2010 - Week-8, Top-10  High School Baseball Teams in Northwest Indiana
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith 5-12-2010

LaPORTE (05-15-2010)  With a couple of days of rain, everybody gets to stop and look around at the top teams in the sunset days of the regular season.  When you rank a team No. 1, you hear a lot of reasons why others think you put that team there.  Usually it's some James Bond-like scheme.  You don't like so-and-so.  You're trying to motivate so-and-so.  You are trying to keep quiet about so-and-so.  But if you go back through this site, I've had LaPorte ranked No. 1 all season and it goes on the pitching.  You saw that this week when LaPorte defeated Crown Point 10-0.

When CP pitches left-hander Josh Negele, they are the top team.  Negele is probably the top pitcher in this part of the state, certainly the top left-handed pitcher.  But when you get beyond the No. 1 pitching slot, LaPorte has the edge with Conner Podkul, Clay Mannering and Scott Upp getting a slight edge over the trio of Negele, Brian Holloway and Mike Manion.  That does not mean that LaPorte will win the sectional over CP because Negele is likely to pitch against the Slicers if the two teams meet.

What most fans can't grasp about baseball is that it's like golf.  You can shoot a 72 one day and 102 the next on the same course.  CP can defeat LaPorte 10-0 just as easily as LaPorte can beat CP 10-0 in five innings.  It's just not like other team sports.  People really don't believe that even though it's proven again and again.  Also, the sectional is at Crown Point which, I believe, has an effect on hitters.  CP's core of Negele, Scott Donley, Jeff Limbaugh will benefit from the home field advantage as will the CP defense, which broke down in road losses to LC and LaPorte.

There is a Lake County bias because that's where the local media sits.  LaPorte had three All-DAC players LAST YEAR.  CP was ranked higher state-wide because CP advanced to the semistate the last two years and LaPorte didn't.  Pre-season rankings are based on the previous seasons' performance so CP began the year ahead of LaPorte even though it wasn't justified.  CP graduated all-time home run king Mike Kozlowski and LaPorte didn't lose anyone like that.  In retrospect, the Slicers were slightly better off than CP when the season began and no one should be surprised that the Slicers took 3-out-of-4 from LC and CP and will win the DAC title.

The 35th Porter County Conference (PCC) tourney comes up next week with Washington Township vs. Hanover Central, Kouts vs. Hebron, Boone Grove vs. LaCrosse and Morgan Township at South Central on Wednesday, May 19.  The semifinals (10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on May 22) and the finals (May 24 at 4:30 p.m. are in the tiny ballpark at South Central.

Crown Point, 2A No. 1 Heritage Christian (18-3), pre-season 3A No. 9 Western (11-2) and Benton Central (14-5) meet up in the Benton Central Invitational down in the cornfields of Benton County on May 22 with CP and BC going head-to-head at 9:00 a.m.

The Brebuef Invitational tournament (with Andrean) was rained out and that's why none of us ever found any results.  Andrean plays 1A No. 3 Lafayette Catholic (16-4) at Carmel on May 21.  I believe LC plays 3A No. 10 Bellmont (13-3) in the Warsaw Tournament on May 22.

The draw for the 44th IHSAA state tournament comes out next Tuesday, May 18 and let's take a guess at what each team would want.

1. (4A) LaPorte (20-3)
21-10 (2009), 22-9 (2007), 25-6 (2006), 30-5 (2005), 25-7 (2004)

LaPORTE:  The Slicers' 10-0 win over CP (May 11) is a high point of the season and LaPorte has to make it last.  Crown Point has kept LaPorte from winning the sectionals that LaPorte felt was their right before the two teas were paired in the same sectional.  Clay Mannering allowed CP just two hits and Jacob Craft scored three times against the Bulldogs.  The Slicers have struggled comparatively (10-2) in nonconference play, losing to Harrison and Clay, teams they are clearly superior to.  Senior Jake Irwin pitched a complete game in a 3-1 win over Portage, so LaPorte truly has four starting pitchers.  There's little chance, with their pitching, that they lose more than one DAC game the rest of the way.  Picking against LaPorte is like picking against the Boston Celtics.

