Bulldogs snap 4-game losing streak with 11-1 win over Rensselaer

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

4-25-2006

Monday, April 24, 2006 - 75 degrees in Crown Point

WP - Jon Sertich  (1-0)  CG, 6K 2 walks
LP - Chay Bailey (3-2)  0K, 4 walks (2 inn.)

Rensselaer (7-5)
Chay Bailey (P-SS) Double, RBI,
Chris Bell (C) HBP, run scored

CROWN POINT (9-4)
Nick Ullman (2B) Double, 3 walks, 3 runs scored
Chris Saroff (3B) Single, Sac Fly, HBP, 3 RBIs
Tommy Parks (DH) Single, HBP, 2 RBIs
Adam Kennedy (C) Double, HBP, walk, 2 RBIs
Matt Ernest (SS) Triple, walk, RBI< 2 runs scored

    Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 71 degrees in Lafayette, IN

WP - Blake Mascarello (1-0) CG, 8Ks, 2 walks
LP - Joe Buck (0-1) 2K, 0 walks

CROWN POINT (7-4)
Nick Ullman (2B) Double, single, RBI, run scored
Jon Sertich (CF) ) Single, stolen base, Sac bunt
Matt  Jansen (1B) Single, RBI
Matt Ernest (SS) Single, run scored

Jefferson  (7-4)
Tyler Rogers (2B) Single, 2 stolen bases
Brent McNeil (SS) Single run scored

Saturday,April 22, 2006 - 71 degrees in Lafayette, IN

WP - Blake Mascarello (1-0)   CG, 8Ks, 2 walks
LP -  Joe Buck (0-1) 2K, 0 walks

CROWN POINT (8-4)
Nick Ullman (2B) Single, 2 runs scored
Chris saroff (3B) 2 doubles, 4 RBIs
Adam Kennedy (C) Tripe, single,RBI
Matt  Jansen (P) 2 singles, 2 RBIS
Matt Ernest (SS) Double, triple, RBI
Tommy Parks (RF) Double, RBI
Joe Patrick (DH) Double, RBI
Tim Mummery (1B) Double, 2 walks, 3 runs scored

(West Lafayette) Harrison (5-9)
Rick Waters (RF) Single, RBI
Tom Zika (DH) Single, RBI

Friday, April 21, 2006 - 76 degrees in Merrillville

WP - Adam Farag (5-0) CG, 5K, 3 walks
LP - Chris Saroff (1-2)  2Ks, 4 walks (5 inn.)

CROWN POINT (6-4)
Tommy Parks (DH) 2 singles, double, RBI
Tim Mummery (1B) 2 singles

MERRILLVILLE (11-2)
Jose Ponce (1B) 2 singles, RBI
Alfredo Arredondo (C) Single, 2 RBIs

CROWN POINT (4-25-2006)  So this is the way its going to be.  Crown Point won the first six games of the 2006 season. They lost four road games in a row.  And then CP won three in a row including an 11-1 win over visiting Rensselaer Monday afternoon.

"I hope it's not like this," said CP coach Steve Strayer.  "We're hoping we can have a little more consistency here. We've got to bear down in every aspect of every game.  And we now know if we let up, bad things can happen."

The bad things were consecutive losses to Griffith, Valparaiso, LaPorte and arch-rival Merrillville that dropped CP from a ranking of as high as second state wide in the 4A poll... all the way out of the top-10.

"I like it better that way," said Monday's winning pitcher Jon Sertich, who stuck out the side in the fifth inning to invoke the 10-run rule and end the contest.  "Honestly, we don't need to be ranked.  It's just like football."

Crown Point rose as high as No. 2 in the state football rankings before an upset loss at Merrillville in the state playoffs last November.  Last week's road losing streak had folks asking, "What's wrong with Crown Point?"

"We kinda lost our heads there," said Sertich. "We were catching some bad breaks, but we were so worried about not losing that we weren't playing.  But I think we're starting to get hot again with three in a row now.  It's a lot better when you're winning."

