2007, Week-4 NWI's BASEBALL Top-10 Poll

CROWN POINT (4-20-2007) - As consistent play finally reached the 2007 baseball season, we found out what we already knew. Almost to a boy, the folks who were supposed to be good were good and those who were supposed to slip and slide have. The exception was Griffith (4-6), expected to be a sectional and regional contender in Class 3A, but who started out with six losses in nine games.

But the Panthers' come-from-behind upset of undefeated Andrean 7-6 Tuesday (4-17-2007), reinforces one of the great truths of baseball. That 10 games mean a lot in basketball and a lot more in football. But that 10 games, especially 10 games before June, mean absolutely nothing in high school baseball.

I would think the suspension of Griffith left-hander and significant hitter Will Frets hurt Griffith in the same way that a nine-game suspension to career .450 hitter Matt Dobin crippled Kankakee Valley in the early going. I appreciate that both coaches were open about their boys being suspended and did not claim they were injured or some other nonsense. Not only is it a good lesson to learn that even seniors must obey team rules, but it also sends the message that you can do wrong and it isn't the end of the world if you pay the price.

The schedule for the four team (Indianapolis) Brebuef baseball showcase is out and the opening game on Friday night, April 27 (7:00 p.m.) matches undefeated Norwell (7-0), a 2006 3A state finalist and Andrean (8-1), the 2005 3A state champion. Since next door neighbors and top-5 squads Andrean and Crown Point are not scheduled to meet this season, Andrean-Norwell is the biggest game of the regular season.

Thanks to the Gary Southshore railcats, The 'Railcat Challenge' brings high school teams to the Gary minor league baseball park every spring. But once the games are postponed due to weather, they do not have to reschedule them. To my knowledge, every single game that was scheduled for the Railcat Challenge was, or will, be played. Northwest Indiana players and coaches need to understand, that didn't have to be. Except for $3.50 hot dogs, it's a win-win proposition for local baseball fans.

1.) 4A CROWN POINT (9-0)
22-9 (2006), 21-12 (2005), 17-11 (2004), 22-10 (2003)

CROWN POINT - The Bulldogs shut down Griffith, Merrillville, Valparaiso and Chesterton to stay undefeated. Chris Saroff (3-0) improved to 3-0 when Tim Mummery's RBI single capped a two-run rally that beat Sean Green and Chesterton 2-1. You've got to steal a game every once in a while to have a really great season and this is one that the Trojans should have won. The Bulldogs appear to be healthy. They bombed Merrillville 9-1 in DAC play and turned back LaPorte 9-4 Friday (4-20-2007) to move into first place of the DAC all alone. This team won't get overconfident because they were 6-0 last year and lost eight of their next 12. What do you look for? Offense. The knock is that this team does not score enough runs to still be playing in the middle of June. Maybe the 9-1 win over Merrillville and the 9-4 triumph over LaPorte is the start of a good offensive streak.

2.) 3A ANDREAN (8-1)
25-8 (2006), 33-2 (2005), 26-8 (2004), 27-7 (2003)

MERRILLVILLE - How come this was the year the 59er-Crown Point series ended? Andrean had a seven-game winning steak broken Tuesday (4-17-2007) in a 7-6 loss to Griffith. The Panthers led 4-2 going to the final inning and they should have won. Andrean's four-run rally gave them a 6-4 lead before Griffith scored three in the bottom of the seventh inning to win. The Niners did not pitch any of their top three hurlers, Adam Norton, Chris DiGulio or Carl Chambers in this game. The Niners have been as good at the plate as Rosie O'Donnell, outscoring nine foes 84-28 after a 7-4 win at Kokomo Saturday. I'd put off some of the high scores this week in a 9-6 win over Munster, a 16-5 win over Noll and the 7-6 loss to Griffith to the games piling up in a short period of time. Consider: This team has hit in cold weather. What happens when it gets warm?

