2008 - Week-3, Top-10

High School Baseball Teams in

Northwest Indiana

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

4-21-2008

LaPORTE (4-20-2008) - With warm weather moving in around 'tax day' it was time for the top ten to show why they are so honored. Most did, including surprising Crown Point, which has bounced back off a 29-3 senior-laden season with a 10-0 start. The Bulldogs even scheduled two games with Huntington North for Saturday, just to fill out the schedule and they took one (losing a second game to the weather) from the 4A Vikings. CP wouldn't be hurt by a loss here because it does not help you to roll up long, glittering regular season winning streaks. You end up being more of a target than you deserve to be.

But the other side of that is that weekend games are a chance to allow your seniors, many of whom waited until their senior year to play at a large school, the maximum chance to play as many games as the dinosaur-like IHSAA rules allow. Also, a big school benefits from weekend games by letting younger players break into the varsity. There is much more incentive for a large school to play weekend double-headers and tournaments than there is for small schools with small pitching staffs.

We get into the tournament flow this week as Andrean travels to Indianapolis to take on 3A No. 7 Norwell (7-2) and 3A No. 2 Brebeuf (11-1) in the Brebeuf Invitational. Lowell heads to Porter Township Saturday to take on East Chicago and then probably Boone Grove in the four-team Boone Grove Invitational, where Rensselaer is the fourth team.

With the news on Lakeshore TV (Channel 56, WYIN) now airing nightly at 9:00 p.m., there are highlights of baseball every night. With the demise of local programming on Comcast Cable (the local origination department was an economy shutdown), Lakeshore TV is the only local TV for spring sports.

A suggestion: Lakeshore TV could take the nightly highlights and package them in a week-in-review highlight show with polls, interviews and previews of upcoming games. They are already making the effort to get the highlights.

Losses by Brownsburg and Carmel last week should lift undefeated Crown Point to the top-ranking in Class 4A state wide. But they are not the top team in this poll.

LaPORTE: LaPorte lost 4-3 in extra innings at Crown Point and that, plus wins over Lake Central 7-5 and Michigan City 14-7 keeps them at the top of this poll on strength of schedule. To my knowledge, Ian Nielsen leads the state with six home runs, and truthfully, LaPorte should have won at CP. This is a situation where the Slicers would be the favorites in one game against CP, but the Bulldogs should win the DAC due to pitching depth. Beyond Nielsen and lefty Neil Hackett, LaPorte's pitching is thin, but coach's son Scott Upp has potential as he demonstrated with 14 strikeouts Friday in a 13-4 win over Portage. Lefty center fielder Kyle Rosenbaum has been slumping and that's hurt the offense, but that won't last. It's hard to make the argument that Crown Point is better when LaPorte's nonconference schedule includes McCutcheon, Jefferson, Noblesville and Penn. Before the season began, there was no question LaPorte was better. After seeing them go head-to-head, there is a question, but no answer. But stay tuned: CP travels to LaPorte on April 30 and we'll know more then.

2. (4A) CROWN POINT (10-0)
29-3 (2007), 22-9 (2006), 21-12 (2005), 17-11 (2004), 23-10-1 (2003)

CROWN POINT: Some of the wins are outrageous, including a 19-3 win over Valparaiso and a 12-2 romp over Michigan City. Mike Kozlowski has four home runs already and new second baseman Scott Donley has a hit in eight of his first nine games. Kozlowski (3-0) had the tie-breaking, two-run single in an 8-6 win over Chesterton Friday (4-18-2008). Baseball is an odd sport. The Detroit Tigers lost seven in row to start the season, but if anyone is stupid enough to bet you they won't win the American League Central Division in 2008, please take their money. I am not convinced that CP, despite a 10-0 start, is as good as they were last season. They may be, but they have certainly not proved it yet. That's why coach Steve Strayer keeps loading up the schedule, including games like Saturday's 6-1 win over Huntington North (4-3), which was not on the original schedule. I don't know how many games they can lose with a six-man pitching staff of quality hurlers. Not counting senior Jim Donley (2-0), CP has five pitchers who have started and won already this year. No one in Northwest Indiana has the pitching depth Crown Point has. Games at Lake Central on April 22 and LaPorte on April 30 will tell more of the story.

