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Poll results: Gibault junior again selected BND Player of the Week in southwestern IL

Garen Vartanian, Ahmad Lathan
·4 min read
Chris Johns/For the News-Democrat

For the second-straight week and third time this spring, Brady Biffar of Gibault Catholic High School is the winner of the Belleville News-Democrat Player of the Week high school poll, as selected by readers of bnd.com.

During the IHSA Class 1A postseason, Biffar, a junior pitcher, went 4-0 in helping lead the Hawks to the state championship. His most recent and final performance of the season was a complete-game, 4-hit shutout in an 8-0 win against Henry-Senachwine in the title game Saturday, June 3, at Dozer Park in Peoria. He also tripled and scored a run in the game.

Biffar — who secured 58% of the votes — finished the season at 5-4 with a 2.96 earned run average while striking out 78 batters in 71 innings pitched for Gibault, which went 24-14 this spring. He also posted 23 RBI in 2023.

Here were the other candidates for the week of May 29-June 5:

  • Hudson Blank, Gibault Catholic High School, junior, C/OF/INF. Blank went 2-for-4 with a homer, 2 RBI and 1 run scored in a 7-6 win against Goreville in the IHSA Class 1A state semifinals and blasted another homer and drove in 2 more tallies while also scoring 2 runs in the 8-0 victory against Henry-Senachwine in the championship game. Gibault finished 24-14.

  • Sophia Donoho, Highland High School, junior, P. Donoho posted 7 strikeouts and only allowed 3 earned runs in a 5-0 loss against Charleston in the IHSA Class 3A sectional semifinals as the Bulldogs finished their season at 23-8-1.

  • Olivia Hemmerle, Belleville East High School, sophomore, P. Hemmerle allowed just 1 earned run in 6 innings of a 4-1 loss to Edwardsville in the IHSA Class 4A sectional semifinals. The Lancers finished the season at 27-8-1.

  • Jack Keevan, Gibault Catholic High School, junior, SS/P. Keevan went 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored and an RBI in a 7-6 win against Goreville in the IHSA Class 1A state semifinals and then went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI in an 8-0 win against Henry-Senachwine in the championship game. Gibault finished 24-14.

  • Mia Miller, Waterloo High School, junior, P. Miller threw a 10-inning, 2-hit shutout while fanning 19 batters in a 7-0 win against Carbondale in the IHSA Class 3A sectional semifinals. Miller then threw all 6 innings of an 11-5 loss to Charleston in the sectional title game, only allowing 2 earned runs as the Bulldogs finished the season at 19-13.

  • Austin Musso, Mascoutah High School, sophomore, P. Musso scattered 6 hits while striking out 8 batters in six innings, leading the Indians to a 5-1 victory against Waterloo in an IHSA Class 3A regional championship game. The Indians ultimately finished the season at 30-7-1 after losing in the sectional semifinals.

  • Dom Voegele, Columbia High School, senior, P/SS. Voegele fired a complete-game shutout in a 9-0 win against Chicago DePaul College Prep High School in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 2A state tournament. The Eagles ultimately lost in the championship game to finished the season at 34-5.

  • Jada Voelker, Waterloo High School, senior, INF/P. Voelker went 2-for-5 with a home run, 4 RBI and 1 run scored in a 10-inning, 7-0 win against Carbondale in the IHSA Class 3A sectional semifinals.

The poll ended at 8 a.m. Friday.

To be clear, this poll is not scientific. In fact, we invite you to vote as many times as you want. It’s all for fun, BND readers.

The next polls will appear on the BND’s website — www.bnd.com — at 5 a.m. Tuesday and will be a vote for the Softball Player of the Year and the Baseball Player of the Year. Please email nominations to gvartanian@bnd.com by noon Monday.

Previous softball winners: Aubrey Weaver of Belleville West High School; Olivia Anderson of Belleville West High School; Brooke Goetter of Lebanon High School; Malia Robertson of O’Fallon High School; Samantha Roulanaitis of Freeburg High School; Olivia Hemmerle of Belleville East High School; Lilly Heck of Waterloo High School; and Grace Oertle of Edwardsville High School.

Previous baseball winners: Joe Mendiola of Belleville East High School; Connor Blue of O’Fallon High School; Brady Biffar of Gibault Catholic High School; Dylan Mannino of Belleville East High School; Caeleb Copeland of Edwardsville High School; Dawson Vernier of Belleville East High School; Daniel Darin of Gibault Catholic High School; and Biffar.