Bulldogs outlast DAC's 1st-place LaPorte 3-2 in 11-innings

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

4-29-2005

Thursday, 4-28-2005 - 48 degrees, cloudy at Crown Point

WP – Matt Ernest (2-0) 1K, 0 walks (2 1/3 innings)

LP – Matt Antos (4-1) 0K, 1 walk (4 batters)

Matt Jansen (CP) 7Ks, 4 walks (8 2/3 innings)

Andy Weeks (LaPorte) 13Ks, 3 walks (10 innings)

LaPorte (14-2, 5-1 DAC)

Joel Matheny (SS) Double, 2 singles, RBI, walks

Ian Eldridge (DH) Single, 2 walks

Andy Weeks (P) Single, RBI

CROWN POINT (8-2, 5-1 DAC)

Nick Ullman (2B) Double, single, walk

Matt Ernest (SS) 2 singles, walk

Adam Quinn (1B) Double, RBI

Dave Dickerson (RF) Single, RBI

Jimmy Wilson (DH) Single, RBI

Tuesday, 4-26-2005 - 57 degrees, sunny at Crown Point

WP – Adam Quinn (2-1) 3K, 2 walks (6 1/3 innings)

LP – Dave Justus (0-3) 0K, 2 walks (2 innings)

Merrillville (5-9, 1-4 DAC)

Darryl Evans (RF) 2 singles, 2 RBIs

CROWN POINT (7-2, 4-1 DAC)

Adam Quinn (P) 2 doubles, single

Matt Jansen (1B) Triple, single, 4 RBIs

Nick Ullman (2B) 2 singles, 2 runs scored

Jon Sertich (CP) 2 singles, RBI

ST JOHN, IN (4-28-2005) - It was a great game with a bad ending.

The LaPorte-Crown Point Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) pairing again created a hard fought, low-scoring battle that, as it has frequently in the last half dozen years, went into extra innings.

With the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the 11^th inning, CP senior clean-up hitter Adam Quinn stepped up to the plate with the game in a 2-2 tie.

But before LaPorte right-hander Mark Antos could get out of the potential game-ending situation and before Quinn could drive in the winning run against the DAC's first place team, a balk was called on Antos, scoring the winning run in a 3-2 CP victory.

“The umpire said that he saw him (Antos) start to come up,” said seventh year LaPorte coach Scott Upp, “and then stepped off (the pitching rubber). There's nothing we can do about that. We don't have to agree with it. I would have liked the kids to decide the game.”

CP coach Steve Strayer wanted to see his 'kid' Quinn decide the game. But from a Bulldog point of view, CP had pretty much accomplished everything they came to do.

“We got to see Andy” said Strayer of LaPorte starting pitcher Andy Weeks. “We wanted to beat a real good pitcher in Weeks. We didn't quite do that, but we'll take it against a very good team.”

LaPorte (14-2), which came in with a 10-game winning streak, took a 1-0 lead on Joel Matheney's RBI double with two out in the second inning. Crown Point (8-2) rallied with two out in the fourth inning on an RBI-double by Quinn and a run scoring single to right field by Dave Dickerson.

But LaPorte scored an unearned run to tie the game in the sixth inning. With a runner at first base and one out CP shortstop Matt Ernest roamed behind second base to grab Andy McIntyre's hard ground ball hopped up to step on second base but threw the ball past first base trying for a double play.

Weeks hit the next pitch into center field for an RBI single, tying the game 2-2 and extending the contest eventually into extra innings.

LaPorte created great drama in the bottom of the ninth inning when CP left-handed starting pitcher Matt Jansen (2-1) walked Matheny and hit Joel Chrobak with a pitch after two out. With Jansen at 125 pitches, Ernest came on in relief and got Blake Hindsley to hit a ground ball to third base.

Sophomore third baseman Tommy Parks, in at third base for Chris Sarhoff, who moved to shortstop to replace Ernest, threw high to first base for an error, filling the bases.

With the about 100 very chilly fans making lots of noise, Jim Gilliland popped a 1-2 pitch to shortstop to end the ninth inning.

Weeks struck out six batters in a row from the eighth to the 10^th inning but the all-state left-hander left after 102 pitches and 10 complete innings. In the bottom of the 11^th, Nick Ullman sliced a line drive to left that eluded a diving Andy McIntyre for a leadoff double.