3. (3A) ANDREAN (6-1)
25-10 (2007), 25-8 (2006), 33-2 (2005), 26-8 (2004), 27-7 (2003)

MERRILLVILLE: The Niners haven't played as many games as other teams, but that changes this weekend if the weather holds in Marion County where the 59ers will play three times in the annual tournament at south side Indianapolis power Brebeuf Jesuit (11-1). Junior Adam Norton (1-1) got into the winner's circle with a five-hit complete game pitching win in the Niners' 7-2 win over Highland on Friday (4-18-2008), while junior football halfback Kyle Kovach stole three bases against the Trojans and junior Kevin Franchetti smacked a two-run double. Remember, the only loss here was 3-1 to Penn (8-0) in late March. Andrean does not play LaPorte, but they also do not play Crown Point, Boone Grove or Lake Central. So we're not going to know who's better from-head-to-head play. LaPorte and CP are sectional and DAC rivals, but if you want to be bold, there's a four-team tournament there (CP, LC, Boone and Andrean) that would revolutionize local high school baseball. The 'Big-4' (Boone would be flattered by the characterization) would draw a nice crowd to Crown Point high school, the only one of the four with lights. It's hard to get schedules on high school baseball with exact times, but I believe that Andrean plays No. 1 Brebeuf (the Braves will move into the No. 1 spot this week) Saturday morning April 26 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time at Brebeuf high in Indianapolis.

4. (4A) LAKE CENTRAL (9-2)
16-12 (2007), 19-10 (2006), 28-3 (2005), 24-7 (2004), 23-6-1 (2003)

ST. JOHN: Lake Central lost high scoring games to Chesterton 12-7 and LaPorte 7-5 highlighting the fact that their pitching staff is not as strong as the three teams above them in this poll. You might not read too much into that because a lot of the early season postponements piled up back-to-back games, which highlighted the third and fourth starters. The Indians are not equipped to play six games in six days, and barring a Tsunami of rain, LC won't have to do that again this year. LC had a 4-0 lead at LaPorte before the Slicers rallied against Eric Summers (2-1). LC cleanup hitter Ryan Boss was 3-for-4 with a homerun at LaPorte. Boss and Kyle Kaluza had homers in an 8-2 win over Valpo on April 17. The Indians really could be 11-0 and No. 1 in the state. But that's like saying that ponies could fly if they weren't horses. You are what your record says you are and this isn't football. 9-2 in baseball is nothing to complain about.

5. (4A) Munster (9-3)
22-7 (2007), 23-11 (2006), 19-14 (2005), 23-6 (2004), 20-10 (2003)

MUNSTER: The Mustangs ran the current win streak to four with a 17-4 win over Griffith and a 14-9 win over Kankakee Valley, the fifth and sixth time that Munster has scored eight runs or more in a game so far. Coaches preach pitching and defense but you have to score enough runs, especially early in the season, to give your pitching and defense a chance. Munster made three errors against Griffith and six against KV so they are not air-tight defensively but when you score eight every other night, you have some time to work on catching the ball. Pitcher Blake Platt (3-0) had 5 RBIs at KV and Jack Standley was 2-for-4 against Both Griffith and KV. The approach you take to hitting is the essence of this sport at this level. You must try but you simply cannot make all the plays in the spring wind, rain and cold and on bad fields. You can score a half dozen times every game, though, and that's why Munster, which must have outstanding batting coaches, is always in this poll.

6. (2A) BOONE GROVE (5-2)
25-6-1 (2007), 26-4 (2006), 24-7 (2005), 17-12 (2004), 21-7 (2003)

PORTER TOWNSHIP: Boone is also lagging behind on games, obviously. The Wolves simply have not played as often as the other top teams. Soph lefty Wayland Roach pitched a two-hitter as Boone beat North Judson (8-2) last Thursday (4-17-8) by a 12-3 score in a game that indicated, maybe for the first time this year, what the Wolves are capable of. Blake Kisurich picked up his first win Saturday (4-19-8) in a 4-0 win over Michigan City. Accept that Boone, a 2A school, has lost to 4A Portage 5-2 and 4A Merrillville 8-7 in nine innings and you accept that this team really hasn't really the season yet with just seven games played and that lack of activity is dropping them behind some teams. The Wolves, who shut out Michigan City 4-0 Saturday welcome in Rensselaer, Lowell and East Chicago for the four-team Boone Grove Invitational this Saturday, April 26 beginning with Boone-Rensselaer at 9 a.m. It's my understanding that the Boone Grove-Munster game is in limbo and has not been rescheduled. Boone-Crown Point is coming in May and Boone-Hanover is coming Monday afternoon (4-21-8) at 4:30 p.m.

