A USA-365 special report by Mark Smith
4-19-2004
| Team (Record) / Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| ANDREAN (10-1) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| Dowagiac (4-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
Chieftain
Invitational Championship
April 17, 2004, 78 degrees, cloudy in Dowagiac, Michigan
WP
- Lori Knopf (5-1) 3K, 1 walk (5 innings)
Katie Ivancich (Save) #2 3K, 0 walks
LP - Brittany Reist (3-1) CG, 7Ks, 0 walks
Carly Rossner (A) 3 singles, 3 RBIs
Kristen Ivancich (A) 2 singles
Bekki Rosenow (A) Single, 2 sac bunts
Brittany Reist (D) 2 singles
Amy Wood (D) Single, HBP
| Team (Record) / Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| ANDREAN (9-1) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Portage Northern (2-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Chieftain
Invitational semifinals
April 17, 2004, 78 degrees, cloudy in Dowagiac, Michigan
WP
- Katie Ivancich (5-0) CG No. 5, 8K, 2 walks
LP - Bailey Aivars (1-1) CG, 3K, 2 walks
Carly Rossner (A) 2 singles, RBI
Stephanie Rister (A) Double, single, RBI
| Team (Record) / Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Kalamazoo Christian (5-3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| ANDREAN (8-1) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | 5 | 6 | 1 |
Chieftain
Invitational quarterfinal
April 17, 2004, 78 degrees, cloudy in Dowagiac, Michigan
WP
- Lori Knopf (4-1) 4K, 2 walks (5 2/3 inn.)
Katie Ivancich (Save) 1K, 1 walk (1 1/3 inn.)
LP - Leah Van Enk (2-2) CG, 6 K, 1 walk
Carly Rossner (A) Single, walk, RBI
Kara Kristoff (A) Double, RBI
Bekki Rosenow (A) Triple, RBI
Allison Frisinger (KC) HR, single, RBI
Kelsey Staupert (KC) 2 singles, RBI
| Team (Record) / Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| CROWN POINT (2-6) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Dowagiac (4-0) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | 8 | 14 | 1 |
April 17, 2004, 78 degrees, sunny in Dowagiac, Mich.
WP
Brittany Reist (3-0) 4K, 0 walks (6 inn.)
LP - Shelly Kurcz (2-4) CG No. 3, 3K, 3 walks
Alicia Rock (CP) single,RBI
Caitlin Rather (CP) single run scored
Kim Lothringer (D) Double, single
Brittany Reist (D) Double, single
Mandy Parrish (D) 3 singles, 3 RBIs
Lindsay Tyler (D) Double, single RBI
DOWAGIAC, MICH (4-14-2004) - The last two seasons, Andrean has won the Chieftain Invitational in Dowagiac, Michigan in dominating fashion. They went on the have big winning seasons but were eliminated in a one-run extra inning upset in the sectional championship game.
 |
Last weekend, Andrean won a third consecutive Chieftain Invitational by scores of 5-3, 3-2 and 3-1. Maybe that's what you want to do. "We need to learn how to win close games," said longtime coach Frank Podkul. "This is not the same team we had last year. Almost nobody is the same. We're still learning how to win." Saturday's three-game sweep probably went a long way in that direction. Playing in near-80-degree heat in mid-April, Andrean (10-1) never trailed in any of the three games, but they never led by more than two in the seventh inning. The title game against the host team stayed close into the late innings when both teams left a lot of runners on base. Dowagiac, a Division III school (the equivalent of Indiana's Class 2A) had won their first four games but they fell behind 1-0 in the first inning after Bekki Rosenow singled, stole second and scored on Carly Rossner's base hit. Andrean led 2-0 in the third inning after Ashley Emmett reached on an error, Rosenow bunted her to second base and Rossner again came up with an RBI single. |
| 59er Seniors Beth Wirtz, Kristen Ivancich, Carly Rossner and Ashley Emmett pose with the trophy Andrean won April 14 in the Chieftain Invitation at Dowagiac, MI. |
In the fifth inning, Dowagiac,
which had defeated Mishawaka Marian 10-0 and Crown Point 8-2, scored when 59er
right-hander Lori Knopf (5-1) hit Amy Wood with a pitch to start the fifth
inning. Wood scored on a two out single to center by Kim Lothridge.
When Knopf walked Dowagiac's Erica Knapp to start the sixth inning, Podkul
replaced her with sophomore right-hander Katie Ivancich, who faced the game's
key stretch. Ivancich gave up a pop fly single and a hit batter to fill the
bases with one out. A small but noisy crowd of about 150 surrounding the tiny
Dowagiac diamond started to make a lot of noise.
