Crown Point (20) defeats Plymouth (27) 16-3 in 5-innings in American Legion Baseball
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith 7-01-2010

Left-handed pitcher Josh Negele get set to throw against Plymouth. CP's Negele is undefeated so far in the summer season.  (All Photos by Mark Smith)

See more photos at our USA-365 Photo Gallery.

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
PLYMOUTH (27)	0	2	0	1	0	-	-	3	7	1
CROWN POINT (20)	3	5	2	6	-	-	-	16	13	1

Saturday, 7-03-2010  -  89-degrees at Teagle Field at CROWN POINT, IN

WP - Josh Negele (4-0) CG, 5 K, 2 walks
LP - Cody Barner (2-2) 1K, 2 walks (2 inn.)

Plymouth Post 27 (13-5)
(Bremen) Cory Krider (SS) 1-for-3
(Plymouth) Kyle Cartwright (DH) 1-for-3
(LaPorte) Evan Jurjevic (2B) 0-for-3
(LaPorte) Jake McMahan (3B) 1-for-2
(Plymouth) Damon Allen (LF) 2-for-2
(Tippecanoe Valley) Brody Andrews (C) 1-for-1, walk
(Tippecanoe Valley) James Hackworth (CF) 1-for-2, 2 RBIs
(LaPorte) Sean Rogers (1B) 0-for-1, walk
(LaPorte) Ben Irons (2B) 0-for-2

CROWN POINT Post 20 (13-4)
(CP) Brian Holloway (CF) 3-for-3, HR, double 4 RBIs
(CP) Scott Donley (SS) 0-for-3, walk
(CP) Josh Negele (P) 1-for-2, walk
(CP) Jeff Limbaugh (LF-1B) 1-for-2, walk
(North Newton-Triton JC) Mike Schroeder (1B-LF) 3-for-3, HR, 2 doubles, 6 RBIs
(CP) Jose Andrade (C) 2-for-2, RBI
(CP) Beau LaSalle (2B) 0-for-1
(MERRILLVILLE) Xavier Ponce (RF) 1-for-1, 2 walks
(CP) Mike Manion (3B) 2-for-2, HR, double, Sac. Fly, 3 RBIs

CROWN POINT (07-03-2010) This game was supposed to be closer than this.  Plymouth Post 27 is one of the American Legion powers with boys from LaPorte, John Glenn, Bremen and Tippecanoe Valley along with eight players from tradition-rich Plymouth high school.  Post 27 defeated Crown Point Post 20's B-team (17 and under) by a 10-7 score in a contest that began at 12 noon and the CP Post 20 'A team' the stepped up, playing its fifth game in five days.

This should have been be a real test.  It wasn't.

In a game that lasted about 90 minutes, Post 20 scored in every inning and rolled over Plymouth 16-3, a very surprising final score.

Post 20, largely Crown Point high school's 27-win squad (27-5) from this spring, is a very good offensive team and they showed it on the 90-degree day, bouncing seven extra base hits in and beyond spacious Teagle Field.

American Legion regular season baseball is all about motivation and you can choose your reason.

Would Post 20 come out enthusiastic Saturday 1.) Because Plymouth was a good team? 2.) Because Post 20 had played and won four games previously in the week? Or 3.) Because Post 27's roster included four players from the LaPorte high school team that eliminated Crown Point in the state high school baseball tournament back in June?

"Because they have LaPorte players," chose Post 20's Brian Holloway, who had three hits including a two-run homer to left center.  There was a little payback."

CP led 3-2 after an inning and a half but they scored five times against starting right-hander Cody Barrier of Bremen high in the second inning.

Merrillville's Xavier Ponce walked and Mike Manion lined a double to right center.  Holloway reached the left center field fence with a long two-run double.  Scott Donley walked, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Josh Negele's single.  Mike Schroeder then hit a 400-foot home run over the 17-foot tall fence in center field.

