Does confident Cary-Grove have right stuff?

Watching from the grandstand through the years, Cary-Grove coach Don Sutherland has seen what it takes to win state titles.

"I've gone down to the state tournament just about every year," said the skipper of the Trojans for 22 seasons. "You always watch to see what a team has that your team didn't."

After a pause Sutherland said, "All the teams I've seen downstate over the years have the characteristics of our team."

Pitching, defense, hitting and speed. Cary-Grove (31-8-1) possesses each trait vital to a champion, talents the Trojans hope to demonstrate against perennial state power New Trier (30-7) in a Class 4A state semifinal at Silver Cross Field in Joliet today at 7 p.m.

The winner will play for the state championship on Saturday at 7 p.m. against the winner of today's 4 p.m. semifinal between O'Fallon (31-9) and St. Rita (34-6).

The losing teams will play for third place on Saturday at 4 p.m.

"The way we're playing right now, we've just got everything working for us," junior left fielder and leadoff hitter Eric Chandler said after the Trojans eliminated Batavia with a 10-1 victory in Monday's Rockford supersectional.

Sutherland said one word sums up his team's approach to its first appearance in the state tournament: "confident."

And why shouldn't the Trojans be brimming with it? They outscored their five playoff opponents 40-11, including decisive wins over 30-game winners Batavia and Huntley (6-0) and 29-game winner and defending Class 4A state champion Prairie Ridge (11-5).

Cary-Grove is skilled in every department.

• Pitching: Sutherland said right-hander Corey Bruns (9-3) will get the start against New Trier. Bruns has won 7 of his last 8 decisions and tossed complete games in the playoffs against Grant and Huntley. The Army-bound senior takes the mound on eight days rest. Bruns has struck out 70 and walked 45, but the 4 walks he issued to Huntley never scored.

"In the Huntley game he walks a guy and bears down instead of letting it worry him," Sutherland said. "For a boy going to West Point that's a good trait to have. He has improved in all the facets of a pitcher's game as the season has gone by."

Senior Matt Nelsen (11-0) will pitch Saturday. Nelsen held Batavia scoreless until the seventh inning and threw 62/3 solid innings against Prairie Ridge. If either starter stumbles, the Trojans can call on junior Stuart Gaulke (7-1, 2.65 ERA). He tossed a complete-game 3 hitter against Larkin in the DeKalb sectional title game.

• Hitting: Cary-Grove's offense is relentless. The Trojans hit .359 as a team, led by the four batters at the top of the order: Chandler (.422, 7 2B), catcher Luke Mottashed (.430, 11 2B, 6 HR), shortstop Chris Waylock (.451, 5 2B, 8 HR, 44 RBI) and Nelsen (.348, 11 2B, 4 HR, 37 RBI). They have outscored their opponents 347-152 and outhit them 398-274.

• Fielding: The Trojans have committed 67 errors compared to 107 for the opposition. They find their cutoff men, throw behind runners and Mottashed has thrown out half of the baserunners who attempted to steal. Waylock has a cannon at shortstop to go with great range. Center fielder Kendall Konrath made two running catches at the warning track against Larkin, speed that will come in handy in the more spacious outfield at Silver Cross.

• Baserunning: Sutherland likes to put runners in motion. Entering sectional play Cary-Grove had stolen 92 bases in 115 attempts. Waylock is an intuitive baserunner who regularly takes extra bases on missed cuts, which is partly why he leads the area with 55 runs scored. He also has 28 stolen bases.

The Trojans will face the Trevians, a team that has won 30 games for the eighth time in nine seasons. Led by coach Mike Napoleon since 1997, New Trier won a Class AA state title in 2000 and took second in 1999 and 2007.

New Trier's top pitchers are senior right-hander Bob Cook (11-2, 1.54 ERA, 82 IP) and junior lefty Ryder Borre (8-1, 2.93, 55 IP). Cook is the team's right-handed ace and throws mostly fastballs and sliders. Borre is a left-hander with 49 strikeouts. He could be tough on the top of the Cary-Grove lineup, which has three left-handed hitters in the first four spots.

The Trevians are led at the plate by Cook (.413, 5 2B, 7 HR, 35 RBI), sophomore center fielder Charlie Tilson (.409, 6 2B, 23 RBI), senior shortstop Tim Duxbury (.359, 10 2B, 7 HR, 34 RBI), senior first baseman Jake Carrow (.351, 8 2B, 6 HR, 30 RBI), senior leadoff hitter Jonathan Hall (.358, 5 3B, 4 HR, 38 RBI) and senior catcher Lowell Hall (.336, 8 2B, 6 HR, 36 RBI).

Sutherland watched the Trevians take down Barrington 14-4 in Game 2 of the supersectional doubleheader at Rockford on Monday.

"They looked a lot like us," he said. "They looked fast and athletic defensively, so they reminded me a lot of our team. They sure looked sharp that day. I know Mike Napoleon. He's had some very good teams, and it looks like he has another.

"This tournament has some pretty good players and we think we can play right along with them. We're confident and looking forward to it."