2008 - Week-6, Top-10

High School Baseball Teams in

Northwest Indiana

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

5-25-2008

MERRILLVILLE (5-25-2008) - With the state tournament set-up clear, it's also clear there may be several upset winners in the upcoming sectional tournaments. The infamous IHSAA blind draw is truly as blind as NBA officials in the final 5 minutes of a playoff game. Crown Point (24-5-2) and LaPorte (21-8) will go head to head in a 4A Sectional 2 quarterfinal on the same day that Lake Central (20-7-2) battles Munster (17-9) in a 4A Sectional one quarterfinal. Clearly those are four of the Top-10 in NW Indiana this season so that Top-10 will become a Top-8 in about 2-1/2 hours.

In fact, although it's hard to see how Clark can lose, there is a remote chance that ALL of the teams I'm about to list can be eliminated at the sectional level. This is the final year for the universally unpopular mid-week regional which forces tired pitchers who just won the sectional (and may have played-back-to-back days to win it) to get back out there 72 hours later in the regional. To play sectional finals on Friday and Saturdays (many in parks without lights) in the spring and then bring the winner back Tuesday (many times in parks without lights) after school the next Tuesday is an idea that must've been approved after several drinks.

I do not understand how coaches who are concerned with athletics or educators who are concerned with academics can schedule state tournament sports events on school nights. You basically lose the day of the events and the next day from an academic standpoint and you can't prepare yourself mentally and physically for a playoff match up when you had to get up at 6:15 a.m. and sit in a classroom. It was a 'lose-lose' proposition.

In 2009, the IHSAA goes to four team tournaments at the sectional, regional and semistate levels, a huge improvement over what we have now. But, at this point, most sectional title games will be held on Friday, to give the pitchers on winning teams three full days rest before the Tuesday afternoon regional.

One thing to keep in mind about the sectional that features Chesterton, LaPorte and Crown Point: The eventual winner will play on the road the next Tuesday night, a huge disadvantage. One of the reasons that fewer Northwest Indiana baseball teams reach the state finals than girls softball teams is simple: There is no midweek regional and no semistate level in softball.

Everybody is awesome in their own mind, but big schools have to go 6-0 to reach the state title game and they have to win four times in nine days. That's an awesome task.

1. (3A) ANDREAN (26-1)
25-10 (2007), 25-8 (2006), 33-2 (2005), 26-8 (2004), 27-7 (2003)

MERRILLVILLE: No one has been able to shut down Andrean since a March loss at 4A No. 1 Penn (25-3). When the Niners nipped Crown Point 2-1 on May 22, it was their 24th win in a row. Adam Norton (6-1) pitched a complete game against the 4A No. 5 Bulldogs. Tony Hoolehan (7-0) pitched a 9-1 victory over Merrillville. The Niners won four games in the final week, 3-0 over Chesterton, 9-1 over Merrillville, 2-1 over Crown Point and 6-5 over South Bend Clay. Obviously the Niners are getting very good pitching and the one-run wins in the last week over good teams have to help them. They have to be aware of Griffith (17-11) in the 3A Sectional at Griffith, but the 59ers are clearly one of the state's favorites and I don't think there's a lot of dissenting opinion on who's number one in NW Indiana. But, note to Andrean followers: From what I read, West Lafayette (22-6) thinks they're going to the state finals, too.

2. (4A) CROWN POINT (24-5-2)
29-3 (2007), 22-9 (2006), 21-12 (2005), 17-11 (2004), 23-10-1 (2003)

CROWN POINT: Crown Point came down the stretch beating Lowell 10-0, Griffith 15-5 and Elkhart Memorial 3-2 around a 2-1 loss at 3A No. 1 Andrean. Outside of Blake Mascarello (6-0) and Mike Hernandez (5-1), the pitching has hit on hard times as the scores would indicate. But a surprisingly bad infield defense was the hidden culprit in losses to Lake Central and Michigan City and that is surprising. CP's schedule is super-tough, but it was last year, too, and they were 29-3. You can't whine too much about 24-5-2, but they have set the bar very high, winning sectional and regional titles last year. But CP got in 31 games (32 if you count a four-inning rainout against Merrillville) and that's all the law allows. This is a semi-state team of they win the opener against LaPorte (21-8). But the Slicers are probably saying the same thing.