CHESTERTON: This is a major surprise. Remember that Chesterton graduated virtually the entire starting lineup from last season. It was hard to believe they could complete for the DASVC title and they still may fall off the tracks. But the Trojans have scored 10-or-more four times and they led undefeated Crown Point 6-4 in the sixth inning on the road before losing. Zack Novak had a triple and home run against CP while Glenn Peterson pitched a three hitter in a 4-1 win at East Chicago's Block Stadium. Chesterton has lost to Jefferson (10-1), Crown Point (10-0) and Portage (7-4) and they lost to Portage by a 12-11 score on a day when the wind was blowing 700 miles-an-hour. I always have problems explaining how Chesterton coach Jack Campbell can have successful baseball and basketball teams every year when most coaches have trouble with one sport. But then I cant explain how Barrack Obama has received 13 million votes from people still aren't sure who he is.

8. (3A) Clark (8-1)
20-10 (2007), 25-6 (2006), 22-7 (2005), 24-5 (2004), 21-8 (2003)

HAMMOND: The Pioneers beat Gavit 10-5 and Calumet 15-4 last week to run the Pioneers' win streak to six. But here's another team that hasn't played very many games as we approach the first of May and they need to get on the field. Jon Carpen's home run sparked the 5-inning win over Calumet but this team needs competition. They need games. Where is the Hammond City Tournament that the four Hammond schools need to get some games in? Clark does play LaPorte in the final week of the season and that's plenty good. But the Pioneers need good weather more than any other team in NW Indiana. The Pioneers smoked out Wheeler 6-1 last Friday as soph Micah Rooke had two hits. The Pioneers have scored six or more runs in every game so far. They're fine when they get on the field, but we're in the last week of April and they've only played eight games. The schedule includes Morton Tuesday and a trip to Chicago to play Mt. Carmel Wednesday.

9. (4A) Morton (6-2)
21-7 (2007), 17-14 (2006), 16-16 (2005), 20-10 (2004), 8-16 (2003)

HAMMOND: The Governors had a five game winning streak stopped in a 5-2 loss to Highland, but a 7-2 start is plenty good. Shortstop Mike Flores was 4-for-4 in a 21-11 five-inning windy day win over Whiting. Flores was 2-for-4 in the loss to Highland. Again, though, if you've only played nine games in the final week of April, you've got a lot of action coming up. An interesting nonconference match-up sends Morton to undefeated Crown Point (10-0) for a 6:30 p.m. Saturday night game, but then take on rival Clark Tuesday (4-22-8) in the big game of the week.

10. (3A) Griffith (6-4)
23-10 (2007), 23-8 (2006), 19-15 (2005), 19-14 (2004), 17-12 (2003)

GRIFFITH: The Panthers' pitching, one of their strengths, took a whole lot of hits last week as Griffith lost 25-2 to Andrean and 17-4 to Munster around a 9-7 win over Highland.
Center fielder Ryan Galiher was 4-for-4 against Highland and 2-for-4 against Andrean. But the pitching could not have had a worse week. And it wasn't like they were walking eight batters in a row. These were real hits. Warm weather and high winds lifted the scores everywhere, but the Panthers have to be better than this. This week will be better because they won't play Munster (9-4) and Andrean (6-1).

(2A) HANOVER CENTRAL (4-1)
14-13 (2007), 13-15 (06), 15-11 (05), 18-10 (04), 17-11 (03), 9-19-1 (2002)

CEDAR LAKE: Here's another team that just hasn't played. Five games? That's it? That leaves them 20 more in the next four weeks. The Wildcats did beat Morgan Township last week as freshman Andy Wellwerts got his second win. HC hasn't allowed more than five runs in any of their five games so far, but everybody's going to have to be a pitcher in May. HC had two games rained out at Beecher Saturday and they have postponed games with Whiting, Clark and Bishop Noll yet to play. This is a promising team and they get catcher Brian Jager back after the first seven games, whenever that finally is.