Crown Point begins American Legion Sectional Playoffs with rally to beat Hammond 7-5
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith 7-20-2006

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - clear & 76 degrees, A team (age 19 and under) Sectional playoffs - double-elimination at Teagle Field - CP

WP - Adam Farag (4-1) 9K, 2 walks (8.7 inn.) 133 pitches
SAVE - Chris Saroff # 2,  1K, 0 walks
   (Hammond) Brad Gerlach (SP) 4K, 2 walks (6 inn.) 97 pitches
LP - Brett Summers (4-2) 0K, 1 walk (1 inn.) 33 pitches

Hammond (13-15)
AJ Doyle (SS) 2 singles
Rank Ivetic (1B) Double, RBI
Brett Keeler (3B) Single, RBI, sac bunt

CROWN POINT (18-5)
Chris Saroff (P-SS) Single, RBI
Andy Stalbaum (1B) Double, RBI
Adam Kennedy (C) Double, walk
Matthew Schweitzer (DH) Triple, run scored
Matt Dobin (LF) Single, Sac. Fly, 2 RBIs


AMERICAN LEGION SECTIONAL
A teams (age 19 and under)
7-18 -  CROWN POINT (20) 7, Hammond (168) 5
7-19 (W) Hammond (168) 14, CEDAR LAKE (261) 1
7-20 (Th) games cancelled due to rain
7-21 (F) CROWN POINT (20) 10, CEDAR LAKE (261) 2
7-22 (Sa) CROWN POINT (20) vs. Hammond (168) - 5:30 p.m
7-22 (Sa)  CROWN POINT vs. Hammond - (If necessary, 5:30 p.m.)*
*winner goes to Crown Point Regional beginning July 27


AMERICAN LEGION REGIONAL
B teams (age 17 and under)
7-18 -  CROWN POINT (20) 9, South Bend (50) 6
7-19 (W) Hammond (168) 7, South Bend (50) 4
7-20 (Th) games cancelled due to rain
7-21 (F) CROWN POINT (20) 11, Hammond (168) 5
7-22 (Sa) CROWN POINT (20) vs. Hammond (168) - 1:00 p.m.
7-22 (Sa) CROWN POINT (20) vs. Hammond (168) (If necessary, 1:00 p.m.)**
**winner goes to state finals beginning July 27

Click here for Complete Playoff Schedule

CROWN POINT (7-18-2006) - The concept of playing the 19-and-under sectional and the 17-and-under regional in double-header form on back-to-back nights may have a flaw or two.  But on the opening night of the 2006 playoffs, it could not have worked out better for Crown Point Post 20.

    Run-scoring hits by Tim Mummery and Chris Saroff  against relief pitcher Brett Summers broke a 4-4 tie and sent CP on to victory in the opening game of the American Legion state tournament.  Hammond scored four times in the first inning with the help of a two-base error by CP center fielder Jon Sertich and an RBI double by Ranko Ivetic.

But CP, which lost 10-5 and 3-2 to Hammond during the regular season, rallied for four runs in the eighth inning after a leadoff triple by Matthew Schweitzer.  Summers, the 6-foot-5 right-hander, entered the game and hit Nick Ullman with a pitch.  Schweitzer scored on a balk by Summers before hits by Mummery and Saroff made it 6-4.

"Our guys came to play when they had to," said manager Tony Samano.

In an odd three-team sectional, Hammond defeated Cedar Lake in a Wednesday night 8 p.m. contest.  With the Hammond victory, Cedar Lake now must play Crown Point Friday at 8 p.m. (Thursday rains left Teagle Field unplayable for Thursday's scheduled games.)  If CP defeats Cedar Lake Friday night, then a Hammond-CP rematch will be played sometime Saturday at a time TBA.  If Cedar Lake beats Crown Point Friday night, then CL would face Hammond sometime Saturday.

Earlier in the evening, Crown Point took a major step towards the 'B team state finals with a 9-6 victory over South Bend Post 50.

The late game was the feature on opening night as Crown Point (18-5) had not been able to defeat rival Hammond in two tries in First District league play.  In a game that started very late (8:45 p.m.) on a Tuesday evening, CP had to break through or they would need three consecutive wins to advance in double-elimination play.