"We jumped on them," said Post 20 manager Marty Zurbriggen.  "To be totally honest, we hadn't hit well all summer so far.  We scored 13 runs last night (in a 13-2 win over Highland's "B" team) and I think it gave us some confidence.  A lot of confidence.  Mike Manion had a double and home run.  Mike Schroeder's been hitting the ball well."

Zurbriggen believes the schedule had slowed Post 20's attack, but in a way that might not be obvious.

"We played in the wooden bat tournament (June 24-27 in Cincinnati) and nobody hits the ball in that tournament.  You scored three or four runs.  You hit it hard, but it just doesn't go as far as it does with aluminum bats.  Plus, its been a good week.  We beat Highland twice.  We won all five games.  It was a good week."

Zurbriggen, who managed Post 20's 'B' team the last three years, treats the older boys differently than he did the 17-and-under group.

"They don't need me to say much to them," he said of the 'A' team.  "They know what they need to do.  No matter what you say, they do what they want to do to get ready for the game.  The 'B' team is a different story.  They're young players and they need you to talk.  This team does not."

Mike Schroeder, who was 4-for-4 against Highland during the week, was 3-for-3 Saturday including the longest home run of the day.  Even Mike Manion, who had just two homers (he did bat .310) during the high school season, hit a high-flying two run homer in the third.

Left-handed pitcher Josh Negele, the MVP of the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) during the high school season, had an easy win.  Negele allowed seven hits and two walks, but he picked four batters off first base.  Negele's pick-off move, well known in the DAC, is deadly against boys who have not faced him.  If he could teach that move to young pitchers, his future would be as a pitching coach (he's going to Indiana State this fall) instead of a Division I ballplayer.

"I don't like to teach it to a lot of guys," he said.  "But I'll teach it to Ronnie.  It's just keeping the leg straight.  Their coach was telling them to watch my left shoulder and I don't think that has anything to do with it.  It's a lot of fun this year.  Everybody's clicking right now."

When you watched Post 20 Saturday, you got the impression that this particular senior group of CPHS players, who went 86-14 in the last three high school seasons, would like one more shot at a state tournament, a chance they'll get in two weeks beginning with the four-team Crown Point Sectional.

"Some of the kids have a hard time getting 'up' for teams that aren't very good," noted Zurbriggen.  "They like to play somebody that's pretty good like these guys.  I'm happy with how we're playing. We were a couple of guys short today and the guys we put in played well."

POST NOTES:  Post 27 was supposed to bring their 'B' team for a game with Post 20's B squad.  When the Post 27 juniors could not make it, the A team (19 and under) chose to play two games, winning the opener 10-7 with nine runs in the final two innings.  Kyle Cartwright of Plymouth high had three hits for Post 27 in the first game.  Post 20's Zach DeFreies was 3-for-4 and starting pitcher Stephen Galik drove in three runs.

Post 20 had two injuries at the end of last week.

"Jake (Lindeman) has a sore shoulder so we're going to sit him for a week.  And Beau LaSalle, his elbow is bothering him.  We may use him only as a DH."

Lafayette Post 11 (11-6) comes to Crown Point for a 12 noon double-header Saturday, July 10.  Post 11, which usually includes boys from all five of the Lafayette area high schools, was not at full strength for the first 17 games because Lafayette Catholic high was playing in the state Class 1A tournament until June 19.

Crown Point's Brian Holloway has been going to some of the junior showcases and he's been advertising himself as a jack of all trades.

"They ask what's your favorite position," he said Saturday. "I just say center field with pitching as my second choice."

Holloway has history as a catcher as well.

"Catcher. They won't let me do both.  But (Valpo's Jacob) Suiter was.  He did all three and they saw him catching, too."

Holloway is playing American Legion ball for the first time.

"A lot of kids come up to you and say you could play for the Bulls (an Indy-based traveling team)," he admits. "Probably, but baseball's baseball.  And we've only lost four games.  This is a good team."

Josh Negele will miss this weekend's play because of the North-South high school all-star game.

