3A Kokomo Semi state
No. 1
ANDREAN (31-2) vs. Delta (19-10-1)
2:00 p.m. EST (1:00 p.m. CST) at Highland Park in Kokomo
Weather: Mid-70s and sunny - Broadcast (online)
Regionsports.com
KOKOMO, IN (6-13-2009)
On paper, this is a mismatch. Delta is a surprise regional champ as they ousted No. 5 Leo 2-1 last Monday night (6-8-2009), a major upset. Leo (25-5) figured to meet
Andrean once they ousted perennial power Norwell earlier in the post-season. Delta is a 1967 consolidation of
DeSoto, Eaton and
Royerton high schools in Delaware County in the Muncie, Indiana are.
Delta was the chosen name because it is the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet and it is written as a triangle which, in this case, represents the consolidation of the three old schools.
This is not a baseball powerhouse.
Because of the Influence of Muncie's Ball State University, Delta is far better known for volleyball where they have won Class 3A state championships in 2001, 2002 and 2009.
I don't think either team has played in Highland Park in Kokomo before, although Muncie American Legion boys play Kokomo Legion squads there every summer.
Built for a low Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate (there were more than 3 levels of the minor leagues 50 years ago) in the 1950s, Highland Park seats approximately 3,000 (although much of that is bench seating) and sits in the middle of what is described as a very nice city park.
Like most everything in Kokomo, it's a little worn down.
I would also take an umbrella because there does not appear (from photos) to be a roof on the grandstand and all fans will sit in the Mid-Day sun.
The Eagles will try to reach the state title game for the first time behind right-hander Greg
Heban (6-1), who struck out eight and allowed just three hits in the 2-1 win over fifth-ranked Leo.
Heban is going to Indiana University, so he's a quality pitcher. Delta has won 14 of their last 18 games after a 3-6 start.
They have had some injuries and at times, have stared four sophomores which partially explains their semi-great record.
Senior Delta pitcher Dane Humphrey pitched a no-hitter against Muncie South in sectional play and the Eagles need pitching like that.
They have won four games 4-1, 7-2, 2-1 and 2-1. Delta is not equipped for high scoring games. The Eagles pitchers seem to put your offense in the lock box and then squeeze out enough runs to beat you.
If they can hold
Andrean scoreless in the first two or three innings, their confidence should soar because you can bet they're reading about how dominant
Andrean is.
The only people who believe that
Andrean is not one of the all-time best teams in Northwest Indiana are those who haven't seen them play. The 59ers have won 29 games in a row since a 5-4 loss to Penn (27-4) in early April.
They are the undefeated champions of the Northwest Crossroads Conference for the second year in a row and
Andrean is the champion of the
Brebeuf Invitational and the Carmel Invitational.
The
Niners are understandably very confident in right-handers Adam Norton (7-0), Thomas
Polus (8-1) and Mike Pokers (7-0). All are power pitchers and Norton is especially difficult if you haven't seen him.
The Notre Dame recruit has a 'running' fastball that ruins swings and he has pitched two playoff shutouts so far. I don't think there's any question he'll start Saturday.
Andrean has four senior Division I players in Norton,
Polus, Pokers and Kevin
Dineen and that doesn't count center fielder Kyle Kovach, a future college football halfback.
Ken
Mahala is a big left-handed hitter and pitcher who will have a D-1 future, but he is only a junior now.
What could go wrong for the 59ers? What advantages do Delta have?
They are the road team which means that Delta will bat last.
The
Niners will probably to drive to Kokomo the night before because it would be a disadvantage to take a 3-1/2 hour bus ride on the day of a 3:00 p.m. game. Muncie (where Delta is located) is only 30 minutes form Kokomo, while
Andrean is a solid three hours away.
The Eagles will be home Friday night after a normal day, while
Andrean is either going to have to travel Friday or they must leave very early Saturday morning.
The Niners sometimes hit a lot of fly balls, which can get you in trouble in a big ballpark.
But Highland Park reportedly is not big and homers fly out somewhat easily.
But
Andrean has played road tournament in Indianapolis against
Brebeuf and in Carmel and they won each game.
They should be ready.
I don't know what to tell you about this one.
These teams are not equal at all.
Andrean has won 20 sectional titles and this is easily their best team.
The
Niners have won 61 of their last 65 games and this is a better 59er team than any of the schools' three state finalists (2003, 2004 and 2005).
2008-2009
Andrean is arguably the best team out of Northwest Indiana in the 43-year history of the state tournament.
The 59ers have scored
10 or more runs 15 times and they have
out-runned four playoff foes by a combined score of 41-7.
