Lady Bulldogs improve to 3-3 in softball, including 16-0 win over West Central
A USA-365 special report by Mark Smith

4-08-2007

Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - 71 degrees & sunny, Duneland Athletic Conference at Crown Point, IN

WP - Jackie Beilfuss (1-1) CG, 9Ks, 1 walk
LP - Lindsay Romero (0-2)  CG, 3K, 1 walk

CROWN POINT (2-2, 1-0 DAC)
Amy Fairchild (C) Single, 2 RBIs

Thursday, April 5, 2007 - 38 degrees & sunny, Duneland Athletic Conference at Crown Point, IN

WP - Meghan Gutierrez (2-1) CG, 6K, 0 walks
LP - Kelsey Rather (1-2) 2K, 0 walks (3 inn.)
   Jackie Beilfuss (CP) 1K, 3 walks (4 innings)

CROWN POINT (2-3, 1-1 DAC)
Amber Pearce (OF) Double, single
Jessica Martinez (SS) Triple, run scored
Anna Stephens (CF) Triple

PORTAGE (2-1, 1-1 DAC)
Meghan Gutierrez (L) Double, single, RBI, 2 runs scored
Olivia Leggett (3B) Single, double, RBI

CROWN POINT (4-07-2007) - To be honest, the question 'What are we doing here?' did come up Saturday at Crown Point.  In 29-degree weather, perhaps the lowest temperature ever for a  Crown Point high school softball game, the Lady Bulldogs put West Central in the  freezer, 16-0 in five innings.

Everyone could appreciate the  insanity of playing softball in sub-freezing temperatures and nobody thought it was a good idea.  But it was dry, there was almost no possible make-up date and West Central actually seemed to want to play.

"We wouldn't be able to make this up," said CP coach Brett Crutchfield, almost apologetically.  "As much as I wanted to keep playing and get some innings in, I really don't know how much good this does us."

The  Bulldogs (3-3) scored six times in the first inning against the out-manned 1A foe and coasted home to victory in front of about 50 heavily bundled people who simply must have been parents or very close blood relatives.

Understand that the Crown Point softball field sits about 150 yards  behind the high school in the middle of a windswept open field that is often fairly cold at night in July.  On this day, you could see outfielders constantly hopping up and down to stay warm.  Onlookers suspected that some called third strikes after the first inning were the umpires' way of getting  everybody in out of the cold more quickly.  As it was the game took almost two  hours.  Two very cold hours.

"To be honest," Crutchfield agreed.  "This is probably the last time we'll play them.  We've started revamping the schedule.  We don't really want to play teams as inexperienced as that one.  Their pitchers just learned to pitch this summer and then they have to come out on a day like this?  But our kids played very well for four innings.  They timed her and they
stayed back.  That was the most important thing.  We executed until the fifth inning and then we get caught flat-footed a few times.  But it was tough in this weather."

The West Central-Crown Point junior varsity game had to be held after the varsity game because a lot of West Central's junior varsity is on the varsity.  As the skies got even darker and the sub-freezing winds kicked up, both sides agreed to shorten the JV game to two innings.

"They came all this way," said Crutchfield.  "And they sat and waited for 90 minutes.  I just wanted them to get a chance to play a little."

DOG NOTES:  Every though the new Crown Point coach is the former Andrean assistant coach, CP most likely will not play Andrean this year.  The Bulldogs filled out their schedule by making the Saturday 28 date with Morgan Township a double-header.

"I'd love to play Frank (Andrean and coach Frank Podkul)," says Crutchfield.  "We tried to work out a date, but we couldn't find one.  Morgan Township is now a double header so we're at (the IHSAA limit of) 28 games."

"I'd like to get Griffith back on the schedule," added Crutchfield.  "I'm from Lafayette, so I'd like to get Harrison, Jefferson and McCutcheon on the schedule.  In the DAC, we see the toughest teams in the area as far as I'm concerned.  But the out of conference schedule gets you ready for the sectionals.  I'm not talking about playing world beaters every other game.  I wouldn't mind getting into one of those tournaments in Indianapolis."

The Bulldogs have four games against Class 1A competition in 2007 and that's probably four more than they'll have next season.

Freshman Jackie Beilfuss pitched a shutout in her second varsity game last week (4-4-2007) winning 2-0 over Michigan City.  Beilfuss ended the week with a string of 12 consecutive shutout innings.

CP got four extra base hits in a 4-1 loss to Portage and senior right-hander Meghan Gutierrez (2-1) Thursday (April 5).  Gutierrez also drove in two runs and scored a third.

2007 CROWN POINT (3-3, 1-1 DAC)
Coach Brett Crutchfield  (1st Year) -  DAC games in CAPS  - all games 4:30 unless otherwise indicated
3-27 (L) 1-7  Hobart (5-1)
3-27 (L) 3-7  at New Prairie  (2-2)
4-2 (W) 17-0 (5 innings) at Morton (2-4)
4-3 (W) 2-0 MICHGAN CITY (1-3)
4-5 (L) 1-4 PORTAGE (3-1
4-7  (W) 16-0 (5 innings) West Central (0-4)

4-10 (Tu) LAKE CENTRAL
4-12 (Th) at VALPARAISO
4-14  (S) North Newton - 10 a.m.
4-14 (S) Lowell - 12 noon
4-16-7 (M) at CHESTERTON
4-18-7 (W) at MERRILLVILLE
4-20-7 (F) at LaPORTE
4-21-7 (S) at Elkhart Central - 11 a.m.
4-24-7 (Tu) at MICHGAN CITY
4-26-7 (Th) at PORTAGE
4-28-7 (S) Morgan Township - 10 a.m. (Double-header)
4-30-7  (M) at LAKE CENTRAL

5-2-7 (W) VALPARAISO
5-4-7 (F) CHESTERTON
5-5-7 (S) Morton - 10 a.m.
5-8-7 (Tu) MERRILLVILLE
5-10-7 (Th) LaPORTE
5-14-7 (M) at Boone Grove
5-16-7 (W) at (South Bend) Riley
5-18-7 (F) Highland
5-19-7 (S) at Hanover Central

4A Sectional
5-21-7 (M) quarterfinals (TBA)
5-23-7 (W) semifinals (TBA)
5-25-7 (F) championship (TBA)

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Revised: April 08, 2007.