Tuesday,
6-01-2010
- 80 degrees - Class 4A Crown Point Sectional at CROWN POINT, IN
WP - Conner Podkul (7-2) 9Ks,
3 walks (6.7 innings)
SP - Clay Mannering (LaPorte) 1K, 1 walk (1/3 inning)
LP - Josh Negele (7-2) 6K, 1 walk, 4 earned runs (3.7 innings)
CROWN POINT (27-5)
Scott Donley (2B) 1-for-4, run scored
Brett Bayer (LF) 0-for-2 sac bunt, walk
Jeff Limbaugh (1B) 0-for-2, 2 walks
Josh Negele (P-LF) 3-for-4, double, 2 RBIs
Jose Andrade (C) 1-for-3, walk
Jake Lindeman (SS) 1-for-2, HBP, walk
Beau LaSalle (3B) 1-for-4
Colin Casey (DH) 0-for-3, sac fly, RBI
Brian Holloway (RF) 2-for-4, HR, double, RBI
LaPORTE (26-3)
Jacob Craft (CF) 1-for-4, triple
Dustin DeMuth (SS) 1-for-3, walk
Evan Jurjevic (2B) 1-for-4, 2 runs scored
Jake McMahon (3B) 2-for-4, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs
Kyle Upp (C) 1-for-4, RBI
Eddie Downs (RF) 0-for-2, walk
Sean Rogers (1B) 0-for-1, HBP
Ben Irons (DH) 0-for-1, sac bunt, RBI
Darius Kincaid (LF) 0-for-3
CROWN
POINT, IN (6-01-2010) When you come into the biggest game of the
season on your home field and you commit four errors in the field, it almost
doesn't matter what else you did or didn't do. Crown Point jumped to a 4-0
lead on rival LaPorte, in a battle of two of the top three ranked teams in the
state.
But the Bulldogs were outplayed
the rest of the way and lost 9-5 to the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC)
champions in a match between one school with eight state titles and another that
has won three consecutive regional championships.
In a game played one day late due
to rain, CP (27-5) took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the first inning, but a
flurry of errors, walks and clutch Slicer hits allowed LaPorte (26-3) to tie the
game 5-5 after three innings and chip away the rest of the day, winning the
third match this season between northern Indiana's two reigning 4A baseball
powers.
Tall junior right-hander Conner
Podkul pitched 6-2/3 innings in relief and struck out nine Bulldogs against a CP
team that had base runners in every inning after the second. His biggest out may
have been getting CP's Brian Holloway to hit into a double play with runners at
first and second in the top of the third inning and the Bulldogs already up 5-2.
LaPorte, which later beat Portage 7-3 to win the school's first 4A sectional
baseball title since 2006, scored in every inning but the second against a CP
team that had won five consecutive sectional championships and three consecutive
regional titles.
As much as LaPorte players won this game, manager Scott Upp also had a lot do
with it. He pulled undefeated starting pitcher Clay Mannering (7-0)
trailing 3-0 with one out in the first inning. There was no waiting for
Mannering, who shut out CP in May, to settle down.
"He wasn't throwing strikes," said
coach Upp, who seemed more relieved to get past CP than anything else.
"And in the state tournament, you can't stay around very long. Three runs
in, bases loaded, not throwing a lot of strikes, you just make that change."
Fast forward to the seventh with
LaPorte leading 9-5. CP filled the bases with nobody out on a single by
Josh Negele, a walk and a hit batter. This time coach Upp did not make a
change, leaving Podkul (7-2), in his seventh inning of work, to get out of it.
"We're up four," he said.
"If the next guy hits a home run, you tip your cap to him. Maybe if we're
up two, you do something different. I was close, but I had faith in what
he was doing."
It turned out to be two correct
calls by the manager.
Podkul, the nephew of former
Andrean softball coach Frank Podkul, got Beau LaSalle to pop up on a 2-1 pitch
before striking out Colin Casey and Brian Holloway, both on swinging strikes.
"You've got to give Podkul a lot of credit," Strayer said after the game,
"because Brian (Holloway) had his number and he pitched Brian really well in his
last at-bat. When you get a guy throwing nearly 90 miles-an-hour and
mixing pitches and hitting his spots, that's tough to hit. That was the
game right there. When you've got the bases loaded and you bear down and
make pitches like that."
It was a quick post-season end for
CP after three consecutive trips to the semistate, but as long as CP and LaPorte
are in an eight-team sectional, back-to-back sectional crowns are going to be
very difficult.
