Lady Red Devils go 1-2 against top-10 teams over weekend

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

5-2-2005

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
4A, No. 10 LOWELL (10-2)	2	0	0	0	0	3	0	5	9	1
1A, No. 2 Pioneer (7-4)	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	3	4	1

Saturday, 4-30-2005 - partly sunny, 55 degrees at West Lafayette, IN

WP - Ryssa Nord (4-0) CG, 7K, 2 walks, 3 (0 earned runs)
LP – Jenny Williams (7-4) CG, 3K, 2 walks

LOWELL (10-2)
Kelly Johnson (SS) 2 Hrs, 3 RBIs
Courtney Austgen (Catcher)2 singles, RBI
Carrie Shelhart (2B) Single, walk, 2 stolen bases
Ashley Cicillian (RF) Single, walk, stolen base
Becca Nida (PH) Single

Pioneer (7-3)
Tabitha Sayler (3B) Single, sac bunt, stolen base
Katelin McGee (1B) Double, 2 RBIs

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
4A, No. 10 LOWELL (10-3)	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	7	4
3A, No. 6 West Lafayette (14-5)	4	4	0	0	0	0	-	8	9	0

Saturday, 4-30-2005 - partly sunny, 55 degrees at West Lafayette, IN

WP - Brittney Stanley (7-3) CG, 7K, 2 walks, 3 (0 earned runs)
LP – Vanessa Esenberg (3-1) CG, 0K, 1 walk

LOWELL (10-3)
Courtney Austgen (Catcher) Double, RBI
Carrie Shelhart (2B) 2 singles, walk, stolen base
Megan Wilbourn (RF) Double, 2 RBIs, walk
Becca Nida (CF) 2 singles, 2 stolen bases
Nicole Fletcher (3B) Single, walk

West Lafayette (14-5)
Emily Gall (2B) Triple, single, 2 runs scored
Alicia Spack (1B) Double, single, RBI, 2 runs scored
Olivia Ghiselli (SS) 2 singles, 3 RBIs. 2 runs scored
Brittney Stanley (P) 2 singles, RBI

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
4A, No. 10 LOWELL (9-2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
3A, No. 5 ANDREAN (15-2)	0	1	0	0	2	0	-	3	3	1

Thursday, 4-28-2005 - cloudy, 54 degrees at West Lafayette, IN

WP - Lori Knopf (9-0) CG No. 10, Shutout No. 8, 4K, 2 walks
LP – Cristin Just (3-2) 3Ks, 7 walks, on earned run (4 2/3 innings)

LOWELL (9-2)
Courtney Austgen (Catcher) Double

ANDREAN (15-2)
Trisha Hruskocy (OF) HR, RBI
Becky Rosenow (2B) 2 singles, RBI

WEST LAFAYETTE (4-30-2005) In Lowell's 'all-hit' weekend against three top-10 teams, the opener was a 3-0 loss at Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) rival Andrean.

But league championships and league's games are fool's gold in an Indiana prep softball world where you have to beat multiple time state champ Lake Central at the sectional level. Losing to Andrean? That's not so bad.

In West Lafayette Saturday, Lowell gave up three unearned runs but rallied to beat 1A No. 2 Pioneer 5-3. It was a little unnerving to trail early against a 1A school, even one as prestigious as Pioneer, a nine-time sectional champ. But the Red Devils rallied and won, didn't they? That's not so bad.

In that first game, sophomore shortstop Kelly Johnson, who hit two home runs in the first game, had swelling in a knee that has been bothering her much of the cold, wet early season. She was removed from the lineup and did not play against West Lafayette.

But the injury seemed more chronic than serious. Lowell faced a week of contests that Johnson, the No. 3 hitter, could sit out without Lowell being over matched. She's had knee problems all season and she hit two home runs Saturday. That's not so bad.

But in the final game, for the first time this year, Lowell got bombed. West Lafayette (14-5), a defending 3A regional champion, scored eight runs in two innings and rolled over the error prone Devils 8-3 on a partly-sunny Saturday in Tippecanoe County.

“There was one good battle,” said Lowell coach Pete Iussig, walking to the big yellow bus after the second game. “That was it. They tattooed the ball all over the place. I'm not sure what we're learning from today but we're going to talk about it. Oh, yeah, we're going to talk about it.”

Lowell had driven 90 mile to Purdue-land to face two Top-10 teams they would not see (Lowell is 4A, WL is 3A, Pioneer is 1A) in state tournament play. A strong day against Pioneer, a perennial 1A power and West Lafayette, a team that was 26-7 last season, would wash away the bad taste of the shutout loss at Andrean.

