Heelan, MOC-Floyd Valley clash with state berth on the line
By Barry Poe Journal sports writer | Posted: Wednesday, July 18, 2007
If tonight's Class 3A substate final between Bishop Heelan and MOC-Floyd Valley is anything like the last time the two teams met, fans at Lewis and Clark Park are in for a dandy.
Of course, there's a little more at stake this time around.
The winner of tonight's 7 o'clock game at the home of the American Association Sioux City Explorers between sixth-ranked Heelan (26-14) and unranked MOC-Floyd Valley (28-6) earns a berth in the state tournament.
Just over a year ago, Heelan edged the Dutch 5-4 in 10 innings in a district opener at Lewis and Clark Park.
"(Coach) Mark Gunderson has done a great job and they have a great tradition up there," said Heelan Coach Brian Atchison. "They are 28-6 and we had an epic battle last year. We want to take that and learn from it and try to get back to the state tournament."
Heelan, which won Class 3A state titles in 2001 and 2005, is gunning for its 13th trip to the state tournament. MOC-Floyd Valley has appeared only once, losing in the opening round in 2002.
"It takes six games to win the state tournament and I think we've played clean baseball the first two," said Atchison. "It doesn't take superstars, but 10, 11 or 12 kids coming together.
"Three things have to happen to win. You have to play solid defense, have timely hitting and your pitchers have to be able to throw strikes effectively."
Atchison's Crusaders beat Le Mars 9-3 in a first-round district game before pulling away late for a 6-1 win over Sergeant Bluff-Luton in a final on Monday. MOC-Floyd Valley breezed past Spirit Lake 15-2 in five innings and downed Spencer 11-7 in a district final.
Heelan has the luxury of sending its ace, Jeff Kerian, to the mound tonight with ample rest. Kerian, 7-0 with a 3.20 ERA, has a 16-0 pitching record over the past two seasons.
"We like the fact that we have our No. 1 guy with a full four days rest and ready to go," said Atchison. "It's a real complement to Dylan Shoemaker for his start on Monday to protect Jeff's arm for tonight."
Shoemaker went the distance, scattering six hits in the victory over Sergeant Bluff-Luton.
Conversely, MOC-Floyd Valley used its No. 1 pitcher Drew Nonnemacher, in Monday's triumph at Spencer. The Dutch played errorless baseball behind Nonnemacher, who spaced 10 hits and didn't walk a batter in a complete-game effort.
MOC-Floyd Valley scored four runs in the third and five in the fourth, pulling away from the Tigers early.
Freshman catcher Davis Bloemendaal was 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Corey Van Gorp was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and Luke Hoogeveen added two hits and knocked in three.
MOC-Floyd Valley won the Siouxland Conference regular season title with a 15-1 record.
Kerian is also Heelan's leadoff hitter, checking in with a .396 average. Junior left fielder Shay Hacker, the No. 2 hitter, had three hits and drove in two runs against Sergeant Bluff-Luton.
Senior shortstop Brock Martin leads the Crusaders with a .420 average, just in front of senior right fielder Mike Bisenius, who's hitting .419. Bisenius leads the team in doubles (15), triples (three) and home runs (four) while senior first baseman Alex Hicklin (.392) has driven in a team-high 52 runs.
The rest of the Heelan starting lineup has senior Kasey Neumann (.313) at third base, sophomore Evan Knowlton (.336) at catcher, sophomore Chaz Kennedy (.318) at designated hitter and junior Joe Greer (.288) in center field.
Neumann, by the way, scored the game-winning run in Heelan's dramatic win over MOC-Floyd Valley last year.
The Class 3A portion of the state tournament begins on Tuesday at Principal Park in Des Moines.
Of course, there's a little more at stake this time around.
The winner of tonight's 7 o'clock game at the home of the American Association Sioux City Explorers between sixth-ranked Heelan (26-14) and unranked MOC-Floyd Valley (28-6) earns a berth in the state tournament.
Just over a year ago, Heelan edged the Dutch 5-4 in 10 innings in a district opener at Lewis and Clark Park.
"(Coach) Mark Gunderson has done a great job and they have a great tradition up there," said Heelan Coach Brian Atchison. "They are 28-6 and we had an epic battle last year. We want to take that and learn from it and try to get back to the state tournament."
Heelan, which won Class 3A state titles in 2001 and 2005, is gunning for its 13th trip to the state tournament. MOC-Floyd Valley has appeared only once, losing in the opening round in 2002.
"It takes six games to win the state tournament and I think we've played clean baseball the first two," said Atchison. "It doesn't take superstars, but 10, 11 or 12 kids coming together.
"Three things have to happen to win. You have to play solid defense, have timely hitting and your pitchers have to be able to throw strikes effectively."
Atchison's Crusaders beat Le Mars 9-3 in a first-round district game before pulling away late for a 6-1 win over Sergeant Bluff-Luton in a final on Monday. MOC-Floyd Valley breezed past Spirit Lake 15-2 in five innings and downed Spencer 11-7 in a district final.
Heelan has the luxury of sending its ace, Jeff Kerian, to the mound tonight with ample rest. Kerian, 7-0 with a 3.20 ERA, has a 16-0 pitching record over the past two seasons.
"We like the fact that we have our No. 1 guy with a full four days rest and ready to go," said Atchison. "It's a real complement to Dylan Shoemaker for his start on Monday to protect Jeff's arm for tonight."
Shoemaker went the distance, scattering six hits in the victory over Sergeant Bluff-Luton.
Conversely, MOC-Floyd Valley used its No. 1 pitcher Drew Nonnemacher, in Monday's triumph at Spencer. The Dutch played errorless baseball behind Nonnemacher, who spaced 10 hits and didn't walk a batter in a complete-game effort.
MOC-Floyd Valley scored four runs in the third and five in the fourth, pulling away from the Tigers early.
Freshman catcher Davis Bloemendaal was 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Corey Van Gorp was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and Luke Hoogeveen added two hits and knocked in three.
MOC-Floyd Valley won the Siouxland Conference regular season title with a 15-1 record.
Kerian is also Heelan's leadoff hitter, checking in with a .396 average. Junior left fielder Shay Hacker, the No. 2 hitter, had three hits and drove in two runs against Sergeant Bluff-Luton.
Senior shortstop Brock Martin leads the Crusaders with a .420 average, just in front of senior right fielder Mike Bisenius, who's hitting .419. Bisenius leads the team in doubles (15), triples (three) and home runs (four) while senior first baseman Alex Hicklin (.392) has driven in a team-high 52 runs.
The rest of the Heelan starting lineup has senior Kasey Neumann (.313) at third base, sophomore Evan Knowlton (.336) at catcher, sophomore Chaz Kennedy (.318) at designated hitter and junior Joe Greer (.288) in center field.
Neumann, by the way, scored the game-winning run in Heelan's dramatic win over MOC-Floyd Valley last year.
The Class 3A portion of the state tournament begins on Tuesday at Principal Park in Des Moines.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
