Northwest Indiana Top-10

Week-8, 2005 High School Rankings

5-19-2005

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

MERRILLVILLE (5-19-2005) The records matter less and less as everyone's path to the state finals can now be visualized. By now, you know the exact dates and times you will be playing (0r watching) as the state tournament rolls on.

This isn't like baseball where you set up your pitching, so what you do the last week of the season doesn't matter. Lowell won four games the final week of the year in 2004 and it didn't help them get past eventual 4A state champion Lake Central in the sectional.

2A Hanover Central lost to 1A Whiting 1-0 on the final day of the season and won seven in a row to take the state title. Short of an injury, nothing that occurs in the final week of the season matters.

Incidentally, there has been a lot of talk in NW Indiana about someone like Hanover Central's Amanda Wendlinger or Lake Central's Katie Mitchell being voted the state player of the year.

That will not happen and it is virtually irrelevant what those two defending state championship players do the rest of the year. Why?

Noblesville star Ashley Hobbs (19-2, 0.10 ERA, 254 strikeouts in 142 innings) is also batting .508 (36-of-61) with 2 HRs and 27 RBIs, playing in the state's toughest 4A league. Hobbs was 23-4 with an 0.22 ERA, 19 shutouts and 305 strikeouts last year. There's nobody even close to her statistically but if that isn't enough New Palestine senior Katie Armour (14-4, 1.10 ERA) is batting .521 (38 of 73) with 7 triples and 30 RBIs for the defending state 3A champions.

The choice will be Hobbs unless the election judges are shipped in from Florida.

1.) 3A Andrean (28-2)

29-5 (2004), 27-2 (2003), 30-3 (2002), 26-7 (2001), 28-3 (2000)

MERRILLVILLE – Andrean shipped out Griffith 9-0, shaped up Hobart 3-1 and smoked down Benton Central 8-0 as right-hander Lori Knopf (18-0) stayed undefeated on the year with 14 shutouts. No team has scored more than two runs off Andrean all season. You only need two pitchers and Knopf plus junior Katie Ivancich (10-2) are both three-year starters. Unless Andrean added a game, the Wednesday May 18 game with Benton Central was the season finale.

I don't know if they were able to (there are IHSAA limits) but it would benefit the 59ers greatly to schedule a game Friday or Saturday to prep them for the playoffs. The four-team Andrean sectional path is so soft that the 59ers will go almost three weeks without a competitive game.

I'm not sure that Andrean's sectional semifinal foe Wirt even has a varsity softball team. Kankakee Valley (14-12) will lose to Andrean in the sectional title game and will be glad to get the opportunity.

Again, there's very little difference between the top four teams in NW Indiana but LC and Andrean have had the best years and Andrean has played 12 ranked teams in two different states.

But let's shake it on down. The Andrean Sectional winner faces the St. Joseph's Sectional winner, possibly New Prairie (20-4) or St. Joseph's but PROBABLY Culver Academy, with state home run champion Alexis Clay and three-time 20-game winner Jackie Lawrence (20-2) in the Twin Lakes Regional semifinals on June 4.

The winner will almost certainly face right-hander Brittney Stanley (12-3) and defending regional champion West Lafayette (19-5) later the same day. Coming off an eight-day layoff and without a tough game for three weeks, it's no better than 50-50 that Andrean can survive that day.

2.) 4A Lake Central (26-0-1)

29-3 (2004), 32-3-1 (2003), 28-1 (2002), 32-4 (2001), 23-6 (2000)

ST. JOHN – The Indians smoked out Boone Grove 6-1 and Homewood-Flossmoor 6-0 in the final week, but H-F (9-21) and Boone (9-17) are not strong. LC then embarrassed Lowell 10-1

It's worth repeating that this is also the 18^th consecutive year that LC has won 20 games, which I believe is the longest streak in the state. In this decade, Lake Central is 170-20-3, the top record in NW Indiana.

Katie Mitchell was 2-for-3 with 4 RBIs in last Friday's 16-0 win over Crown Point and junior Katie Golden (8-0) allowed just four hits in Saturday's 9-0 win over Harrison.

With LC getting a quarterfinal bye in the six-team Class 4A Highland Sectional, there's still time if LC and Andrean really wanted to know who's best, to play a nonconference game. Phone lines are open. I believe they both have the number. Could be they are over the limit on games. Maybe next year.