3. (4A) LaPorte (21-8)
22-9 (2007), 25-6 (2006), 30-5 (2005), 25-7 (2004), 22-10 (2003)

LaPORTE: The Slicers won their final six league games to tie Crown Point for the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) title and they surely welcome a first round pairing with CP (24-5-2) Monday (May 26) at the LaPorte Sectional. Lost in the shuffle was LaPorte reaching the 20-win mark for the 42nd year in a row, the greatest record in Indiana high school team sports. Pitcher Ian Nielsen (8-2) is also LaPorte's HR leader (12 HRs; he has 24 in a 3-year career) and he'll lead the Memorial Day charge in a winner-take-all early showdown. Center fielder and leadoff man Kyle Rosenbaum seems to have found new life at the plate and the offense has been productive lately. The Slicers also had a wild weekend, leaving 13 runners on base in an 11-4 loss to Goshen and beating the Redskins 19-10 in a windswept double-header as a new boy, soph Evan Jurjevic went 4-for-5. LaPorte's weakness is that they don't want to go past Nielsen and Neal Hackett (6-2) on the mound. Coaches' son Kevin Upp appears to be a coming star full of potential, but you don't want to put potential on the mound in a playoff game. LaPorte has split extra inning games with CP this year, but they have to win three sectional games in four days, and as last weekend's scores indicate, they can't go deep into the bullpen.

4. (2A) BOONE GROVE (22-3-1)
25-6-1 (2007), 26-4 (2006), 24-7 (2005), 17-12 (2004), 21-7 (2003)

PORTER TOWNSHIP: Boone came from five runs behind to beat Hanover Central and regain the Porter County Conference (PCC) championship. Down 5-0, the Wolves scored six unanswered runs. Boone has lost only to Portage, Merrillville and Crown Point. Sophomore lefty Wayland Roach (9-0) pitched a one-hitter against LaCrosse as the Wolves finished 7-0 in league play as well. Blake Klisurich (6-1) won against HC. Kyle Ferber (6-2) won in the semifinals against Washington Township. The Wolves tied Munster 5-5 in a May 13 game that was postponed by rain. Boone just runs teams off the field and there is nothing that indicates this team is not a solid favorite in the 2A Culver Sectional next week.

5. (4A) LAKE CENTRAL (19-8-2)
16-12 (2007), 19-10 (2006), 28-3 (2005), 24-7 (2004), 23-6-1 (2003)

ST. JOHN: Lake Central upset Crown Point 6-5 with a five-run rally, but the pitching went south here as well in losses 7-5 to Snider and 17-16 to DeKalb in a Saturday road trip. Junior Ryan Boss leads Northwest Indiana with 13 home runs, but LC can't put out the fire in the bullpen, although they are getting good innings from a JV righty Max Majcharzak (6-1). Nobody around here hits better than LC and they've got a very experienced team. But they need a hero on the mound in the sectional opener against Munster next Monday (May 26) and right now, I don't know who it is. Eric Summers (6-2) figures to be the first choice. LC lost an 11-10 game to Kokomo, which fits the pattern: High scoring. Low pitching. The Indians finished the year with a 5-4 nine-inning with over 1A South Central in a game where submarine relief pitcher Roger Sammon pitched three shutout innings at the end. If LC beats Munster, though, their outlook brightens like a sunny day. They are clearly superior to every other team in Sectional One and they'd host the regional on Tuesday, June 3.

6. (4A) Chesterton (16-9)
20-6 (2007), 15-13 (2006), 14-13 (2005), 18-9 (2004)

CHESTERTON: LaPorte shut down Chesterton 9-4 to tie for the DAC title, but the good news for the Trojans is that they are in the opposite half of the LaPorte Sectional bracket from CP (24-5-2) and LaPorte (21-8). The Trojans lost 3-0 to 3A No. 1 Andrean (26-1), but they beat Munster 5-4 and stopped Gavit 3-0 in the final week of the season. Three different pitchers combined on a one-hit shutout of the Gladiators (9-16) in the season finale. This team is in perfect position to pull an upset in 4A Sectional 2 because LaPorte or CP must leave the competition on opening day.

