridian at 6:30. The semifinal winners meet for the regional title at 6 p.m. May 23.
Two more strong local teams will go south to the Jerseyville Regional. No. 2 Chatham Glenwood (11-4-1 through Tuesday) meets No. 6 Jerseyville in a semifinal at 4;30 p.m. May 20, followed by No. 3 Pleasant Plains (19-2 through Sunday) against No. 5 Jacksonville. Those winners meet at 5 p.m. May 23.
The Springfield and Jerseyville regional champs go to the Pleasant Plains Sectional May 27-30.
CLASS 1A GIRLS SOCCER: Just as it was last year, one of the area’s top 1A teams, Sacred Heart-Griffin, heads south while Williamsville and Athens go north.
SHG (9-6 through Monday) is a top sub-sectional seed and plays along with No. 4 Auburn in the Riverton Regional May 17-20. The Riverton Regional champ goes to the Greenville Sectional where other potential regional champs could be Litchfield, Alton Marquette and Quincy Notre Dame.
The Greenville Sectional champion plays in the North Mac Super Sectional against the Belleville Althoff Sectional champ on May 31.
A pair of Sangamo Conference teams, Williamsville and Athens, are both No. 1 sub-sectional seeds in the Monticello Sectional.
The Bullets, last year’s state runners-up, were 18-3 through Tuesday and will host their own 1A regional that includes No. 4 seed Champaign St. Thomas More.
The Warriors, 13-4 through Sunday and regional champs last year, play in the Chillicothe IVC Regional that also includes No. 4 Peoria Christian.
The Monticello Sectional, May 24-27, sends its champion to the Chillicothe Super Sectional on May 31.
Mt. Pulaski to Honor Werth
Dennis Werth, a 1971 Mount Pulaski High School graduate who went on to play major league baseball for the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals, will have his MPHS jersey No. 15 retired in a ceremony scheduled for Saturday at Mount Pulaski.
The ceremony will take place before an MPHS alumni baseball game scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday. MPHS head coach Troy Burgard said it’s the Hilltoppers’ first alumni baseball event, with approximately 25 former Hilltoppers signing up to play.
The players will be divided into two teams for the game, tentatively scheduled for seven innings.
A baseball and basketball standout at Mount Pulaski, Werth went on to Lincoln College and then Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville before he was drafted by the Yankees in 1974. He played in the majors from 1979-82.
Werth previously had his number retired at SIUE, where he also wore No. 15. Other SIUE players whose numbers were retired were Champ Summers (19), Aaron Rakers (35) and Clay Zavada (13).
Werth’s No. 15 will be the first to be retired for Mount Pulaski baseball.
Hoops Comings, Goings
Several longtime area boys basketball coaches have decided to call it quits, although none have closed the coaching door permanently.
First, Dave Farris.
After spending 25 years as a girls head coach, the last 18 at Auburn, Farris has stepped away. Kevin O’Rourke, who was an assistant to AHS boys head coach Seth McCoy, will take over for Farris with the AHS girls.
Before coaching the Auburn girls, Farris spent seven seasons guiding the Sacred Heart-Griffin girls. Prior to that, he spent two years as the boys head coach at Girard.
Second, Matt Millburg.
The longest-tenured boys coach in Raymond Lincolnwood history, Millburg has stepped down in order to spend more time with family. He guided the Lancers for 13 seasons, two more than Larry Edwards (1969-79).
Third, T.J. Wilson.
Wilson spent 12 seasons coaching the Girard boys, followed by the last 15 years with the North Mac boys after Virden and Girard consolidated.
Just this past weekend, Wilson was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He joined his father, Jerry Wilson, who had a Hall of Fame career of his own — mostly coaching girls squads at Astoria, Lewistown and Havana.
Farris and Millburg both indicated they might return to coaching sometime in the future.
And Wilson? He’s going to be back in action next season, having agreed to assist new Pawnee head coach Blake Lucas.