3.) 4A LaPORTE (8-3)
25-6 (2006), 30-5 (2005), 25-7 (2004), 22-10 (2003), 20-9 (2002), 28-2 (2001)

LaPORTE - The Slicers were shocked by Knox 5-4 Saturday (4-14-2007) as Redskin Jesse Johnston struck out 11 Slicers. That was the first win in history for Knox, a 3A school, over eight-time state champ LaPorte. The next two teams to play LaPorte paid the price. The Slicers crushed Michigan City 10-0 and then made an example of Lake Central 12-2. LaPorte then lost 9-4 at Crown point Friday (4-20-2007), but they'll get another chance to turn back the significantly older Bulldogs. Everybody loses games. It's all in how you respond. LaPorte left 10 runners on base against Knox, but they whipped MC and LC in five innings. It is the fourth time in 10 games that LaPorte has won by the 10-run rule. Clearly, a lot of pre-season question marks have been answered in the affirmative. There are still doubts about the pitching here. After 11 games, LaPorte had scored 94 times. What happens when the run parade is derailed by good pitching?

4.) 4A Chesterton (6-4)
15-13 (2006),12-12 (2005), 19-9 (2004), 8-20 (2003)

CHESTERTON - The Trojans got stomped 9-2 by Andrean (8-1) and tipped 2-1 by Crown Point (9-0), but according to this poll, that's exactly what should have happened. The 4-3 loss to Portage was a little unexpected, but the Trojans didn't play badly there. Chesterton should have won the game at Crown Point, but the defense was a little shaky in the final inning. The Trojans turned back Michigan City and Griffith, winning 13-3 over the Panthers. Jeff Gaston had three hits and two RBIs against Griffith. Senior right-hander Sean Green struck out 13 at Michigan City. The Trojans haven't even started to play yet and they are another team that will benefit greatly by warmer weather.

5.) 2A Boone Grove (6-1-1)
26-4 (2006), 24-7 (2005), 17-12 (2004), 21-7 (2003)

PORTER TOWNSHIP - Boone's pitching continues to hold up. Boone turned back Michigan City 6-3 at the US Steelyard with Kyle Ferber, David Diaz and Jim Kulchar holding MC down. Boone does not have the big offense that some of the others in this poll possess, so the hurlers will have to overcome any hard times. Boone takes on rivals Rensselaer, North Newton and Lowell in the four team Boone Grove Invitational this Saturday (4-28-2007). Boone and Lowell are in opposite ends of the bracket so they should meet at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Boone. Boone travels to Kokomo for the Class 2A No. 2 Northwestern (7-1) Tournament on May 4. The match with neighbor Crown Point (9-0) looms next month.

6.) 4A Munster (8-3)
23-11 (2006), 19-14 (2005), 23-6 (2004), 20-10 (2003)

MUNSTER - Munster is one of the more predictable teams in NW Indiana. The Mustangs are almost always going to hit the ball well. Lowell found that out when they were smoked 12-2 Friday (4-20-2007) in Munster and KV got the news when Munster toasted them 12-0 last week. The wild horses busted out of the corral all over Hobart 22-2 in a game that went a little unnoticed. I don't know if I've ever seen a team get two innings of exactly 10 runs in a five inning game. Jeff Spyrka had two homers and four RBIs. I don't know who the batting coach is, but the Cubs need to hire him. Since a 9-6 loss to Andrean on April 15, the Mustangs won four in a row. Blake Platt (3-0) pitched a shutout against KV, but the question is, is he really good or does he just get a boat load of runs. There is talk of a late season match up with Crown Point (9-0), a team that is not presently now on the Munster schedule. Might be a few people who'd pay to see that.