But Wood bounced the ball back to Ivancich for a force play before freshman Holly Lowe worked the count to 2-2. Ivancich's 2-2 pitch, a change up, appeared to split the plate but was called a ball. The Andrean right-hander did not respond to what many admitted later was a blown call, and her 3-2 pitch was a called third strike to end the inning and preserve the 2-1 lead. Rossner's third RBI single of the game iced the game in the seventh, although Dowagiac did get the tying runs on base in the seventh.
"This is our third win in a row up here and I'm proud as heck of this team," said Podkul. "About the third inning of the third game, I told the girls, 'You've got to really want this. You just can't hope for things to go well. You have to go out and grab it. There were a lot of points at which we could have lost this game. But we were able to ride it out."
Dowagiac lost 19-0 in the title game of the Chieftain Invitational to Andrean last season, a year when they finished 41-7. Understandably, they got quite excited about the thought of beating the 59ers.
"They capitalized on our mistakes," said Dowagiac coach Randy Brooks, who excused Howe for taking two pitches with a 2-2 count and the bases full. "She's a freshman. About 95 pounds. Yesterday (a doubleheader win) was her first varsity game."
"Andrean's a very good team. A good softball program. We had our chances. They're excellent. We look forward to seeing them next year. Why haven't they been going to the state finals? What team is beating them?"
Andrean's biggest test may have been in the quarterfinals when they topped four-time Div. III state champion Kalamazoo Christian (5-3) in the first game. The 59ers, who have four left-handed hitters in the lineup, faced a different challenge in KC lefty Leah Van Enk (4-2). After Rosenow and Chanel Brandt had RBI hits and Andrean stole a third first inning run on a double steal, the 59ers had very little going the rest of the game against a team that was 29-12 last season.
When KC rallied for two sixth inning runs, Podkul brought in the younger Ivancich to get the final four outs. Though they appear to be similar pitchers, Ivancich, who pitched a complete-game 3-2 semifinal win over four-time Division I (Indiana's Class 4A) state champ Portage Northern, clearly had a better command of her change up on this day.
"I have more lefties this year than I've ever seen," said Podkul. "We made some plays when we had to. We opened up some doors (for the opposition) and we closed them again. I'm proud of this team."
"Lori has a callous on her fingers and she was having some problems with it. You could see her fumbling with her fingers out there. I think she gets the wins (against KC and Dowagiac) and Katie gets the saves. If you have some juice in the dugout, let's use it. But today was the first time we've done that."
The 59ers defense, especially in the infield, was strong all day. Sophomore second baseman Rosenow, playing in Dowagiac for the first time, made diving stops in the fifth inning against both KC and Dowagiac to produce key outs.
"How about Rosenow?, " asked Podkul. "She's just learning how to play the position. She made some great plays and saved us. She's going to be a good one there for a long time."
Crown Point (2-7) started well with a 4-0 win over Grandville but the Bulldogs were rocked by a five-run Dowagiac first inning in the semifinals and never recovered. CP was overcome by Dowagiac 8-2 and Portage Northern 7-3.
"We're still learning as we go along," said coach Jim Inglehart. "We're making mistakes but we're trying to correct. We scored four and we should have scored six or seven runs, but we made some silly base running mistakes. We've got a freshman and four sophomores out there so we have to learn as we go along."
BULLDOG NOTES: Andrean third baseman Carly Rossner was 6-of-10 with five RBIs in the three games. Dowagiac coach Randy Brooks had a record of 386-147 entering the 2004 season. Andrean will certainly return to the old, southwest Michigan town in 2005. CP coach Jim Ingelhart, who inherited Dowagiac as a nonconference tournament, didn't rule out playing here again next year.
"We need to make some major schedule changes," he admitted. "This tournament came too late this year. We need these games before we start the Duneland Conference season. It's good to give everyone a chance to play. I want to play Highland and Munster near the end of the season to get us ready for the playoffs. We're going to have to get those games moved."
One of the problems for CP is the 9:30 a.m. start for the Dowagiac Invitational, which features four Indiana teams and four Michigan teams. With CP coming from 75 miles away, they need to reach CPHS at 6:30 a.m. to board the bus. By the middle of the second game, the CP girls were noticeably dragging.
"But I do like getting in three games," said Inglehart. "We might still come back next year. I don't know yet."