Hammond (13-15), made up largely of Lake Central high school players, jumped to a 4-0 lead after one half inning on three hits a walk and an outfielder error by CP center fielder Jon Sertich on a play where right fielder Greg Eberhart lost a fly ball in the lights.  Down by four runs against hard-throwing LC grad Brad Gerlach, CP scored twice in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI ground out by Adam Kennedy and a run-scoring single from Matt Dobin.

CP left-hander Adam Farag (3-1) was able to shut down Hammond's attack after the first inning with the help of two double plays started by second baseman Nick Ullman and shortstop Chris Saroff.

CP was denied rallies by a grab of an Ullman line drive by Gerlach to end the third inning and a long running catch in left center field by Ryan Frost in the fourth.

In the sixth, back-to-back doubles by Kennedy and Andrew Stalbaum cut the Hammond lead to 4-3, but Gerlach retired Sertich and Eberhart on flyballs to end that threat.

In the seventh, Farag, the Merrillville high graduate headed for the University of Indianapolis, struck out Brett Keeler and Steve Ajdinovich with two runners on base to end a threat.  Crown Point then mounted a decisive rally when Matthew Schweitzer lifted a triple over the head of right fielder Chris Winterhaler.  Hammond manager Mark DeRolf then changed pitchers, inserting Summers, a freshman right-hander off South Suburban College's junior college World Series team.  Summers hit Ullman with his first pitch and the CP infielder quickly stole second base.

Summers was the victim of a rare call at that point.  The LC grad has a habit of licking his fingers to rub the ball up for a better grip.  The base umpire ruled that he did it on the mound which is a rules violation and a balk.  The play had nothing to do with Summers gaining an advantage, but the technically correct call scored Schweitzer to tie the game 4-4.

Mummery and Saroff then followed with game-breaking hits to make it 6-4.  Dobin's sacrifice fly upped the lead to 7-4 as Summers threw 33 pitches in the seventh inning.

Farag struck out Ranko Ivetic to end the eighth inning, but when he gave up a run-scoring single in the ninth to Keeler, Samano brought in Saroff in relief.  The CPHS senior struck out Summers on a 1-2 pitch to end the game.

Samano isn't the type of manager who bothers with the number of pitches his hurlers have thrown.

"No, I don't care about that," he said.  "I just care about whether he's getting the job done.  He wanted to stay in (in the ninth), but Saroff warmed up in the eighth inning while we were at bat."

A crowd of about 250 watched the pivotal game and the fans were lively, especially after the balk call on Summers and some confusion on a lineup change when Gerlach was replaced.  Post 168 left with a little extra motivation to come back for what loomed as at least one potential rematch later in the week.  Even CP had a little gripe as they were slated to play Thursday (now re-scheduled for Friday, due to rain), while Hammond rested if, s it turned out, Post 168 defeated Cedar Lake Wednesday night (7-19-2006) as expected. (Hammond defeated Cedar Lake 14-1 in Sectional game two.)

"We shouldn't have to play again until one team is eliminated," said Samano, who noticed that his team could play three days in a row. "But that's okay. I can use Andrew Higgins against Cedar Lake Thursday and then go with Caleb Douglas Friday. We've got enough pitching."

LEGION NOTES:  Crown Point's 'B' team, a light-hitting group most of the season, scored eight times in the first inning and held on to beat South Bend Post 50 in the opener of the three-team Crown Point Junior Regional Tuesday night.  The offense proved to be enough for right-hander Michael Hernandez and relief pitcher Kyle Bacon.

"We began defense of our state title tonight," said manager Larry Samano.  "We came out and hit the ball."

No doubt about that.  Run-scoring doubles by Bacon, James Frasure and Jack Standley put South Bend in a hole they could not escape.  Post 50 used run scoring hits by Blake Batteast and Cody Schell to score four times in the sixth inning against CP starter Michael Hernandez as Samano was caught with a short bench.

"We didn't have anybody to warm up," the manager said later.  "We didn't have anybody on the bench.  When we got out of the sixth inning, I was able to warm Bacon up.  Hernandez wanted to finish, but he was over 100 pitches and they were hitting him.  He didn't understand it, but it didn't make any sense to leave him out there."

