Lake Central scores 5 runs in final two innings to break scoreless tie, beat Bulldogs 5-1 in windy DAC match-up

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

4-28-2004

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Lake Central (12-3, 6-0)	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	5	6	2
CROWN POINT (8-6, 2-4)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	3

Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 47 degrees, sunny in Crown Point

WP - John Babinski (5-0) CG, 6Ks, 2 walks
LP - Matt Jansen (2-2) 3K, 5 walks (5 2/3 inn.)

Matt Dodaro (LC) Single, 2 walks
Josh Kauffman (LC) Double, 3 RBIs
Troy Russell (LC) Single, walk, 2 RBIs, bunt sac
Tim Wachel (LC) single, walk
Mike Couwenhoven (LC) Single, walk
Matt Jansen (CP) 2 singles
Nick Bodinet (CP) Triple, single

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Rensselaer (8-4)	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	3	7	3
CROWN POINT (8-5)	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	4	2	1

Monday, 4-26-2004 - 51 degrees, sunny in Crown Point

WP - Jimmy Wilson (2-1) 1K, 2 walks (3 inn.)
LP - Addrian Frederick (2-2) CG, 1K, 7 walks

Addrian Frederick (R) 2 doubles, single, RBI
Matt Ernest (CP) 2 doubles, run scored

CROWN POINT (4-27-2004) - "We're a good team," said Steve Strayer. "But we can't get to the next level. We saw it today. But we are not at that level."

Defending 4A regional champion Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) leader Lake Central came to Crown Point Tuesday and the Bulldogs made it close, but the Indians went home with a 5-1 victory.

It wasn't that LC (12-3, 6-0 DAC) bombed CP, but it was the recap of the game. LC made the plays to win a game that was scoreless after five innings. Crown Point just could not. Since the Bulldogs and Lake Central are no longer sectional rivals, what CP can do against LC is not as important as what they can do against Valparaiso, Portage or Chesterton. But LC defeated Crown Point for the South Bend Regional title last season and there still appears to be a little gap between the two teams.

"We had them where we wanted them," said CP coach Steve Strayer. "We played them even. Then the No. 1 hitter (Josh Kauffman) hits a triple with the bases loaded."

Kauffman's three-run triple off relief pitcher Tommy Wise scored three runs with two out and basically decided what had been a scoreless game.

"He (Kauffman) has actually been struggling and today might have been a big breakout for him." said LC coach Todd Iwema. "He really tattooed that ball. It was into a cross wind. At most ballparks that's out."

Trailing 3-0, CP rallied on an RBI single by Nick Bodinet and had junior Dave Dickerson up with runners at second and third and two out in the bottom of the sixth. Dickerson smacked a ground ball up the middle to the right field side of second base. LC's Matt Dodaro went back near the outfield grass and made a strong throw, just barely retiring Dickerson on a close play. Troy Russell's two-run seventh inning single put the game out of reach.

"Maybe I made a mistake pulling Matt (starting pitcher Matt Jansen) out of there but Tommy had been throwing well for us. The pitch was a curve ball than hung over the plate. Now he realizes a little of what the other side feels. He's always had success. All of our kids are going through this failure thing for the first time and it's helping us but we're 1-5 on the conference. We have to mature real quick. We can't have that happen two or three times to everybody."

Crown Point, coming off wins over Michigan City and Rensselaer, battled Lake Central evenly on another chilly, windy spring day.

LC loaded the bases in the first inning before Jansen, the 6-3 left-hander, retired Brett Summers and Brian Makely.

Kauffman flied out with two runners on base in the top of the fourth and Bodinet's triple with two out in the bottom of the fourth also did not produce a run. Iwema was upset with 10 runners left on base but LC may have underestimated Jansen, a sophomore who has been very effective. Five runs is the just the third highest total against Crown Point in 14 games.
In a spring with many high wind days, that is good pitching.

"We're making progress," said Strayer. "We're just not taking it to that level where we're one of the top teams around. I don't think we're bad at all. We're a good ballclub. We can battle at the plate. There's just little things we have to do to get to that next level. They know it. They know what these things are. It's just a matter of getting it done. Against the really quality teams, that's what it's going to take.

BULLDOG NOTES: LC coach Todd Iwema probably doesn't totally understand how his complaint sounds.

"We've got all these guys who are supposed to be Division I hitters," he said. "And today I'm bunting everybody. Their pitcher struggled a little when we started bunting. We took the 'little ball' route instead of the 'big ball' route that we usually take."