"I thought the conference got a lot tougher this year," said CP's Scott Donley,
heading towards the parking lot in a light post-game rain. "We lost to
LaPorte. LaPorte's a great team and hopefully, they make a long run in the
state tournament and win state."
Donley didn't think the five-day
layoff mattered much.
"It was the same for them," he
said. "We got to Mannering right away, but then Podkul came in and did a
great job. He hit his spots and kept us off balance. There was
nothing we could do."
"I thought the kids did a great job late in the game, being patient and working
the count," said coach Upp. "The waiting part was tough on everybody.
The anticipation kills everybody. There was a huge crowd here Monday and
it was just unfortunate it rained."
"I thought both sides did a good
job. They were ready to play. They came out and put four on the
board right away. We were patient enough to get back into it.
Baseball will bring you to your knees if you let it. There's a lot of
questions 'why'?
CP is a big school with a lot of baseball players but they do graduate eight
seniors this month including six starters from a 27-5 team. The Bulldogs'
starting lineup will look much different in 2011.
"Its going to be tough without all these (senior) guys," Strayer admitted.
"We are going to have to make adjustments and a lot of guys are going to have to
step up."
SECTIONAL NOTES: LaPorte brought back senior right-hander
Clay Mannering in the second game and he pitched four solid innings in a 7-3
LaPorte win over Portage in the sectional championship game, the Slicers' first
sectional title in five years.
LaPorte last won its sectional in
2006, but Crown Point had won five consecutive sectional titles. How?
Since CP and LaPorte have been in the same eight-team sectional (since 2007),
this is the first time LaPorte has won. The Bulldogs had won their last
five (2005-2009) sectional championships.
Jake McMahon's two home runs
didn't beat Crown Point, but they most certainly kept the Bulldogs from winning.
The first one was almost a 400-foot shot to left. The second was a
wind-blown flyball to center field.
"We're very proud of him and what
he's done in the three years of his baseball career," said coach Scott Upp.
"Obviously this is a highlight for him. He's a big reason we're still
standing here."
SECTIONAL NOTES: Crown Point's players move on to American
Legion play next week. Most of the seniors will play on the Crown Point
Post 20 "A" team (age 19 and under), which begins Tuesday, June 8 against East
Chicago Post 369 at Teagle Field at the north end of town. Post 20 plays
Highland Post 180, which is largely Highland's high school varsity next
Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m.
Hammond Post 168, which is largely
Lake Central's varsity (with some Munster players), is the defending American
Legion state champion.
Younger Bulldogs like sophomore
varsity players Sean Qualizza, CJ Becerra and Joe and Zach Plesac will play for
the Post 20 'B' (age 17 and under) team, which begins play this Sunday in a 12
noon double-header against Kokomo Post 6.
Both teams play an accelerated
20-30 game schedule in just five weeks. Coaches Steve Strayer, Matt
McCaleb, Pat Lindeman and Marty Zurbriggen will lead the Post 20 effort.
Admission to American Legion regular season home games is free if you remember
that American Legion schedules always are subject to change.
4A No. 1
CROWN POINT (27-5)
Coach Steve Strayer
(8th year)
30-3 in 2009, 29-6-2
(2008), 29-3 (2007),
22-9 (2006)
4-30 (W) 3-1 at (Orland
Park) Sandburg (21-10)
4-1 (W) 15-0 at (5 inn.)
Adams (8-16)
4-5 (W) 12-0 at (5 inn.)
Highland (20-11)
4-6 (W) 15-4 (5 inn.) at
Lowell (12-13-1)
4-9 (W) 11-6 Griffith
(10-20)
4-10 (W) 5-2 Munster
(21-8)
4-13 (W) 12-0 (6 inn.)
at Portage (18-11)
4-15 (W) 8-4 VALPARAISO
(19-9)
4-17 (W) 11-6 at (South
Bend) Clay (12-9)
4-17 (W) 14-8 at
Mishawaka (10-12)
4-19 (L) 4-5 CHESTERTON
(4-18)
4-21 (W) 5-4 LaPORTE
(27-3)
4-22 (W) 6-2 (Elkhart)
Memorial (12-9)
4-24 (W) 3-1 (8 inn.) vs
MICHIGAN CITY (7-17) in
Gary
4-27 (W) 6-1
MERRILLVILLE (10-14)
4-29 (L) 12-13 at LAKE
CENTRAL (20-6)
4-30 (W) 14-4 (5 inn.)
Illiana Christian
(24-11)
5-3 (W) 12-2 (5 inn.)
PORTAGE (18-11).
5-5 (W) 14-0 (5 inn.) at
VALPARAISO (19-9)
Plymouth Invitational
5-8 (W) 6-5 Penn (18-5)
semifinal
5-8 (W) 14-4 (5 inn.)