LC got a good, but not great draw. They must play Highland (20-8) at Highland in the semifinals on May 24 and then they will see the survivor between Lowell (19-7) and Munster (20-2-1) in the sectional finals.

The Highland Sectional winner travels to the Elkhart Regional and faces the winner from Elkhart Memorial which will probably be Penn (20-8). The winner will probably play 6-foot-1 pitcher Katie Boocher and South Bend Washington (17-3). The Elkhart Regional winner cannot see No. 2 Brownsburg and superstar right-handed pitcher Ashley Hobbs (six no-hitters and two perfect games) until the state final game.

Lake Central is in very good shape.

3.) 4A Munster (20-2-1)

25-3-1 (2004), 22-7 (2003), 15-12 (2002), 23-10 (2001), 22-8 (2000)

MUNSTER – Munster has roared down the stretch with six wins in a row including an 8-1 win over Merrillville Tuesday (5-16-2005). Jackie Yerga (6-0, 0.00 ERA) allowed just two hits to the Pirates. Munster beat Lowell 3-1 last week as senior Lori Andjelich (14-2, 0.38 ERA) allowed just six hits. The Mustangs only played twice in the Munster Invitational according to reports so it appears they will finish with just 26 games played, barring some late scheduling. Munster vs. Chesterton (21-2-1) is a feature of the final week of play and a possible regional championship game preview.

I thought the win over Lowell was critical going into sectional play. The Lady ponies should now have confidence against the Devils lefty-based slap and run offense. You don't want to be seeing Lowell for the first time in the state tournament.

A lot of the glad-handers and joy-riders who sucked up to them in 2004 have jumped off the Munster bandwagon. But this team has a much better chance of beating any of LC's current trio of hurlers than they did against 2004 graduate Beth Toyias (19-0), who dominated them.

Only one pitcher has shut out LC in the last two years and she plays for Munster. If Munster beats LC, they will beat Penn and Washington and reach the state finals.

But then if Jerry Hairston could hit .330, he'd be Nomar Garciaparra.

4.) 4A Chesterton (21-2-1)

20-7 (2004), 22-5 (2003), 21-4 (2002), 14-14 (2001) 18-10 (2000)

CHESTERTON – Chesterton whipped out over matched Kankakee Valley 10-2 Tuesday (5-17-5) as Ashley Thomas won easily. Laura DeLeon (13-1, 0.33 ERA) will face Portage star Meghan Gutierrez (13-5) on the opening night of the 4A Crown Point Sectional.

That's not a good draw, no matter what coaches say about how 'you have to play them sometime.'

'Sometime' doesn't need to be 7 p.m. on a Monday night. If I was scheduling sectionals, I'd avoid Monday altogether. Give teams one practice day and give students a day to care about it. The flip side of the scheduling is that regional track is Tuesday and Thursday and nobody's coming to softball if they have 20 runners in the regional finals. Crown Point has regional girls track and regional girls tennis at Highland Tuesday so they don't want their softball team to be playing Tuesday. There are simply too many high school sports.

The Trojans have won 20 for the fourth year in a row and there's not a lot else they can do during the regular season. In softball you have to have a big gun pitcher and you have to pull her trigger in the big playoff matchups. Chesterton's Laura DeLeon has shut out Portage twice, allowing five hits in 12 innings.

Some say it's hard to have beaten a good team twice and to have to face them again in a must-win game. But the truth is, it's a lot harder to be the team that's been beaten twice and draw them for a third time.

5.) 4A Portage (19-9)

27-4-3 (2004), 19-9 (2003), 23-9 (2002),

26-4 (2001), 30-4 (2000), 30-2 (1999), 31-4 (1998)

PORTAGE – Portage dominated Highland 5-0 on Tuesday (5-17-2005) as Meghan Gutierrez struck out 11. The Trojans committed four errors and gave up some gift runs. Portage smoked Boone Grove 11-1 Wednesday as Gutierrez (16-4) again got the win. You still worry about the Indians lack of offense but the latest six-game win streak includes a 5-1 win over Crown Point (11-11). Portage has been strong.

I don't think this is a strong year in NW Indiana. Portage, like Lowell, is truthfully not winning any games they shouldn't be winning.

But Portage is 17-6 against a state caliber schedule since a 2-3 start. Gutierrez is an awfully tough pitcher to be facing in a single-elimination tournament.