Plymouth Post 27, which reportedly has a budget of over $40,000 left this week for a wooden bat tournament in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the home of the Little League World Series.  Post 27's general manager Dean Colvin, is a Superior Court judge in Marshall County (Superior Court 2 in Plymouth) and he is reportedly able to mine some highly-paid legal acquaintances for donations to local boys baseball.

Plymouth's Bill Nixon Field, home of the American Legion state finals, is owned by the Plymouth park district and used by the Post 27 all-stars and by Plymouth high school's baseball team for free.

Plymouth's 2009 all-stater Brandon Elliott, a high school and American Legion star, is out for the season with a leg injury.  Post 27 has four players (Jake McMahon, Evan Jurjevic, Sean Rogers and Ben Irons) of LaPorte on the roster.

LaPorte won 2-out-of-3 from Crown Point during the high school season including a 9-5 victory at the Crown Point Sectional.

Post 20 usually does not charge admission for American Legion regular season baseball, but they did Saturday, charging $2 each for adults.  Post 20 has, in there past, charged admission for special regular season events and the double-header with Plymouth could fall into that category.  Post 20 always has charged admission to sectional and regional games.

I'd expect the box office will probably be open Saturday for the home double-header with powerful Lafayette Post 11 as well.

Crown Point Post 20 (13-4)
Manager Marty Zurbriggen - home games at Teagle Field - post number in parenthesis
6-9 (L) 7-10 Highland (180) 6 p.m.
6-10 (cancelled - rain) at Bristol (143)
6-12 (W) 10-3 South Bend (50)
6-12 (W) 3-0 South Bend (50)
6-13 (cancelled) Kenosha, Wisconsin (21)
6-15 (rain) Hammond (168)

West Lafayette Invitational
6-17 (W) 3-0 Decatur (Ill.) Commodores
6-19 (W) 10-3 Indiana Renegades
6-19 (W) 2-1 Indiana Black Sox
6-20 (W) 11-0 (5 inn.) Hoosier Express
6-20 (L) 2-3 Bloomington Normal

Cincy (Ohio) Flames, Wooden Bat Tournament
6-24 (W) 2-1 (Lakewood, Ohio) J&A all-stars
6-25 (L) 2-4 (Nicholasville, KY) Kentucky Baseball Club
6-25 (L) 1-3 (Columbus, Ohio) Team EAS
6-26 (W) 8-5 (Cincinnati) Playground All Stars

6-29 (W) 6-2 at Highland (180)
6-30 (W) 3-2 at Highland (180)
7-1 (W) 12-7 at East Chicago (369)
7-2 (W) 13-2 (5 inn.) Highland 180-B
7-3 (W) 16-3 (5 inn.) Plymouth-27 (13-5)

7-5 (M) at Plymouth Post 27 (13-5)
7-6 (Tu) Norwood, Ill - 8 p.m.
7-7 (W) at Hammond (168) 6 p.m.
7-8 (Th) at Bristol (143) 6 p.m.
7-9 (F) East Chicago (369) 6 p.m. double-header
7-10 (Sat.) Lafayette (11) 12 noon double-header

CROWN POINT (20) Sectional
[double-elimination with Highland (180), Hammond (168) & East Chicago (369)]
7-14 (W) Hammond-168 - 5 p.m.
7-15 (Th) vs Highland Post 180 or East Chicago Post 369
7-16 (F) elimination game
7-17 (Sat) final round - (TBA)
7-18 (Sun) final round - (TBA)

CROWN POINT (20) Regional 4 Sectional Champions at Post 20
7-23 (F) 1st round double-header
7-24 (Sat) 3 games
7-25 (Sun) final round (TBA)

2010 American Legion State Finals
[4 regional champions and host- double-elimination at Plymouth (27)]
7-30 (F) 1st round double-header
7-31 (Sat) 3 games
8-1 (Sun) final round (TBA)

2010 American Legion Midwest Regional
[7 state champs and host - double-elimination at Mattoon, Illinois (88)]
8-5 (Th) 1st round games
8-6 (F) elimination games
8-7 (Sat) elimination games
8-8 (Sun) final round (TBA)
8-9 Mon) final round (if necessary)