But it didn't work out even though Lowell's Becca Nida and Carrie Shelhart scored first inning runs on a two-run double by Megan Wilbourn. West Lafayette, with four starters left off the team that lost to Hanover Central in 13 innings in the 2003 Twin Lakes Regional championship game, scored four times against undefeated Lowell senior Vanessa Esenberg (3-1) in the first inning.

With two out in a 2-2 tie Allison Bianculli's ground ball went through the legs of junior varsity shortstop Keena Thomas, playing her first varsity game in place of the injured Johnson. The error made it 4-2 and Lowell never recovered.

In the second inning, West Lafayette scored four more runs with Olivia Ghiselli smacking a key two-run single to center field.

Esenberg, who had complete game wins over Crown Point, Lake Station and Gavit, did not fare well against West Lafayette. Esenberg shut out the home team over the final four innings but there were eight fly ball outs, many of then near warning track.

“I was happy with the way we swung the bats,” said WL coach Gary Woods. “I told them after the game that this was the first day we've really come to play all year.”

In the first game, Johnson's two-run first inning homer gave Lowell an early lead and her leadoff sixth inning home run tied the game 3-3. Johnson also flied to center field in the third and was called out on a 3-2 pitch in the seventh.

“She really cranked the ball today,” smiled Iussig. “I was surprised at the called third strike. We had a good start, a slow middle and a good finish. Once we got going, we were okay.”

After Johnson's game-tying home run, Lowell got consecutive base hits from Nicole Fletcher, Megan Wilbourn and Courtney Austgen to take a 5-3 edge.

“This was the fifth game for us this week,” said Pioneer coach Stacy Rogers. “And this was the first time our pitcher (Jenny Williams) said that her arm hurt. I was pleased with the way we stayed in there with the bigger schools.”

“We don't play in a strong league. We've only lost one game in our conference in the last 100 games. So, we play a lot of bigger schools outside the league. I don't really know who's good in 1A because we don't play hardly any 1A schools.”

Lowell didn't play any 4A schools last weekend but they were challenged on the road which is good in the long run. Iussig started 15 different players in two games Saturday, which is also good in the long run. But no 8-3 loss is really good.

DEVIL NOTES: In the first game of the three-game, one day nonconference card Saturday, West Lafayette shut out Pioneer 2-0.

Lowell used two new leadoff hitters in this double-header. Left-handed hitting senior Ashley Cicillian had a single, a walk and a stolen base against Pioneer. But it was sophomore Becca Nida who caught coach Pete Iussig's eye. In game two Nida, a tiny freshman JV outfielder, not only caught everything hit to her. The little left-hander appeared to be more than a slap hitter, finishing with two opposite field slice hits, a strikeout, a hard line drive to center field, plus two stolen bases. “I like her,” saids Iussig. “She can rip the ball. That might be something that stays there for awhile.”

West Lafayette is not entered in next week's (May 6-7) Twin Lakes Invitational for a reason that most softball coaches can identify with.

“Our prom is next week,” said WL coach Gary Woods, who confirmed that his team will be back at Twin Lakes in 2006. “Some of our girls told me today that they had other school's proms to go to. Now, they did wait until after the game to tell me that because they knew I wouldn't care.”

Woods also said that West Lafayette is coming to Lowell to play next season. “I've known Pete (Lowell coach Pete Iussig) for a long time. I love to play against his teams because they always use their speed. McCutcheon plays like that. Lowell always puts a lot of pressure on the defense.”

Lowell's Keena Thomas, who had no idea she was going to play shortstop for the varsity on this day until moments before game two began, had six balls hit to her by West Lafayette and made three errors. JV outfielder Katie Long was used four times as a pinch runner and freshman Kristina Kuzma, the little sister of Lowell baseball senior Matt Kuzma, pinch hit and hit a line drive to shortstop in the sixth inning.

West Lafayette lost No. 2 pitcher Katie Mowery (6-2) to mononucleosis. “I don't think she'll be back,” said Woods. “She'd be back in the last week of the season and I don't think she'll be able to get in 10 practices before the state tournament.”

West Lafayette had a double-header against Sheridan where Brittany Stanley pitched a six-inning perfect game in an 11-0 victory in game one and Mowery pitched a five-inning no-hitter in a 13-0 win in game two. “Those kind of games just don't help you,” said Woods, who said his team looks forward to local rivals Jefferson and McCutcheon.

Lowell's junior outfielder Whitney Magley, who will miss all this season after back surgery, has been released to begin working out in the hopes that she could play volleyball this fall. Magley, who made a few varsity starts as a sophomore late last year, watches every game.

“It's bad,” she said. “I hate it.”

On Deck...