Portage has a great chance to upset Chesterton (20-2-1) but I don't know how big an upset it would be. I think the Chesterton-Portage sectional quarterfinal Monday (5-23-2005) will be settled in seven innings. I also don't believe that the Post-Tribune poll had Hebron ahead of Portage. That game would be 10-0 Portage in five innings and both sides know it.

6.) 2A HANOVER CENTRAL (20-3-3)

27-7 (2004), 25-8 (2003), 24-5 (2002)

28-3 (2001), 16-9-1 (2000), 23-2 (1999)

CEDAR LAKE – Apparently, HC's 1-0 loss to Frontier was not a loss. That was a tie game that was misreported in the Lafayette newspaper. HC got no hit but neither team scored.

The Lady Cats' three tie games (Chesterton, Frontier and Eastern) against top-10 teams is as bizarre a record as you'll see. It also leaves doubt as to how good they are. You can talk about being the better team in a tie game but if you can't break a deadlock how do you know who's better?.

Like Munster, this is a very young unpredictable team and it will be up to the four seniors (Amanda Wendlinger, Christie Wick, Rachel Williams and Kelly Lapota) to lead players who were not on the field during the state championship run in 2004.

Hanover's games with Lowell, Crown Point and Whiting in the season's final days are actually a blessing since the Lady Cats will roll in against Boone Grove (9-18) two days after they finish against CP.

A big final week boost will come from Wick, who missed 26 games with a torn ACL. Without her, HC does not win the title in 2004. The 5-9 basketball star will probably be a designated hitter but she would add to a squad that needs all the hits it can get and her experience in PCC and sectional playoff games in invaluable.

HC must be wary of improving Boone Grove in the Bishop Noll Class 2A Sectional quarterfinals but Boone only had 11 players at the PCC tournament and three of them were freshmen.

7.) 4A Lowell (19-7)

20-7 (2004), 13-15 (2003), 14-15 (2002),

21-9 (2001), 24-10-1 (2000)

LOWELL – Lowell loads up down the stretch with games against Hanover Central (20-3-3) and Penn (20-8) in the hopes that will prepare them to beat Munster (20-2-1) and Lake Central (26-0-1). The logic of that scheduling is strong but it doesn't mean it will work.

Lake Central smoked out Lowell 10-1 Wednesday (5-18-2005), although Lowell pitched senior Vanessa Esenberg in that game and she would not pitch against LC in a sectional final game. The Devils will certainly face Munster in a Highland 4A sectional semifinal and they got a look at Munster's Lori Andjelich (14-2) in a 3-1 loss at Munster last Thursday (5-12-2005). Lowell pitched Esenberg in that game as well but it will be Cristin Just (5-2, 0.92 ERA) or undefeated Ryssa Nord (9-0, 0.48 ERA) or both in the sectional matchup which should occur on Wednesday, May 25. Lowell's 2-3-4 hitters Carrie Shelhart (21-49, .429), Kelly Johnson (21-48, .438, 4HRs, 20 RBIs) and Nicole Fletcher (29-40, .408, 2 Hrs, 13 RBIs) have numbers that are even more impressive when you understand that they didn't play in some mismatches. Freshman leadoff batter Rachel Nida was batting .500 with 11 steals after 40 at-bats. .

If anyone in this area can beat Munster and LC on back-to-back days, it's Lowell because of their speed and offense. But there's a severe question of whether anyone in this are can beat Munster and LC on back-to-back days.

8.) 3A New Prairie (19-4)

26-4 (2004), 22-8 (2003)

NEW CARLISLE – New Prairie rolled up six consecutive wins after a 4-0 loss to 3A No. 6 Culver Academy (21-2).

The Cougars don't play an Andrean-caliber schedule but they have a 6-0 win over Jimtown (12-6) and a 10-0 win over Bremen (16-6) in this latest streak.

Senior pitcher Shaina Smith (14-1) led NP to the Northern States Conference (NSC) title.

Before you dismiss this team, you have to explain away four victories over Class 4A teams. New Prairie has lost to Bremen, South Bend Washington, St. Joseph's and Culver Academy, all winning teams.

On top of that, New Prairie got a great draw at the 3A St. Joseph's Sectional. NP got a quarterfinal bye and a semifinal game against Plymouth, a team they beat 10-1 on May 7. The Cougars must beat Culver Academy to win the sectional title and earn the right to play Andrean (27-2) at the Twin Lakes Regional and no one is really eager to face Culver's Jackie Lawrence, who struck out 17 New Prairie batters on May 5.