Crown Point scored three times in the first inning against losing pitcher Chay Bailey (3-2).  Nick Ullman led off with a double, junior Tim Mummery bunted him to third base and Chris Saroff scored him with a sacrifice fly.  Tommy Parks was hit by a pitch and walks to Matt Jansen and Sertich loaded the bases before Adam Kennedy's two-run double gave CP the 3-0 edge.

Bailey's RBI double cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the third inning before CP scored two more runs.  A triple by Matt Ernest started the rally and a single by Saroff and a throwing error by Rensselaer catcher Chris Bell scored the fourth and fifth runs.  Parks' two-ruin single capped a four-run third inning off relief pitcher Jacob Kiger and CP had put the game out of reach at 9-1.

"How many walks did we have?" asked Strayer.  "We're really not talking about our hitting.  It's our decision-making."

Sertich, making his first start of the season, struggled through the second, third and fourth innings before striking out the side in the fifth. "I was just starting to get the feel of the mound," said Sertich, who is regularly the Bulldogs' center fielder and doesn't really think of himself as a pitcher.  "No, not really. Maybe I'll get another chance against Michigan City or somebody like that."

The big win of the latest streak was the 4-2, nine-inning win at Jefferson Saturday morning.  Highly-regarded CP sophomore left-hander Blake Mascarello was very strong, allowing just two walks and five hits in nine innings.  Jansen's pinch hit single broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth after CP had left 11 runners on base in a 4-2 loss to Merrillville the day before.

"I think our guys just decided they couldn't let this happen any more going into the Merrillville game," said Strayer, "and they were very frustrated when they couldn't win that one.  We played very well against Lafayette.  The Jeff team (Lafayette Jefferson) was probably the best team we've seen this year.  The kids stepped up and made the plays.  Blake (Mascarello) did a really nice job.  He walked the first batter of the game and I thought we were in trouble.  But he did a great job.  He kept his head and he threw all his pitches for strikes."

There's a school of thought that no winning streaks or losing streaks matter in the month of April.  You can't win any championships in the first four weeks of the season.  But CP does not totally agree with that.

"What's going to hurt us is the three conference losses," Strayer said.  "We have to sweep this week to get back into the race.  These are games we have to win." 

DOG NOTES:  Coach Steve Strayer has made two changes in the original batting order.  He originally had Nick Ullman third and Jon Sertich first in the order.  Strayer reversed those two players, moving Ullman back to the leadoff role he handled in 2005.  CP has also moved Tommy Parks into the clean-up slot and he responded by going 3-for-3 against Merrillville.

"He's really putting the bat on the ball," said Strayer.  "We've had guys look great in one game and terrible in the other.  Tommy has been more consistent than that."

Matt Ernest has what coach Strayer called 'tendonitis' in his throwing arm.  CP's starting shortstop is an excellent pitcher but has been used in that role rarely this season.  The Bulldogs may simply go with Mascarello and Sertich as the fourth and fifth starters behind Matt Jansen, Chris Saroff and Tommy Wise.  Ernest is CP's top defensive shortstop and the Bulldogs may want to simply leave him there since they are so rich in pitching this season.

Crown Point (9-4), Lake Central (9-5), which also had a four game losing streak, and Brownsburg (10-3) all dropped out of the state 4A Top-10 poll after losses last week.  New Albany (9-2) is this week's number one team.  LaPorte (12-3) is eighth and Merrillville (12-2) is 10th.

Crown Point has a  four-game home stand this week with Rensselaer, Portage, Michigan City and Gavit.

Our next Internet Radio broadcast on www.USA-354.com will be Friday, May when Crown Point hosts Valparaiso in boys baseball.  Our pre-game show starts at 4:15 p.m., with the first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m., CDT.  Our complete USA-365 Internet Radio spring baseball and softball schedule can be found by clicking here.