TWIN LAKES INVITATIONAL

16 teams – pool play - May 6-7 – Monticello, Indiana

(rankings as of April 29) matchups of ranked teams in bold

May 6 (F) Twin Lakes vs. Merrillville - 5 p.m.

May 6 (F) Boone Grove vs. 1A No. 6 Frontier - 5 p.m.

May 6 (F) Benton Central vs. 3A No. 5 Andrean - 5 p.m.

May 6 (F) 2A No. 6 Lewis Cass vs. 4A No. 7 McCutcheon – 5 p.m.

May 6 (F) Jefferson vs. 4A No. 10 LOWELL – 6:30 p.m.

May 6 (F) 4A No. 6 Munster vs. Wheeler – 6:30 p.m.

May 6 (F) 2A No. 1 Eastern vs. 2A No. 4 Hanover Central – 6:30 p.m.

May 6 (F) 3A No. 6 Culver Academy vs. 1A No. 2 Pioneer – 8 p.m.

May 7 (S) Jefferson vs. Twin Lakes – 9 a.m.

May 7 (S) 4A No. 6 Munster vs. 2A No. 6 Lewis Cass – 9 a.m.

May 7 (S) 2A No. 4 Hanover Central vs. 1A No. 6 Frontier – 9 a.m.

May 7 (S) Boone Grove vs. 2A No. 1 Eastern - 9 a.m.

May 7 (S) Merrillville vs. 4A No. 10 LOWELL - 10:30 a.m.

May 7 (S) Wheeler vs. 4A No. 7 McCutcheon – 10:30 a.m.

May 7 (S) 1A No. 2 Pioneer vs. Benton Central – 10:30 a.m.

May 7 (S) 2A No. 4 Hanover Central vs. Boone Grove – 10:30 a.m.

May 7 (S) Twin Lakes vs. 4A No. 10 LOWELL – 12 noon

May 7 (S) 4A No. 7 McCutcheon vs. 4A No. 6 Munster – 12 noon

May 7 (S) 3A No. 6 Culver Academy vs. 3A No. 5 Andrean – 12 noon

May 7 (S) 1A No. 6 Frontier vs. 2A No. 1 Eastern – 12 noon

May 7 (S) Jefferson vs. Merrillville – 1:30 p.m.

May 7 (S) Wheeler vs. 2A No. 6 Lewis Cass – 1:30 p.m.

May 7 (S) Benton Central vs. 3A No. 6 Culver Academy – 1:30 p.m.

May 7 (S) 3A No. 5 Andrean vs. 1A No. 2 Pioneer – 1:30 p.m.

Jefferson (5-7) vs. LOWELL (10-3)

Friday – 6:30 p.m.

MONTICELLO (5-6-2005) Jefferson has a 4-3 victory over West Lafayette (April 25) which beat Lowell 8-3 last Saturday. The Bronchos have just two seniors on the roster and had lost three in a row before beating WL.

But some of those losses (Penn, McCutcheon, Harrison) are to strong foes.

Junior OF Lindsey Hunold had 11 hits in her first 29 at-bats (.379, 5 doubles) and led Jeff in stolen bases last year but senior pitcher Lindsey Stone (2-4, 2.87 ERA) is not a strikeout pitcher and has not had good defensive support.

This is a game that Lowell must jump on early. The inexperienced Bronchos will look at this tourney as a chance to be born-again after a slow start and Lowell has to show them some old-style religion. The Red Devils got a very good draw here. Their other 'pool play' games are Merrillville (7-9) and Twin Lakes (5-6).

Lowell needs to get to the finals here and get a shot at Andrean, Eastern or McCutcheon. Lowell does not need to see Munster here because Munster is a sectional foe and Lowell's style of play (lots of lefties, lots of bunts and slaps) is a style that few teams play well. The Devils don't need to give Munster any extra practice against them. Lowell plays Munster in late May as it is.

With college entrance exams Saturday morning, many juniors will not be available in early Saturday games. But, if teams reach the semifinals, all the missing juniors can be there. Lowell has a huge junior class (9 players) but the four seniors and the sophomore Johnson twins (Michelle and Kelly) are more than capable of teams with some JV girls and beating Merrillville and Twin Lakes, who will have similar academic-based attendance troubles Saturday.

Hanover Central will play only three games and then head home to Cedar Lake. The HC prom is Saturday night. If Hanover wins all three 'pool play' games (Eastern, Boone Grove and Frontier), the second place team in that pool will advance to the semifinals. Andrean will miss some juniors Saturday morning but undefeated ace pitcher Lori Knopf (9-0) and all-state candidate catcher Samantha Markowski, both seniors, are not among them. Andrean's third pool play game is set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday (May 7) afternoon so 59er juniors may miss only one Twin Lakes tourney game, the 12 noon match with Culver Academy (10-1).