One thing to note is that NP's Smith did not pitch in the first meeting with Culver Academy. And clearly, if you strike out 17 times in one game, odds are your strategy will change the next time the same two teams meet.

9.) 2A Bishop Noll (16-9)

17-14 (2004), 18-13 (2003), 13-15 (2002),

18-12 (2001), 17-15 (2000)

HAMMOND - Noll had a mixed weekend losing 10-0 to 4A No. 6 Chesterton but beating 1A No. 9 Lafayette Catholic 4-1 behind RHP Kristen Chico (13-4). Noll roiled over helpless Calumet 10-0 Tuesday (5-16-5). It was just the third time this season that Noll had score 10 or more runs and that's a bad sign, especially for a 2A school.

The Warriors coasted by Morton 6-4 Wednesday to move seven games above the .500 mark.

Noll cannot ask for more luck in their quest to win a sectional title. They will play on their home field and will not have a quarterfinal game. The Warriors will face Wheeler (14-12) in the Wednesday, May 25 semifinals and the BearCats should not be able to stop them, although an offensively-challenged team is always in some trouble.

Noll's hopes ride with RHP Kristen Chico (14-4, 0.92 ERA, 122 Ks in 114 innings ), who has not had an overly bad game all season. Chico beat Hanover 1-0 in eight innings in early April but Hanover has some different players on the field now.

Everybody here is hoping that three long weekday after school drives from Cedar Lake to the north end of Hammond will shake 2A No. 3 Hanover Central (20-3-3) into a bad game and breed an upset next week. But Noll, which was shut out by Chesterton No. 2 pitcher Ashley Thomas, has to hit the ball a little better.

10.) 4A Crown Point (11-11)

8-20 (2004), 22-8 (2003), 21-6 (2002),

17-12 (2001), 14-14 (2000), 17-14 (1999)

CROWN POINT – Crown Point lost 5-1 to Portage, but beat Hobart 1-0 behind junior pitcher Shelly Kurcz (8-3, 1.65 ERA). The win over Hobart is significant. Eight weeks ago, CP and Kurcz lost 10-3 at home to Hobart. The Lady Bulldogs, who have shown very little offense, would need a lot of help to win the sectional title, but the immediate goal is to finish with as many wins as losses. To get that done, CP needs a split in the final two games with 20-game winners Highland (20-8) and Hanover (20-3-3) and a sectional quarterfinal win over Valparaiso on the CP home field next Monday night at 5 p.m.

That's a tall order, but when you look at six losses (two each) to Lake Central (26-0-1), Portage (18-9) and (21-2-1) Chesterton, and two others to Munster (21-2-1) and Lowell (19-6), this team has earned at least the .500 mark.

On the horizon...

2A Scecina Memorial (18-3)

408 students – Indianapolis, Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS – Even if defending 2A state champion Hanover Central gets past Bishop Noll and repeats as LaVille Regional champions, here is the biggest roadblock to a repeat state title by the Lady Cats.

Scecina, a private school on Indianapolis' north side, won the Indianapolis city tournament on May 7 with a 7-0 win over Bishop Chatard and a 3-0 win over Heritage.

Pitcher Emily Wethington, a 1-0 loser to Hanover Central in the state semifinals last year is back and she struck out 18 against Chatard. Wethington (9-3, 0.60 ERA, 163 Ks) has allowed seven earned runs all year in 81 innings, after a 14-7 season as a freshman in 2004. She would certainly be looking forward to a game against Hanover Central.

Scecina has a state-of-the-art power hitter in junior Amber Wolf who hit three home runs in that Indy city tournament. Wolf (28-59, .475. 6 HRs, 28 RBIs) has offensive numbers that scream "Walk me! Walk me!" I thought Hanover was lucky to get by Scecina 1-0 last year in a game that was virtually a home game for the Crusaders. Wethington struck out 10 and dominated the Lady Cats.

If Scecina and Hanover both repeat as sectional and regional champions, they will meet on the night of June 10 at 6:30 p.m. at North Central high school, the exact same place they met last year in the exact same game.

To be honest, of all the teams Hanover saw on the way to the state title last year the only one that was better than the Lady Cats was Scecina.

That's not a team Hanover wants to see a second time.

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