Scouting the Class 1A Westminster Christian sectional

Class 1A Westminster Christian sectional

Matchups: Fulton (8-15) vs. Lena-Winslow (28-9) today at 4:30 p.m.; Lanark-Eastland (21-5) vs. Westminster Christian (25-10) Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Outlook: Westminster Christian won its own regional by defeating South Beloit (10-0) and North Shore Country Day (4-3). The Warriors seek their first sectional title since 2007 behind the 1-2 punch of sophomore pitchers Kevin Elder and Ryan Perez. Elder is 8-4 with an ERA of 1.63. In 661/3 innings, the area strikeout king has fanned 109 and walked 26. After missing most of April with a pulled back muscle, Perez has gone 7-0 with an area-best ERA of 0.97. He has struck out 55 and walked 12 in 37 innings. "Kevin and Ryan are top-notch pitchers. If they throw strikes and hit spots, they're going to be tough," Westminster coach Jeff Moeller said. "We have to play defense behind them. That's something we harp on. If we play error-free, we'll put the pressure on (Eastland). If we kick the ball around, we'll be putting pressure on ourselves." Westminster's offense is led by senior Brandon Weingartner (.521), junior Frank Oliver (.490) and senior Joe McGannon (.432), whose 7 home runs and 44 RBI are team highs. Eastland finished fourth in the state last season and returns four full-time position players. The Cougars seek their third sectional championship and second straight. Sophomore Tyler Giedd threw a complete game to beat Dakota 10-3 in the Eastland regional final. Like Westminster, Lena-Winslow won its own regional as the top seed. The Panthers have gone 27-4 since opening the season 1-5. Fulton is a surprise; The Steamers won the Ashton regional as a No. 5 seed.

Advancement: The winner of the Westminster Christian sectional advances to face the winner of the Garnder-South Wlimington sectional in the Benedictine University supersectional on Monday, May 31 at 1 p.m.