Carroll (22-6) title
5-10 (W) 4-0 at
CHESTERTON (4-19)
5-11 (L) 0-10 (5 in.) at
LaPORTE (27-3)
5-14 (W) 12-0 (5 inn.)
Boone Grove (18-12)
5-17 (W) 10-0 (5 inn.)
MICHIGAN CITY (7-17)
5-18 (W) 14-0 at (5
inn.) MERRILLVILLE
(8-12)
5-20 (L) 1-4 (6 inn.)
LAKE CENTRAL (20-6)
Benton Central
Invitational
5-22 (W) 3-1 Western
(19-5)
5-22 (W) 11-9 Benton
Central (18-9) title
5-24 (W) 10-2 Kankakee
Valley (16-13)
4A CROWN POINT
Sectional
5-27 (W) 3-1 Valparaiso
(19-9)
6-1 (L) 5-9 LaPorte
(27-3)
Crown Point Post 20
all home games at
Teagle Field - number of
the post is in
parenthesis
6-8 (Tu.) East Chicago
(369) 6 p.m.
6-9 (W) Highland (180) 6
p.m.
6-10 (Th.) at Bristol
(143) 6:30 p.m.
6-12 (Sat.) South Bend
(50) 12 noon
double-header
6-13 (Sun.) Kenosha,
Wisconsin (21) 12 noon
double-header
6-15 (Tues.) Hammond
(168) 6 p.m.
6-16 (W) at Highland
(168-B) 6 p.m.
Terre Haute (346)
Invitational
6-17 to 6-20
Evansville (265)
Tournament
6-24 to 6-27
6-29 (Tu) at Highland
(180) 6 p.m.
6-30 (W) at Highland
(180) 6 p.m.
7-1 (Th) at East Chicago
(369) 6 p.m.
7-2 (F) Highland (180-B)
6 p.m.
7-3 (Sat.) Plymouth (27)
6 p.m.
7-5 (M) at Plymouth (27)
6 p.m.
7-6 (Tu) Norwood, Ill -
8 p.m.
7-7 (W) at Hammond (168)
6 p.m.
7-9 (F) East Chicago
(369) 6 p.m.
7-10 (Sat.) Lafayette
(11) 12 noon
double-header
CROWN POINT (20)
Sectional
double-elimination
with Highland (180),
Hammond (168) & East
Chicago (369)
7-13 (Tu) 1st
round - (TBA)
7-14 (W) 1st round - (TBA)
7-15 (Th) elimination
game
7-16 (F) elimination
game
7-17 (Sat) final round -
(TBA)
7-18 (Sun) final round -
(TBA)
CROWN POINT (20)
Regional
4 sectional champions
at Post 20
7-23 (F) 1st
round double-header
7-24 (Sat) 3 games
7-25 (Sun) final round (TBA)
2010 American Legion
State Finals
4 regional champions
and host-
double-elimination at
Plymouth (27)
7-30 (F) 1st
round double-header
7-31 (Sat) 3 games
8-1 (Sun) final round (TBA)
2010 American Legion
Midwest Regional
7 state champs
and host -
double-elimination at
Mattoon, Illinois (88)
8-5 (Th) 1st
round games
8-6 (F) elimination
games
8-7 (Sat) elimination
games
8-8 (Sun) final round (TBA)
8-9 Mon) final round (if
necessary)
American Legion Post
20 Roster
A-Team (Partial
Roster)
1) Scott Donley
(CP)
2) Jeff Limbaugh (CP)
3) Mike Manion (CP)
4) Colin Casey (CP)
5) Mike Schroeder
(Triton College/North
Newton HS)
6) Jose Andrade (CP)
7) Alex Doppler (CP)
8) Jake Lindeman (CP)
9) Josh Negele (CP)
10) Brian Holloway (CP)
11) Mike Kessler (CP)
12) Beau LaSalle (CP)
13) Xavier Ponce
(MERRILLVILLE)
Post 20 B-Team
Roster (Partial)
1) Tyler Simmons
(KV)
2) Zach Defries (KV)
3) Aaron Orosz (CP)
4) Sean Qualizza (CP)
5) Stephen Galik (CP)
6) CJ Becerra (CP)
7) Allen Krause (CP)
8) Alex Nickla (CP)
9) Ron Plesac (CP)
10) Zach Plesac (CP)
11) Jacob Carey (CP)
12) Nick Brun (CP)
13) Jake Negele (CP)
14) Markus Kessler (CP)
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Revised: June 06, 2010.
