AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL SECTIONAL PREVIEWS
	A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith 7-12-2006

Crown Point Sectional
7-18 (Tu) Hammond Post 168 (10-14)  vs. CROWN POINT Post 20 (16-3) 8 p.m.
7-19 (W) Tuesday's loser vs. CEDAR LAKE (6-10)  8 p.m.
7-20 (Th) Elimination game p.m. - 8 p.m.
7-21 (F)  Champiosnhip game one - TBA
7-22 (S) Champiosnhip game two - TBA

Lowell Sectional
7-18 (Tu) Lowell (101) vs. Hobart (54) 6 p.m.
7-19 (W) Tuesday's loser vs. Valparaiso (94) 6 p.m.
7-20 (Th) Elimination game - 6 p.m.
7-21 (F) Champiosnhip game one - 6 p.m.

NOTES: Times and matchups after Wednesday are all tentative. If one team is eliminated after Wednesday, the finals will begins Thursday.

CROWN POINT (7-12-2006) - We'll know very quickly who the favorite is in this sectional as Crown Point takes on Hammond Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m.  Both CP and Hammond have defeated Cedar Lake twice so the opening night winner gets a day off and a clear path to the CP Regional, which begins on July 27.

Hammond is largely players and graduates of Lake Central high school and that means players like 6-foot-5 right-hander Brett Summers (3-1), a late round 2006 draft choice of the Chicago Cubs and left-hander Ranko Ivetic, the top pitcher on the 2006 LC high school team.  Summers (3-1) pitched a two-hit shutout last Friday in a tournament in Wisconsin last week.  If Hammond has scouted CP, they'll go with the lefty Ivetic (3-3), who pitched a three-hitter in Hammond's 10-1 win over New London in that same Wisconsin tourney.

Post 20 foes learn they must counter lefty batters Nick Ullman and Matt Dobin before they worry about anyone else.  CP is potent from the right side as well.  But Dobin, who batted .505 for Kankakee Valley this spring, and Ullman, who is near the .500 mark this summer, can post 3-for-3s or 4-for-4s that take the opposition out of the game.

Hammond has a lot of power from the right side with Summers, Ryan Frost and AJ Doyle, but CP will probably go with Merrillville left-hander Adam Farag (3-1), who was 10-2 with a 1.92 ERA for the Pirates in high school this year.  Farag does not throw hard, but he can be hard on right-handed batters with a fastball that runs away from right-handed bats.  Ivetic, a potent hitter from the left side, may have a better shot at Farag than some of his right-handed teammates.  But LC is very familiar with the Post 20 lefty since they faced him twice during the prep season.

Cedar Lake got a bye, but it's not as good as it looks.  Post 261 will play the loser of next Tuesday's game which does mean they will see a second best pitcher from either Hammond or Crown Point.  Cedar Lake is unlikely to see CP's Farag or Hammond's Summers.  But the first round bye also means that Cedar Lake will have to play on consecutive days until the tournament ends.  Post 261 could be playing four days in a row.  Cedar Lake has not played on four consecutive days, but they did win back-to-back double-headers from Hobart and Lowell in June.

Right-hander Joe Angone figures to get the start against CP, which has not seen him since last summer.  Right-hander Brent DeMateo would figure to be first up in the bullpen.  American Legion playoffs are nine-inning games.  Cedar Lake needs to play error less ball led by second baseman Mark Myszkowski and the sophomore duo of center fielder Andrew DeYoung and catcher Brian Jager.

Post 261 cannot win a slugfest with Hammond or CP, the two most powerful American Legion teams in Northwest Indiana.  Crown Point, which lost 10-2 at Lafayette Post 11 (20-2) Sunday, downed Hobart 13-1 Monday night (7-10-2006).  Ullman drove in five runs, four on a grand slam home run.  Hebron's Andrew Higgins (3-0) pitched five innings for the victory.

In Sunday's game, Jimmy Wilson pitched three shutout innings and Post 20, playing without center fielder Jon Sertich, shortstop-pitcher Caleb Douglas and right-fielder Tim Dobin, took a 1-0 fourth inning lead. But Lafayette scored five times in the fourth inning and four more times in the sixth to pull away at Loeb Stadium.  Lafayette area MVP John Shelby had three base hits and scored three runs.

Post 20 manager Tony Samano was not able to go all out to win this game and he used CP grad Greg Eberhart, who is not a pitcher, to hurl the fifth and sixth innings.  With some regulars missing, 'B' team members Kyle Bacon and Chris Samano got into the game, which did not turn out to be the major confrontation that had been hoped for.

Bristol Post 143, improved to 20-6 on the season Sunday with a 13-0, 5-3 double-header sweep over Stevensville, Michigan Post 568.

Lowell Post 101 opens the 2006 American Legion playoffs and, for the first time in memory, they won't face Crown Point.  A new breakdown for the American Legion post-season has placed Lowell on their home field at Lowell high school against Hobart Post 54 (6-10) and Valparaiso Post 94 (10-6).  Lowell has been led on the mound by pitchers Mike Smith and Jon Cap, who struck out seven in five innings as Lowell (5-10) beat Hobart 15-3 on June 25 after losing the season opener 5-3 to Hobart.

If Lowell can win the opener, they will get a day off to prepare their pitching for what would probably be a two-game series with Valparaiso, which features Merrillville stars Bo McClendon and Darryl Evans in the outfield and Chesterton star Zack Novak at first base. 

Post 101 was not a player in a 16-2 loss to Crown Point Saturday night.  The key for Lowell will be producing runs against Valparaiso, which can call on all-Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) left-hander Charles (Chooch) Sizemore.  This is the first time in this incarnation of the Lowell Post 101 all-stars that they have hosted the sectional playoffs.  Although no schedule has been announced, there will probably be one game per evening Tuesday through Friday at 6 p.m.  Lowell's American Legion last sectional title came when they defeated CP two out of three to win the CP sectional in 2000.

CROWN POINT POST 20-A  (17-3)
Updated: 7-17-2006

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 - 9 innings - 1 p.m.
7-16 (Sun) at Anderson Post 127 - 9 innings - 1 p.m.

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

(1B) Tue, 7-18 South Bend #50B vs. Crown Point #20B - 5:30 p.m.
(1A) Tue, 7-18 Hammond #168A vs. Crown Point #20A - 8:00 p.m. 

(2B) Wed, 7-19 Hammond #168B vs. Loser Game #1B - 5:30 p.m. 
(2A) Wed, 7-19 Cedar Lake #261A vs. Loser Game #1A - 8:00 p.m. 

(3B) Thur, 7-20 B Game TBA - 5:30 p.m. 
(3A) Thur, 7-20 A Game TBA - 8:00 p.m. 

(4B) Fri, 7-21 B Game TBA - 5:30 p.m. 
(4A) Fri, 7-21 A Game TBA - 8:00 p.m. 

(5B) Sat, 7-22 B Game if necessary - 5:30 p.m. 
(5A) Sat, 7-22 A Game if necessary - 8:00 p.m. 


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