The 'B' team, CP's 17-and-under squad, was anchored by CPHS third baseman Tommy Parks, who had two singles and a sacrifice fly and leadoff man Jack Standley, who had a single, double and two RBIs.

CROWN POINT POST 20-A  (18-5, 12-2 1st District)
Updated: 7-22-2006

Manager: Tony Samano - 26th year
Coaches Artie Samano, Rich Hands, Jimmy Wilson

All games 7 innings unless otherwise indicated
*** opponents home games to be played at night at CP

6-13 (Tu)   Hammond Post 168  L, 5-10
6-14 (W) Whiting Post 80 W, 9-0
6-14 (W) Whiting Post 80 W, 15-0
6-17 (Sat) Leo Post 409  (Game 1) W, 12-2 (5-innings)
6-17 (Sat) Leo Post 409  (Game 2) W, 12-2 (5-innings)
6-19 (M) at Hobart Post 54  W, 17-3 (5-innings)
6-20 (Tu) Plymouth Post 27 W, 5-4 (9-innings)
6-21 (W) Cal City Post 330  W, 16-0
6-22 (Th) Highland Post 180  W, 4-3
6-23 (F) Valparaiso Post 94  - (To be rescheduled for a later date)
6-25 (Sun) at Kokomo Post 6 (rained out after 3-innings)
6-27 (Tu)  Cedar Lake Post 261 W, 10-0 (5-innings)
6-28 (W) East Chicago Post 369 Game 1, W, 4-0
6-28 (W) East Chicago Post 369 Game 2, W, 9-6
6-29 (Th) Steel City Giants  L, 14-18 (9 innings)

7-2 (Su) Cedar Lake Post 261  W, 10-2
7-3 (M) at Plymouth Post 27  W, 2-0 
7-5 (W) Lowell Post 101  W, 9-2 
7-8 (Sat) at Lowell Post 101 (at CP) W, 16-2 (5-innings) 
7-9 (Sun) at Lafayette Post 11  L, 2-10  (9-innings)
7-10 (M) Hobart Post 54  W, 13-1
7-12 (W) at Highland Post 180  (rained out)
7-13 (Th) Hammond Post 168  W, 3-2
7-14 (F) at Valparaiso Post 94  (rained out)
7-15 (Sat) at Muncie Post 19  L, 3-10 (9-innings)
7-16 (Sun) at Anderson Post 127  W, 12-5 (9 innings)

2006 “A” TEAM SECTIONAL 2 TOURNAMENT (age 19 & under)
&
2006 JR. "B" LEGION REGIONAL TOURNAMENT (age 17 & under)

(1B) Tue, 7-18  Crown Point #20B - 9, South Bend #50B - 6
(1A) Tue, 7-18  Crown Point #20A - 7, Hammond #168A - 5 

(2B) Wed, 7-19  Hammond #168B - 7, South Bend #50B - 4 
(2A) Wed, 7-19  Hammond #168A - 14, Cedar Lake #261A - 1

Thur, 7-20  Both B and A games cancelled due to rain

(3B) Fri, 7-21  Crown Point #20B - 11, Hammond #168B - 5 
(3A) Fri, 7-21  Crown Point #20A - 10, Cedar Lake #261A - 2 

(4B) Sat, 7-22  Hammond #168B at Crown Point #20B - 1:00 p.m.  
(4A) Sat, 7-22 Hammond #168A at Crown Point #20A - 5:30 p.m.  

(5B) Sun, 7-23 Hammond #168B at Crown Point #20B - 1:00 p.m. (If Necessary)
(5A) Sun, 7-23 Hammond #168A at Crown Point #20A - 5:30 p.m. (If Necessary)

Note: Dates and times subject to change due to 3-team, double elimination format and rain-outs

Crown Point Regional (dates are tentative)
7-27 (Th) vs. sectional winners from EC, Valpo and South Bend
7-28 (F) vs. sectional winners from EC, Valpo and South Bend
7-29 (Sat) CP Regional championship game one
7-30 (Sun) CP Regional championship game two

American Legion State Finals (dates are tentative)
8-3 (Th) 1st round double-header
8-4 (F) 1st round double-header
8-5 (Sat) championship round game one
8-6 (Sun) championship round game two