Crown Point Post 20 jumps off to 4-0 start 

in 2005 American Legion Baseball

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

6-21-2005

 

AMERICAN LEGION 2005 - WEEK (1) ONE

CROWN POINT Post 20 (4-0) 

Manager: Tony Samano 

JUNE 14 (W) 9-6 Cedar Lake (261) 

JUNE 15 (W) 15-1 at Lowell (101) 

JUNE 16 (W) 8-3 Highland (168) 

JUNE 20 (W) 8-4 at Hammond (168) 'B" 

JUNE 21 (Tu) at Plymouth (27) 7:30 p.m. 

JUNE 22 (W) South Haven (502) 7:30 p.m.   

Terre Haute Invitational 

June 23 (TH) 1st round game 

June 24 (F) 2nd round game 

June 25 (Sat) semifinals 

June 26 (Sun) final round   

JUNE 28 (Tu) at Calumet City (330) 6:30 p.m. 

JUNE 29 (W) Hammond (168) 6:30 p.m. 

JUNE 30 (Th) at South Haven (502) 6 p.m. 

JULY 1 (F) Cedar Lake (261) 6 p.m. 

JULY 2 (Sat) Kokomo (6) 2 games - 1 p.m. 

JULY 3 (Sun) Post 20 A vs. B - double-header - 2 p.m. 

JULY 5 (TU) Lowell (101) 7:30 p.m. 

JULY 7 (TH) at Highland (180) 6 p.m.   

Post 20 INVITATIONAL at Teagle Field (CP) 

JULY 8 (F) TBA 

JULY 9 (Sat) TBA 

JULY 10 (Sun) TBA   

JULY 11 (M) Hammond (168) 'B" 6:30 p.m. 

JULY 12 (TU) at Valparaiso (94) 6 p.m. 

JULY 13 (W) at South Bend (50) 7 p.m. 

JULY 14 (TH) Valparaiso (94) 6 p.m. 

JULY 15 (F) 1st District all-star game (at Teagle Field – CP) 7 p.m. 

JULY 16 (Sat) Anderson (127) - Double-header - 1 p.m. 

JULY 17 (Sun) Muncie (19) 2 games - 12 noon   

CROWN POINT Sectional- Double-elimination -at Teagle Field- CP 

JULY 21 (TH) 1st round - TBA 

JULY 22 (F) 1st round - TBA 

JULY 23 (Sat) 2nd round - TBA 

JULY 24 (Sun) Championship - TBA 

PLYMOUTH Regional - Double elimination - at Bill Nixon Field in Plymouth 

JULY 28 (TH) 1st round 

JULY 29 (TH) 1st round 

JULY 30 (Sat) 2nd round 

JULY 31 (Sun) Championship round   


LOWELL, IN (6-21-2005) - After some years on the wane, American Legion baseball seems to be making somewhat of a competitive comeback this season. Unfortunately for Lowell, that meant four consecutive losses last week to South Haven Post 502, Crown Point Post 20 and Hammond Post 168. 

 

Clayton Miller held the tough Hammond post (largely players from 20-game prep winning squads Munster and Lake Central) to only seven hits but seven walks betrayed him. Lowell high graduate Robert Hayden pitched a strong game against South Haven in a 5-3 loss on June 12, but Portage high ace Robbie Krooswyk struck out 13 Lowell batters. Pitching, which was Lowell's top need during the high school season, will also be the biggest question mark during the summer campaign. But a look around Northwest Indiana shows that, where it used to be just perennial summer power Post 20 that created a hurdle in American Legion baseball, now others have put together good squads. 

 

Hammond Post 168 (6-3) is probably the top team in the region now with Post 20's strength existing on the 'B' team, the 17-and-under squad. Post 168 lost a double-header 5-1 and 7-2 to powerful Kokomo Post 6 Sunday, but they are playing the state's top teams in an effort to be a state contender. LC all-NW Indiana stars Brett Summers, Brandon Peters and Matt Dodaro have teamed with that Munster-based team to create a team with post-season hopes. 

 

Crown Point's Post 20 (4-0) has not met Munster as of yet but they will cause trouble on the bases with speedy boys Jake Pierce and CPHS leadoff man Nick Ullman at the top of the order. Boys who are 17 are eligible to play on either the 'A' (19-and-under) or 'B" (17 and under) teams during the season but they must choose one or the other when the American Legion state tournament begins late next month. 

 

CP manager Tony Samano says he will lead Kankakee Valley star Matt Dobin on the 'B' team when the tournament begins. Dobin batted .500 with eight homers and 40 RBIs for KV this past high school season. 

 

"If we (the 19-and-under team) were really loaded with all kinds of pitching, I'd keep him with me," said Samano. "But the 'B' team has a chance to win state so I'm going to let Larry ("B" team manager Larry Samano) keep that team together." 

