Crown Point girls come back from 4-0 deficit to beat Lowell 7-4 in Sectional opener

MERRILLVILLE Sectional semifinal (5-26-2003) cloudy, 68 degrees
WP  -   Lacy Holevis  (8-12)  CG  No. 21   3ks, 2walks
LP  -   Cristin Just (6-5) 0K, 3 walks (2.3 innings)

LOWELL (7 singles, 3-3 steals)
Liz Martin (L) 2 singles
Cristin Just (L) Single, RBI
Amber Roberts (L) Single, 2 RBIs

CROWN POINT (7 singles, 3 doubles)
Lacy Holevis (CP) Double, 2 singles, RBI
Erin Hostinsky (CP) Double, RBI
Wendy Kurcz (CP) 2 singles, 2 RBIs
Amy Zondor (CP) 3 walks
Kendra Rather (CP) Double, single, 2 RBIs

MERRILLVILLE (5-26-2003) - Would the team with 10 seniors feel too much pressure in a do-or-die game?  Or would the team with four freshman starters not be able to handle the pressure of a state playoff?

A little of the former.  A little more of the latter.  Lowell raced to a 4-0 lead and that should've been enough.  But Crown Point scored six times in third inning and went on to defeat the Red Devils 7-4 in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A Merrillville Sectional softball tournament Monday afternoon.

For Crown Point, it wasn't how they won, it was that they won. This was the first state tournament win for Crown Point in the class sports era.  CP had not advanced anywhere in the sectional play since June of 1997 and, while they will be the underdog against Valparaiso (18-7) in Thursday's semifinals, any Lady Bulldog softball predictions now become invalid. They are barking up a whole new tree.

"I'm so excited," said Kendra Rather, who had two hits and two RBIs. "I couldn't be more proud of our team than I am now."

"We're going out in style," said senior outfielder Wendy Kurcz, who was 2-for-4 with two more RBIs.

"Most of it has to do with them," said coach Chris Pepa. "When they're confident. They can accomplish a great deal. That's all it takes."

Lowell coach Pete Iussig was matter-of-fact after the loss. "Lacy (Holevis) did a nice job. You've got to give her credit.  But we just didn't seem focused after we got the lead, and you can't do that.  We've talked all year about how when you get somebody down, that's when you go after them."

"After we got four, it was like we were in a fog. And, before you know it, it's too late."

Lowell, coming off three losses Saturday at the tough Penn Invitational, seemed happy to see a foe that wasn't in the top 20.

Freshman Amy Shelhart and Liz Martin laid down left-handed bunt singles with one out in the third inning and both moved up on a double steal. Tiffany Meyers reached on a fielder's choice while both runners held their base before Amber Roberts started the scoring with a two-run single to center field.

Lowell starting pitcher Cristin Just (6-5) singled to left to make it 3-0 and Nicole Fletcher's ground out to third base made it 4-0 and the noontime holiday sunshine seemed to shine brightly for the younger Devils.

Usually, a four-run lead is a blowout in state tournament softball but the lead didn't stay at four for long. CP's Amy Zondor walked to start the bottom of the third inning and Erin Hostinsky lined an RBI double all the way to the right center field fence.  Holevis popped a bloop double down the right field line, scoring Hostinsky to make it 2-0.  After Jen McMullin walked, junior Mallory Michaels was called out when she ran into her own bunted ball.

But the key play of the game was Kelly Harlow's ground ball to Lowell second baseman Amy Shelhart.  As Shelhart attempted to tag McMullin, she lost the ball, filling the bases. Rather, CP's senior second baseman, then lined a single to center to tie the game 4-4.

Wendy Kurcz' single made it 5-4 and, after Lowell senior Kristin O'Connell replaced Just as the Devils' pitcher, Cathy Yokovich's sacrifice flyball made it 6-4.

To say that Lowell lost because of youth and inexperience is probably an oversimplification. In eight plate appearances, freshman 1-2 hitters Shelhart and Martin reached base five times. The trouble was, the Red Devils left nine runners on base.

But CP's experience clearly came into play after they trailed by four. When you give up four in the softball state tournament, it's time to lose. "Lowell did a really nice job with their bunting and their slapping," said Coach Pepa.  "But we pulled ourselves together and got the job done. I'm proud of them.  We were fortunate. We played a double-header against Lowell and we saw both of their pitchers. We had seen the first pitcher and when they brought in the second girl, we had seen her, too."

The Bulldogs were a little shaky in the final inning as consecutive errors opened the seventh.  But CP first baseman Jen McMullin got an out on Tiffany Meyers' bunt, and Holevis got two ground ball outs to end the game, sparking a short celebration in the perfect 70-degree weather.  A smiling Pepa had been presented with her first state tournament victory in four years of trying.

"It's huge deal for me," she said. "I'm not coaching after this year so it's really exciting for me.  With this group of seniors I have, it couldn't happen to a better bunch of girls.  I couldn't ask for a better day."


DOG  NOTES:  The CP victory over Lowell was the Bulldogs third win over the Devils this season. Valparaiso benefited from five late Portage errors to beat the Indians 3-2 in the other Merrillville Sectional semifinal.   The correct starting time of Thursday's semifinal game is 4:30 p.m. with the second semifinal game to be played late Thursday under the lights.

One of the biggest upsets in many years in the state tournament occurred Monday when Hammond high, which has never won a sectional title, beat 21-game winner Highland 4-3 in 12 innings. That virtually guarantees that superpower Lake Central will reach the Penn Regional. LC beat Munster 2-0 and does not face serious competition in the semifinals and finals of the Highland Sectional.

Lowell finished the season at the Penn Invitational, losing to Penn, Hamilton Southeastern and Fort Wayne Snider. The Red Devils finished the season with a five-game losing streak but only three of their top-12 players are seniors. Lowell will be one of the region's top teams heading into the 2004 season.

CP's Wendy Kurcz said the week of the draw that she wanted to play Lowell and she wanted to face the Devils' Cristin Just.

"My sister plays with her," she said. "She goes to my batting coach for pitching lessons. I knew her. I had inside information."  Valparaiso may be looking ahead to a sectional championship matchup with Chesterton but Crown Point is looking at Valparaiso, perhaps their biggest rival in softball.

"We beat them before," said Kurcz of a 5-3 victory two weeks ago. "And we can beat them again. All of us are going out in style."

2003  STATE SOFTBALL  FINALS
6-13 (F)   4A semifinals  -   6:30 p.m.
6-13  (S)   4A championship -  5 p.m.

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