Crown Point's Quinn notches first pitching victory in 2-0 shutout of Chesterton

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

4-15-2005

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Chesterton (3-4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
CROWN POINT (4-1)	0	0	0	0	2	0	-	2	5	2

Thursday, 4-14-2005 - 52 degrees in Crown Point

WP – Adam Quinn (1-1) CG, 6 K, 3 walks
LP - John Lambert (1-2) CG, 5K, 2 walk

Crown Point (4-1, 2-0 DAC)
Chris Sarhoff (CP) Double, RBI
Greg Eberhart (CP) Walk, RBI

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Valparaiso (0-5)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3
CROWN POINT (3-1)	0	0	0	0	5	0	-	5	6	0

Wednesday, 4-13-2005 - 47 degrees in Crown Point

WP – Matt Jansen (2-0) CG, 5K, 6 walks
LP - Clint Krysa (0-3) 2K, 1 walk (5 innings)

Crown Point (3-1, 1-0 DAC)
Greg Eberhart (CP) Double, run scored
Adam Kennedy (CP) 2 singles, run scored

CROWN POINT (4-14-2005) - If you think that starting pitching is the strength of your team, you can't be unhappy with complete game shutouts.

Somewhere during the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) season, there are teams with hitters that will slap around CP's 'Really Big 3' of 6-3 left-hander Matt Jansen, 6-3 Jimmy Wilson and 6-8 Adam Quinn. But it sure didn't happen in the first week of league play.

Quinn, the Bulldogs' potential-rich right-hander, followed Jansen's five-hit shutout of Valparaiso with a two-hit shutout of Chesterton 24 hours later as Crown Point stopped the visiting Trojans 2-0.

Three consecutive one-out hits in the fifth inning created the only two runs of the game on another wind-chilled April afternoon as the Bulldogs continued to fulfill preseason predictions as a light hitting pitching and defense team. With a lot of pitching.

“Adam Quinn was so much better today than he was at KV (a 6-2 loss on April 9) that it wasn't even the same guy,” said coach Steve Strayer. “When he struggled a little bit, he came back and got out of it. I was proud of him today.”

Quinn allowed three hits and two walks in seven innings, recording the first complete-game shut out of his career and he was backed up by a top defensive performance.

“We had a base-running mistake that cost us a run,” said Chesterton coach Jack Campbell. “But that was only one run. They made 4-or-5 great catches. And their pitcher did a great job. How big is he's going to get. He must be almost 6-9. But he was throwing his breaking ball for strikes. If you can do that, you're going to win anywhere.”

Quinn agreed, “I think my most effective pitch today was my slider. It was working pretty well. The one thing I have to remember is to stay relaxed. When I get a lead, I get excited and I start pitching out of the zone.”

No one had a base hit until the third inning when Chesterton pitcher Johnny Lambert sliced a single to left field after CP second baseman Nick Ullman couldn't handle Jon Schwoegler's slow bounder behind second base. On Lambert's hit, Schwoegler came to a stop after rounding second and then restarted and tried to make to to third. CP senior left fielder Greg Eberhart threw out the lead runner to kill a potential rally.

“That play's in front of him,” said Campbell later. “He's got to make that decision on his own. And if he stops, he can't make it.”

In the fifth inning, with one out, Jon Sertich singled to right field and Chris Sarhoff sliced a double to right field. While Chesterton's JD Wiliamson did not field the ball cleanly, Sertich never hesitated and scored from first base to make it 1-0. Jimmy Wilson blooped a single to left field and Eberhart hit into a force play to make it 2-0.

CP's defense made key plays. Ullman ran from his second base position into foul territory down the right field line to catch Justin Roberts' two out pop fly in the second inning. Sarhoff raced far down the left field line to make a sliding catch of John Lambert's fourth inning pop fly. Sertich grabbed three long fly balls in center field on a windy day when no play was easy. The Bulldogs didn't hit enough to look like a championship squad but they played enough defense to resemble a winning team.

“I think the kids know after all the work we've put in that defense is a strength of our team,” said Strayer. “Offensively we've got to start battling a little sooner than we did. Don't get me wrong, this guy's a great pitcher.”

Lambert, a sidearm left-hander, had a no-hitter until the fifth inning and allowed only seven base runners in the game. The Trojans, who lost 7-2 to 4A No. 2 Lake Central, 24 hours earlier, lost for the fourth time in five games. "He did a great job," said Campbell. "We just didn't get hits with men on base. How many flyballs (or popups) did we have and how many strikeouts? We've got to put the ball in play on the ground."

Crown Point traditionally starts fast and Strayer wants his boys to understand that the rest of the schedule.

“We battled and got the win,” he said. “They made a base running mistake and we had to make them pay. And we did. More runs will be a lot easier on everybody, but we've got to start battling earlier in the game. We want to get a little bit of a swagger but not get too cocky. That's hard to do with high school kids.”

Back-to-back shutouts to start the DAC season is also hard to do.

NOTES: The CP trio of Matt Jansen, Adam Quinn and Jimmy Wilson pitched in order through the first five games but Strayer says he isn't sure if he'll pitch his youngest pitchers on the weekend or if he'll stick with the rotation.