Crown Point will honor former major league pitcher Dan Plesac before the Jefferson game on May 14. Plesac attended Crown Point in the early 80s.

Crown Point coach Steve Strayer and senior catcher Nick Bodinet, both had the same answer when asked what you do against a curveballer like LC's John Babinski?

"Don't swing at it," Bodinet said. "Don't swing at it until you have two strikes. If you can't hit it, don't swing at it."

Strayer agreed, "We try not to chase them until we get two strikes. Today, he started throwing the ball down the middle of the plate. Normally, we lay off unless he can consistently throw strikes with the breaking ball."

"His (Babinski's) best pitch today was his fastball, but he set it up with the curveball. He' s a good pitcher. They have a great team.
"You have to trust yourself," said LC coach Todd Iwema. "You have to let the curve ball get in on you. You want to meet the fast ball out here (in front of the plate). With the curveball, you wait and trust the quickness of hands and drive it to right field."

Iwema was unhappy with his teams bunting even though they dropped down three key sacrifice bunts.

"We got them down but it was after two strikes," he said. "After two misses. We had six guys try. Bunting is huge for us. That's always been important to our team. To get the bunts down. We have to do it."

The LC-LaPorte game Thursday is a landmark. It will be the first regular season meeting ever between those two schools.

"It's going to be a good game. There should be a big crowd. The league makes everything better for us in the state tournament. We see everybody's number one pitcher now. We play big games and that can only help us."

Lake Central spent 11 years as an independent school before joining the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) this year. LC lost to Harrison 18-17 and 6-5 Saturday but that's not a crime. Harrison (8-4) is traditionally one of the best hitting teams in the state. LC did make seven errors in the two games, but they did not pitch either Babinski (5-0) or Summers (5-0) in the Saturday double-header.

With just five weeks left in the school year, CP senior pitcher Mike Schultz (2-2) has been accepted to Wabash College, a prestigious NAIA school in southern Indiana and he indicates that is where he's going. Nick Bodinet will also attend Wabash and Schultz is trying to convince him to walk on to the baseball team.

"We've been together a long time," said Schultz, "He's caught me for seven years."

Freshman Matt Ernest had CP's only two hits in the 4-3 win over 2A No. 12 Rensselaer Monday. Ernest scored the winning run in the seventh to make a winning pitcher out of junior Jimmy Wilson (2-1).

2004 CROWN POINT (8-6, 2-5)
Coach Steve Strayer 23-10-1 in 2003
all games at 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise indicated

4-3 (W) 35-0 (5) at Hammond (2-10)
4-4 (W) 4-3 Gavit (8-7)
4-6 (W) 4-2 Highland (8-6)

Kankakee Valley Invitational
4-10 (W) 13-1 Knox (2-10)
4-10 (L) 4-5 Kankakee Valley (98-4) title

4-13 (L) 2-3 PORTAGE (3-4)
4-14 (W) 20-6 at Hebron (2-9)
4-15 (L) 11-13 at VALPARAISO (5-6)
4-17 (W) 8-4 at Griffith (7-3)
4-19 (L) 0-1 at LaPORTE (10-2)
4-21 (L) 4-7 CHESTERTON (9-4)
4-23 (W) 12-2 MICHIGAN CITY (1-11)
4-26 (W) 4-3 Rensselaer (8-4)
4-27 (L) 1-5 LAKE CENTRAL (13-3)

4-29 (Th) at MERRILLVILLE (8-6)
5-3 (M) at PORTAGE (8-6)
5-5 (W) VALPARAISO (5-6)
5-7 (F) LaPORTE (10-2) 7 p.m.
5-11 (Tu) CHESTERTON (9-4)
5-13 (Th) at MICHIGAN CITY (1-11)
5-14 (F) (Lafayette) Jefferson (6-5) 7 p.m.
5-18 (Tu) at LAKE CENTRAL (13-3)
5-20 (Th) MERRILLVILLE (8-6)

Terre Haute North Invitational
5-22 (S) Castle (9-1)
5-22 (S) Terre Haute North (12-2)

5-25 (Tu) at Lowell (7-8)
5-27 (Th) at Clark (12-1)
5-29 (S) Washington Township (8-4) 11 a.m.

MERRILLVILLE 4A Sectional
5-31-4 (M) quarterfinal
6-2-4 (W) semifinals
6-4-4 (F) Championship

4A Regional
6-8-4 (Tu) one game

Lafayette 4A Semi-State
6-12-4 (S) semifinals
6-12-4 (S) championship

4A State Championship (at Victory Field - Indianapolis)
6-19-4 (S) 7 p.m.