 

CP is going without CPHS stars Matt Jansen, Jon Sertich and Matt Ernest, who are key parts of the CPHS football team and and won't be with Post 20 full time. Jansen may pitched selected games but if Post 20 went deep into the state tournament, he would have to leave to take his position as the Bulldog quarterback. One truth about the 'B' teams is that those players usually are not yet significant parts of their high school football teams. With the prep football practice season beginning in the first week of August and games beginning in Mid-August, it's hard to ask senior-to-be football players to travel and play Legion playoff games in early August. 

 

That's part of the argument for American Legion 'A' teams advancing their age limit to 21-and-under, taking the 'A” squads out of the reach of prep sports. 'B” teams could then be 18-and-under creating a much wider pool of players. Post 20, for example, has a half dozen quality players under 21 years old who can't play anymore because of age limits that were created in another era. 

 

Highland has strong players in center fielder Tom Usher and pitcher Jake Galik. Valparaiso Post 94 will have a young team but VHS lefthander Chooch Sizemore and Viking infielder Mark Windsor will help make them formidable. South Haven is stocked with Portage players and pitching brothers Steve and Drew Polak will lead Whiting Post 80, which combines Whiting and Clark high schools. 

 

Outside of Northwest Indiana, two new posts will gain notice. Osceola Post 308 sounds like the dark side of the moon but Osceola is the home community of prep powerhouse Penn high school and Post 308 will become the Kingsmen's summer team. Churubusco Post 157 also sounds out of the way but a look at the map shows Churubusco is less than 15 miles from high school power Carroll high. Post 157 will be a summer team for West Noble, Carroll and Churubusco high. 

 

LEGION NOTES: - Crown Point American Legion Post 20 had to delay the start of the summer baseball season due to the Crown Point high school two-week run in the Indiana state tournament. Vacations and other absences meant that it wasn't until Monday night that the entire team finally hit the field, the fourth game of the American Legion season. It didn't make any difference. Crown Point's 8-4 win over Hammond Post 168's 'B' team (age 17 and under) improved Post 20 to 4-0 on the summer campaign. 

 

"Not bad for a make shift team," manager Tony Samano said earlier. "We're making too many errors." 

 

There were defensive problems in wins 9-6 over Cedar Lake Post 261, 15-1 Lowell Post 101 and 8-3 Highland Post 180, but some positions are a little unsettled. Andrean's Rob Barbauld, came directly from the 3A state title win Saturday and went 2-for-4 in the Monday night victory at Munster high school. CPHS grad Greg Eberhart who was a left fielder much of the high school season but prefers to be a catcher, went 2-for-4 against both Highland and Hammond. 

 

CPHS grad Jimmy Wilson allowed just five hits in a seven inning complete game against Highland but he clearly appears to be the number one option for Samano at all times. Wilson entered the game with a 7-6 lead and got the final eight outs for a save against Cedar Lake. The 6-3 right-hander also came on in relief Monday night with his team leading 6-4 and got the final six outs. Wilson's above-average ability to hold runners on base makes him a natural relief pitcher. Post 20 veteran Jake Pierce had four RBIs against Lowell and lifted his first home run of the summer Monday night at Munster high school, while batting in three runs. 

 

Hammond's 'A' team plays at Crown Point on June 29 at 6:30 p.m. Hammond's 'B' team (6-4) was coming home off a come-from-behind victory in the Terre Haute Invitational over the weekend (June 16-19). Hammond defeated CP's 'B' squad 4-3 Saturday and 6-3 Sunday after the Post 20 17-and-under squad had advanced to the winners bracket of that tournament. Michael Sudburry (2-0) held CP to just five hits in Sunday's title game. 

 

Saturday, Hammond, which is made up largely of players from Munster high school, scored in the bottom of the seventh to snap a 3-3 tie against CP right-hander Tommy Wise (1-1), who had struck out seven. Nick Eggbrecht struck out seven and walked none in the Hammond win. 

 

Earlier in the tournament, CP defeated Evansville 9-8. Saroff struck out 10 in that game which CP won when Wise smacked a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh. CP also defeated Attica 11-4 as Matt Dobin and Tommy Parks both collected three hits. Dobin, an all-area player for KV who played in the CP Babe Ruth League, pitched a complete game four hitter and struck out six. CP (4-2) also beat Terre Haute 8-7 as Saroff and Wise combined for five hits. Bristol (5-1) opened the year with wins over Lafayette Post 11 on June 12 by a 10-inning count of 4-3. Bristol turned five double plays in a nine-inning 8-7 win at Plymouth Post 27 on June 14.

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Revised: June 21, 2005.