The 80-degree weather was a surprise. Southwest lower Michigan high temperatures are usually in the mid-50s in April. "We weren't ready for this," admitted Inglehart. "We've been playing in very cold weather as you know."
Crown Point junior Christina Horvat and freshman Heather Robison were in a minor car accident last week and they missed the final four games of the week. Both girls were at CP's 3-1 loss to Valparaiso last Thursday (April 14) watching from the stands. They had some back and neck stiffness and were not to be reexamined until the end of the week. Inglehart said Horvat would have pitched up in Michigan.
"We got beat at Portage," said Inglehart, "But Christina pitched pretty well. We must've made nine errors (a 10-0 loss on April 12). She threw the ball well."
To give an idea of how old Dowagiac high school is, there is a plaque in the cafeteria celebrating 100 years of Dowagiac football. The plaque is dated 1996.
The biggest surprise of the early season may be that local pollsters have the 59ers as low as fifth in the Lake and Porter County area when the 59ers are 10-1 and have outscored quality opposition by a combined score of 68-12. Many dwell on the players Andrean lost off the 2003 team (27-2-1) instead of what they had coming back. The 2004 Niners do not have the extra base power of last year's team but they have more team speed which makes them harder to defense.
Podkul didn't seem bothered by the 59ers 1-0 loss to defending Class 1A regional champion Whiting on April 13, the only Andrean loss in 11 games.
"We hit some line drives and
they made some great plays on us," said the coach. "That's baseball
and softball. Anything can happen in one game. Give them credit. They made the
plays."
2004
Andrean (10-1)
Coach
Frank Podkul (11th year at Andrean) 203-56
(18th year overall) 339-91
Lake
Athletic Conference (LAC) games in CAPS
April
3 (W) 12-1 at St. Joseph's (3-7)
April 3 (W) 3-0 at St. Joseph's (3-7)
April 5 (W) 4-0 at Wheeler (6-4)
April 8 (W) 20-1 Bishop Noll (5-4)
April 10 (W) 11-0 (5) Culver Academy (4-2)
April 10 (W) 6-1 Culver Academy (4-2)
April 12 (L) 0-1 (9) Whiting (7-0)
April 14 (W) 1-0 Kankakee Valley (3-7)
Chieftain
Invitational, Dowagiac, Michigan
April
17 (W) 5-3 Kalamazoo Christian (4-4)
April 17 (W) 3-2 Portage Northern (2-1)
April 17 (W) 3-1 at Dowagiac (4-1) title
2004
Crown Point (2-7)
Coach
Jim Inglehart (1st year) CP was16-16 (2003)
Duneland Athletic
Conference (DAC) games in CAPS
April
5 (W) 5-0 Morton (2-2)
April 6 (L) 13-2 at LAKE CENTRAL (2-2)
April 7 (L) 2-9 at Griffith (4-2)
April 8 (L) 2-5 MERRILLVILLE (4-1)
April 13 (L) 0-10 at PORTAGE (4-0-1)
April 15 (L) 1-3 VALPARAISO (1-3)
'Cheiftain
Invitational' Dowagiac, Mich.
April
17 (W) 4-0 Grandville, Mich.
April
17 (L) 2-8 Dowagiac, Mich
April 17 (L) 3-7 Portage (Mich.) Northern
April 19 (M) LaPorte (0-7)
April 21 (W) CHESTERTON (8-2)
April 23 (F) at MICHIGAN CITY (1-7)
April 24 (S) at Logansport (2) 11 a.m.
April 27 (Tu) LAKE CENTRAL (9-2)
April 29 (Th) at MERRILLVILLE (7-4)
April 30 (F) Andrean (10-1)
May 1 (S) Hanover Central (5-2) 10 a.m.
May 3 (M) PORTAGE (8-1-1)
May 5 (W) at VALPARAISO (2-6)
May 7 (F) at LaPORTE
May 8 (S) at Morton - 10 a.m.
May 10 (M) Munster
May 11 (Tu) CHESTERTON
May 13 (Th) MICHIGAN CITY
May 15 (S) at Lowell
May 21 (F) at Highland
MERRILLVILLE (4A) Sectional
(with
Hobart, Chseterton, Valpo, Portage and Merrillville)
May 24 (M) quarterfinal
May 25 (Tu) quarterfinal
May 27 (Th) semifinals
May 29 (Sat) championship
Merrillville (4A) Regional
June 5 (S) semifinals - 10 a.m.
June 5 (S) championship - 7 p.m.
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Revised: July 10, 2004.