Ernest then laid down a near-perfect sacrifice bunt down the first base line and beat it out for a base hit. Antos intentionally-walked Jansen to create a force at any base but the balk call ended the game before the junior right-hander could pitch to Quinn.

“That was a great bunt,” said Strayer. “And that's something he had trouble with last year. Earlier in the game, he let a strike go by when he had to bunt Nick over.”

“We have to clean up some of those mistakes. We got away with some mistakes tonight. You can get away with one or two but you can't get away with as many as we made tonight.”

“But Matt came back and redeemed himself. Matt's has been through a lot athletically. In football, he was one of the top receivers in the state. He's a great basketball player. He played on the varsity all season this year. He played on the varsity last year as a freshman for us. Matt's not a sophomore really. He's got a lot of experience. We know Matt can get the job done.”

LaPorte, which came in batting .407 as a team and averaging over 10 runs a game, wasn't quite shut down. The Slicers left 12 runners on base in suffering their first loss to a Northwest Indiana team. It was the first one run game and the first extra inning game of the season for the perennial LaPorte County powerhouse.

“Some teams match up evenly,” said Upp. “I don't know what it is with us. We played two games last year and it was 1-0, 1-0. Now we're going 11 innings. We had opportunities we just didn't capitalize on. That's what we'll take out of here. We had our opportunities.”

Strayer clearly likes to play LaPorte, the eight-time state champ and a school that's won at least 20 games 38 years in a row.

“LaPorte's our biggest rival. ” said Strayer. “I know they're an hour and some minutes away from us, but it's just great game after great game when they play us. This was a fun game tonight. I was proud of the game. I know they (LaPorte) are very disappointed with this and they'll be very hungry next time they play us.”

BULLDOG NOTES: Crown Point coach Steve Strayer has used shortstop Matt Ernest as a relief pitcher three times in CP's first 10 games. The question is, can the Bulldogs take their best defensive shortstop and put him on the mound at key moments in games.

“No,” said Strayer. “Not at all. (Chris) Sarhoff is a great shortstop. Matt's our best shortstop but Chris is not far behind. I have no fear putting him out there at all. We actually have two other good infielders (Tommy Parks and Tim Mummery) sitting on the bench.”

There was tennis and baseball in varsity competition at Crown Point Thursday. But by the time the three-hour game had ended, all the other playing fields were empty and many were watching the extra-inning baseball game despite temperatures that dipped into the upper 40s.

CP's Matt Jansen is a high pitch count left-hander. The junior threw over 120 pitches for the second time this year against LaPorte and Strayer hinted it may be the last time.

“We have a great staff and we need to start trusting them,” said Strayer. “We've got a lot of talent. We need somebody to step up and we have pitchers, we might as well use them.”

In 2003, Crown Point and LaPorte actually met four times. CP won 10-1 in Crown Point before the rematch ended in a 1-1 10-inning tie, a game when then-sophomore Andy Weeks pitched a one-hitter over 10 innings. That game was replayed three days later with Crown point winning 6-1 in eight innings. Finally, in the state tournament, Crown Point and LaPorte met in the South Bend Regional semifinals in Covaleski Stadium with Weeks again pitching 10 strong innings. Crown Point finally pushed across a run in the bottom of the 12^th inning to win 1-0. Lake Central then defeated Crown Point that evening to advance to the state finals.

Technically, tie games do not count if they are replayed. But in actuality, CP and LaPorte played four complete games and 37 innings in 2003.

   2005  CROWN POINT (8-2, 5-1)
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 vs. Kouts (at KV) - W, 11-1 (6 innings) 

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

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

4-14 (Th) CHESTERTON at CP - W, 2-0 

4-16 (S) Griffith at CP - W, 12-2 

4-18 (M) CP at LAKE CENTRAL - L, 2-3 

4-20 (W) CP at MICHIGAN CITY - W, 13-0 

4-25 (M) Crown Point at Rensselaer - RAINED OUT 

4-26 (Tu) MERRILLVILLE at CP - W, 9-3 

4-28 (Th) LaPORTE at CP - W, 3-2 (11-innings) 

4-29 (F) PORTAGE vs. CROWN POINT at the Steelyard - Gary - 5 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 - 7:00 p.m. 

5-7 (S) Andrean at CP - 7:00 p.m. (Rescheduled from 4-30)

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

Copyright © 2005 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: May 02, 2005.