The
Niners will sit and watch an
Andrean-clone, three-time state champion Lafayette Catholic (26-4), take on Canterbury in the 11:00 a.m. 1 A Northern Semi state before they take the field and they should follow Lafayette Catholic to Victory Field for the June 20 title games.
Truly, the only thing that can stop the 59ers on this day is themselves.
The
Niners possibly do not know
how to come from behind, because they haven't trailed very often.
If the 59ers have to go deep into the bullpen, everybody except Norton and
Polus have been off for two weeks.
I think Delta will have a big crowd here and
Andrean probably will not. I think 59er fans are waiting for the finals in Victory Field and they might not want to saddle up and take the long, twisted road to Kokomo.
Anybody can lose to a pitching and defense team and
that's Delta. But I can't see
Andrean losing this game unless there is some injury or illness.
The
Niners know how to take care of business and they've faced much stronger opposition than this.
 |
| Crown Point fans will
find plenty of room in the 5,000-seat
Covaleski Stadium in downtown South
Bend. (All photos by Mark Smith) |
 |
| Catcher Matt Zurbriggen, Scott Donley and
Miles Atherton (1) hope to pick up a ticket to the state finals late
Saturday. (All photos by
Mark Smith) |
 |
| Crown Point boys are three time regional
champs but they want to kneel down on the turf of Victory Field in
Indianapolis on June 20. No Crown Point team has ever reached the
state final in any boys team sport. |
4A South Bend Semi state
No. 1 Crown Point (30-2) vs. (Fort Wayne) Snider (23-3)
3 p.m. EST (2 p.m. Central time) at
Covaleski Stadium in South Bend -
WWCA (1270) AM
SOUTH BEND, IN (6-13-2009) Snider is better known for football, but the Greyhounds ran to the 2006 Class 4A state baseball championship. They are not shocked to be here at the semi state level. With nine seniors on the team, the Panthers look to use their experience to return to Victory Field. Snider had two huge comebacks to claim the regional title last weekend. Down 6-0 in the first game against Pendleton Heights, the Panthers out-slugged the host Arabians in a 13-11 victory. Then, in the regional championship game, Snider dug an early 7-0 hole to McCutcheon before completing the comeback against the Mavericks, 9-8, to return to semi-state.
Their pitching obviously blew up on them, but Crown Point won't be saying much about that. The Bulldogs won 11-9 and 15-8 so they have issues on the mound as well. But Snider is lucky to be here. Four McCutcheon errors, three on consecutive plays in the third inning, allowed Snider to come back from that seven-run hole. Snider scored the winning run without a base hit in the seventh inning. Don't let it be said the Greyhounds can't win Saturday, though.
Danny Sullivan (25-53, .472) and Nate
Kipfer (23-49, .469) back up Drake
Evanson (6-0, 1.27 ERA), who almost certainly will start against CP.
Sullivan had six RBIs in the 11-1 sectional championship win over DeKalb.
Evanson did not pitch well Saturday against Pendleton Heights, but neither did
CP's Mike Kozlowski (8-1) and Josh
Negele (9-0), for what that's worth. Crown Point is the Duneland Athletic Conference champion, but Snider is the undefeated (9-0) champ of Fort Wayne's Summit Athletic Conference.
The Greyhounds have scored 49 runs in four playoff games (CP has scored 54 runs in 5 playoff games) so there's no secret as to how they roll. I think conditions of this game are key.
We're looking at clear skies, dry conditions and 75 degrees for the 2:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m., EST) start. It's going to be very tough for any pitcher to pour cold water on the artillery that both sides bring to the plate.
The key to CP is Scott Donley (53-96, .552 in the 28-game regular season), who has hit 12 homers this season batting second. If you can't get him, your pitcher then has to deal with home run hitter Mike Kozlowski (42-80, .525), who has 14 home runs in the third spot. Kozlowski has not received many mentions for Indiana player-of-the-year, but he has tied
CP's all-time single season home run record (14), which he set in 2008.
The senior has played on three consecutive regional champions and is one of Northwest Indiana's most feared power hitters.
CP has 42 home runs, but that power will be dampened by the dimensions of South Bend's
Covaleski Stadium, which are far larger (over 400 feet to center field) than any high school field. I'm uneasy about this game from a CP standpoint. In a one-game semi-state, all hands are on deck. Both teams can use four or five pitchers if they want to.
But outfielders are the weakest defensive part of almost any high school team for a lot of reasons. The pro-sized ballparks exploit that weakness on sunny, windy days. Snider-CP should be a very high scoring game and Snider has nine seniors who watched their school win it all in 2006. Also, the further CP goes into the bullpen, the younger they get.
Knowing little about Snider's season competition, I can't pick this one except to take the 'over' as far as runs scored are concerned.
Get your popcorn ready.