7.) 4A LAKE CENTRAL (6-3)
19-10 (2006), 28-3 (2005), 24-7 (2004), 23-6-1 (2003)

ST. JOHN - Lake Central is riding a roller-coaster that has included an 8-7, eight-inning win over Valparaiso and an 8-6 win over Merrillville sandwiched around a 12-2 loss to LaPorte and another 8-7 win over Chesterton in 8-innings. There are pitching problems here obviously and that's somewhat of a surprise since that's the most experienced part of the team. LC sabotaged the effort of Scott Handley and Matt Murphy in the Merrillville game with six errors. LC made five errors in back of right-hander Eric Summers at LaPorte. The Indians have dropped the ball more often than the Bush administration. You can't call them a good team right now, especially by the standards of the league they are playing in. But the potential obviously is there. So are about 20 more regular season games.

8.) 4A Valparaiso (4-5-1)
15-13 (2006), 8-21 (2005), 16-13 (2004), 25-5 (2003), 27-5 (2002)

VALPARAISO - The Vikings got back to .500 in the DAC with a 7-5 win over Portage Friday (4-20-2007). Senior Seth Clinkenbeard tossed a two-hitter against Michigan City in a 6-2 win. Chooch Sizemore had three hits and three RBIs against MC. Here's another team I think hasn't really gotten started yet. After 10 games, five losses, four wins and a tie... what have you proven with that record? Nothing, one way or another. But two of the losses are to CP (9-0) and Chesterton (6-4). The Vikings lost to South Bend St. Joseph's but St. Joe is 9-0 and ranked No. 4 in 3A. The Vikes have beaten 1A Top-10 Marquette (8-1). Wait and see. This is a good team.

9.) 3A Merrillville (7-5)
23-8 (2006), 12-15 (2005), 16-11 (2004), 7-20 (2003)

MERRILLVILLE - The Pirates hit some hard times with losses to Crown Point 9-1, to Merrillville 8-6 and to Chesterton. Caleb Douglas (3-1) has pitched well, but the younger pitchers that fill out the rotation are going through their first periods of varsity failure. That's big time pain in the DAC where you don't get a soft team to fatten up on. Merrillville may have serious trouble because they don't have the offense to compete in the DAC, which is more loaded than Dick Cheney's hunting rifle. The Pirates need to hope for 15-15 and a good sectional draw because they and Michigan City are the least experienced of the eight teams in the Duneland Athletic Conference.

10.) 3A Griffith (5-7)
23-8 (2006), 19-15 (2005), 19-14 (2004), 17-12 (2003)

GRIFFITH - The Panthers have had pitching problems, and even though their offense has come alive in the last 10 days, the wins still aren't coming. Will Frets made his season debut last week and had eight base hits for the week. Frets also had a shaky win on the mound 7-6 over undefeated Andrean, but he'll add a lot. I don't know if Griffith's catching situation is back to full strength. They were down to a freshman at one point. They've got to get some strong innings from someone other than Matt Kuna. They have a lot of athletic ability on the field and there's a lot of time left. Anyone who does not think they are in the top-10 in the area, has a short memory. You have to respect the proven talent and the schedule they have chosen to play. But hopes that the 7-6 win over the 59ers or a big hitting 10-7 win over Bishop Noll would spark a winning streak did not happen. They've got a few more weeks and a few more sparks coming, but there needs to be a feeling of urgency here.

On the outside looking in ...

3A Clark (6-4)
25-6 (2006), 22-7 (2005), 24-5 (2004), 21-8 (2003), 20-5 (2002)

HAMMOND - The Pioneers have not found much pitching and all the wins have come over weak teams. With several hard-core losses, 7-0 to Andrean, 7-2 to Morton and 15-7 to Portage, this team can't be in the Top-10 right now. I think they've got more to offer, but you don't really know against the schedule they play. I like them more than Morton, despite the head-to-head result, because they did play Andrean and Portage and they do have LaPorte (8-3) coming later. Plus, they have that sectional and regional experience. But this team can't be in the top-10 with a 6-4 record because too many of the wins are gifts. I'm not sure they're better than Kankakee Valley and Highland, but with warmer weather coming, I'll stay with the Pioneers.

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2007, Week-4, Top-10

High School Baseball Teams in

Northwest Indiana