“I don't know yet,” he said. “Matt Ernest and Chris Sarhoff are good pitchers. They've got good talent. I don't know what we're going to do. We've got questions to answer there. I'm going to go with my gut instinct and talk to the pitchers about how they feel.”

ON DECK...

4A No. 4 Griffith at Crown Point

Saturday, April 16, 2005 – 10 a.m.

GRIFFITH (4-16-2005) A major non conference game and a pitching problem for Crown Point, which has Class 4A No. 1 Lake Central coming up on April 19. So Matt Jansen can't pitch and the starting pitcher from Wednesday and Thursday won't be able to go. I'm not sure who CP's No. 5 pitcher is and good luck to him against all-state candidate Jim Swienconek (.447, 7 Hrs, 37 RBIs last year) and the sophomore duo of Matt Kuna and Ryan Bridges (.397), who have played against CP's six sophomores at lower levels.

The Panthers face 3A No. 1 Andrean on Wednesday, April 20 but whoever goes Saturday morning can come back Wednesday evening. This is the kind of test both teams want on the non conference slate and, with second line pitching, the scoreboard will light up in this one.

4A No. 1 Lake Central at Crown Point

Monday, April 18, 2005 - 4:30 P.M.

CROWN POINT (4-18-2005) Crown Point's pitching depth figures to work for them in the 14-game Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) season as they will never have to go into a league game without an experienced starter.

Whether CP uses senior Jimmy Wilson Saturday against Griffith or goes to fourth starter Matt Ernest, the CP rotation has left-hander Matt Jansen (2-0) lined up to take on Lake Central right-hander Brett Summers (2-0), who will certainly get the call in a league game. It is highly unlikely that either coach will use anyone else in a league game which finds both teams tied for first place.

Jansen, CP's football quarterback, is an overpowering left-hander who rolls up a lot of strikeouts (15) and walks (10) but has allowed just five hits in 13 innings. Summers, who will be almost certainly be chosen in the June pro baseball draft, throws in the high 80s (MPH) and dominated Chesterton 7-2 last week. At 6-5, the former Dyer Little League star also overpowering when he can get the curve ball anywhere near the plate. Summers had 17 strikeouts in his first 13 innings.

The key for CP is the 1-2 leadoff combo of Nick Ullman and Matt Ernest. Lake Central averaged 11 runs a game over the first seven games and they have more hitters than CP. But neither is a scary offensive team. The Indians want to run the bases led by the double-play combination of Matt Dorado (.304 last year) and shortstop Troy Russell (.292 in 2004) plus outfielder Brian Gerlach.

The pivotal game of last year for CP came in April when the Bulldogs led LC 4-0 in the seventh only to lose 5-4, a contest that everyone on the CP bench remembers. There is a question of whether LC has faced a top pitcher as of yet. But the same could be said for Crown Point. This is a rivalry game and CP has more of a chance to pull an upset here than they would against someone like 4A No. 4 LaPorte.

Coming up...

2005 CROWN POINT (3-1, 2-0)
Coach Steve Strayer (3rd Year)

Varsity Assistant: Rick Florkiewicz

23-10 in 2003, 17-11 in 2004
DUNELAND ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (DAC) GAMES IN CAPS

3-23 (W) Lowell at Crown Point - 4:30 p.m. (scrimmage)

4-7 (Th) Crown Point at Highland - W, 7-2

4-9 (S) Crown Point at Kankakee Valley - L, 2-6

4-13 (Tu) VALPARAISO at CP - W, 5-0

4-14 (Th) CHESTERTON at CP - W, 2-0

4-16 (S) Griffith at CP - 10 a.m.

4-18 (M) CP at LAKE CENTRAL 4:30 p.m.

4-20 (W) CP at MICHIGAN CITY - 4:30 p.m.

4-22 (F) PORTAGE vs. CROWN POINT at the Steelyard - Gary - 5 p.m.

4-23 (S) Andrean at CP - 11 a.m.

4-25 (M) Crown Point at Rensselaer - 5 p.m.

4-26 (Tu) MERRILLVILLE at CP - 4:30 p.m.

4-28 (Th) LaPORTE at CP - 4:30 p.m.

4-30 (S) Crown Point at Gavit - 10 a.m.

5-2 (M) CP at VALPARAISO - 4:30 p.m.

5-4 (W) CP at CHESTERTON 4:30 p.m.

5-6 (F) LAKE CENTRAL at CP - 7 p.m.

5-10 (Tu) MICHIGAN CITY at CP - 4:30 p.m.

5-12 (Th) PORTAGE at CP - 4:30 p.m.

5-13 (F) Jefferson at CP - 7 p.m.

5-17 (Tu) CP at MERRILLVILLE - 4:30 p.m.

5-19 (Th) CP at LaPORTE - 4:30 p.m.

Terre Haute North Invitational

5-21 (S) semifinals - TBA

5-21 (S) finals - TBA

5-24 (Tu) Lowell at CP - 4:30 p.m.

5-26 (Th) Clark at CP - 4:30 p.m.

5-27 (F) CP at Elkhart Memorial - 7 p.m.

CHESTERTON (4A) SECTIONAL

5-31 (Tu) quarterfinals - TBA

6-3 (F) semifinals - TBA

6-4 (S) championship - TBA