7. (3A) Griffith (17-12)
23-10 (2007), 23-8 (2006), 19-15 (2005), 19-14 (2004), 17-12 (2003)

GRIFFITH: The Panthers came down the stretch fairly well even though they lost twice in the final week. The losses were 15-5 to Crown Point (24-5-2) and 3-2 at LaPorte (21-8). The fact that the Panthers are playing teams like that at night on the road in the final week means they're serious about taking out Andrean (26-1) at the 3A Griffith Sectional next week. Tim Cooper pitched a complete game at LaPorte and he'll certainly get the call if it's Andrean vs. Griffith in the Sectional 17 title game. But Kyle Terpstra (2-4) shut out East Chicago 10-0 and he'll be needed in the semifinal against Calumet. Andrean will take Griffith very seriously after a 2-1 Niners' win over the Panthers in May. But the Niners need somebody to push Andrean in the quarterfinals and semifinals to burn up some of that good Andrean pitching.

8. (3A) Clark (17-9)
20-10 (2007), 25-6 (2006), 22-7 (2005), 24-5 (2004), 21-8 (2003)

HAMMOND: Trent Howard shut out LaPorte 2-0 for the Pioneers' biggest win of the year. I'm not sure Clark has won at LaPorte before, but that had to be a confidence builder for a team that was already a sectional favorite. I'm going to over look a 6-4 loss to 1A Westville (13-13) as a slight mental day off as I have confidence that the Pioneers are better than Westville. Clearly what you DON'T want to be is the first team to face Clark and Howard, a power pitcher. You want to be the second team. I would think Clark would line up Howard against Gavit, the only team in the six-team Gavit Sectional that can beat them. The format works against teams with one pitching star, but Clark's going to the regional, and with Howard pitching, they have a chance to win there, too.

9. (4A) Munster (15-10-1)
22-7 (2007), 23-11 (2006), 19-14 (2005), 23-6 (2004), 20-10 (2003)

MUNSTER: There's no way to say this has been a good year for Munster, even though they've stayed above .500. Did this team really lose 24-7 against Bellmont on May 12? I guess they did. But they also tied Bone Grove 5-5 before rain put that one in the books. The Mustangs certainly spent the last week lining up their pitchers, probably so Blake Platt can go against Lake Central. The Mustangs lost 5-4 at Chesterton in the final days, but this was similar to Griffith where you play larger schools late in the year to prepare you for the post-season. I believe the Mustangs closed with a victory over Merrillville, although a lot of final week games don't get reported. Munster has to win three games in five days to get through the sectional and the pitching would suggest they can't do it. But don't write them off. If they can win four home games, the Mustangs do not have to leave their home field until the semistate.

10. (2A) HANOVER CENTRAL (19-8)
14-13 (2007), 13-15 (2006), 15-11 (2005), 18-10 (2004), 17-11 (2003), 9-19-1 (2002)

CEDAR LAKE: I don't know if they ever got the big breakthrough win, but all the other wins plus competitive losses have the Wildcats in the Top-10. HC has lost to Highland, Crown Point, Lake Central, Andrean, Griffith, Beecher, Illinois; and Boone Grove twice, the final one a 6-5 loss in the PCC championship game. In that game, HC led 5-0 before giving up six unanswered runs. Dale Sjoerdsma, Jordan Rizo, Jesse Hernandez, lefty Mark Furman and Andy Wellwerts completed a solid staff that could get the Wildcats through the regional. HC got a first round bye and Lake Station in the semifinals. They should be playing Bishop Noll for HC's first Sectional title on May 30. The total of 19 wins is most ever in HC history, but there is a feeling here that they are unsatisfied with the season so far. This is an 'alternative lifestyle' offensive team that uses bunts, steals and speed instead of extra base hits and that should do well for them in the post-season.