WHAT DRAW DO THEY WANT:  LaPorte wants anyone but Crown Point.  They don't want to see Josh Negele in the first game.  It's that simple.  Nobody wants to see an ace left-hander.  High school teams have big problems with left-handed pitching.  The weather could stay cool and that wouldn't hurt, because LaPorte is a pitching and defense squad that would excel on pitcher-friendly nights.

2. (4A) CROWN POINT (20-3)
30-3 (2009), 29-6-2 (2008), 29-3 (2007), 22-9 (2006), 21-12 (2005)

CROWN POINT:  Crown Point 's sweep of the Plymouth Invitational 6-5 over Penn and 14-4 over Carroll was lost in the 10-0 shutout at LaPorte on May 11.  The Bulldogs have been flirting with defeat for a couple of weeks.  Against Penn, they trailed 5-0 before rallying for a 6-5 win.  The Bulldogs and Chesterton played a scoreless tie into the eighth inning on May 10 before CP won 4-0 as Josh Negele struck out 14.  Crown Point is not a rock-solid team defensively.  They have shuffled the infield and outfield this year and all the catchers are varsity rookies.  But they only have three losses.  The Bulldogs could see 2A No. 1 Heritage Christian (18-3) on May 22 at Benton Central and they still host Lake Central (16-2) on May 20.  What's the remedy for a 10-0 loss?  To beat a top-ranked team or a big rival.  Keep in mind, CP lost 15-3 to Penn last year and they still went to the semistate.

WHAT DO THEY WANT:  LaPorte.  CP wants to draw LaPorte so Negele (6-0) can pitch the first game.  It's that simple.  CP would also like the weather to warm up again.  The Bulldogs are more of a barnstorming offensive team than a pitching-and-defense squad and they'd benefit more than most from 20 mile-an-hour southwest winds.

3. (4A) LAKE CENTRAL (16-2)
27-5 (2009), 22-9-2 (2008), 16-12 (2007), 19-10 (2006), 28-3 (2005), 24-7 (2004)

ST. JOHN:  LC lost 8-6 to LaPorte on May 6 to fall out of first place in the DAC.  The Indians' only two losses have been to LaPorte (19-3, 8-1 DAC).  LC's Cody Dykema was 3-for-4 in an 11-1 win at Valparaiso Tuesday (May 11). Pitcher Jimmy McNamara (5-0) held Valparaiso (15-6, 6-5) to just five hits.  LC probably can't catch LaPorte in the DAC with only three games left, but they'd like to sweep the season series from Crown Point (20-3, 6-3), a team they see May 20.

WHAT DO THEY WANT:  A bye, East Chicago or Gary West Side.  There are problems at the sectional for LC if they draw Highland (15-7) and ace lefty Jordan Minch (3-3) or Munster and ace lefty Ryan Wilkinson (5-2).  LC will not be favored if they have to face both.

4. (4A) Highland (16-6)
16-10 (2009), 18-11 (2008), 15-16 (2007), 14-14 (2006)

ST. JOHN:  Highland lost 9-6 to arch-rival Munsterith Mahler's 8th inning home run won the Andrean game for lefty Jordan Minch, who struck out nine and allowed nine hits in eight innings.  John Livingston (5-0) pitched a complete game with 13 strikeouts in a 9-2 win over Hobart on May 3.  I have them above Munster and Andrean due to depth in pitching.  I think the Trojans have a lot of pitching in a sectional which does not.

WHAT DO THEY WANT:  For the playoffs to start today.  They have three starters (Keith Mahler, Jordan Minch and John Livingston) so three sectional games is not a problem.  If they could avoid Munster's Wilkinson in the first game, they might smile about that.

5. (3A) ANDREAN (15-5)
33-2 (2009), 30-2 (2008), 25-10 (2007), 25-8 (2006), 33-2 (2005), 26-8 (2004)

MERRILLVILLE:  Andrean lost to 4A No. 2 Cathedral 10-3, but Cathedral is 20-1 and a state title favorite.  The Niners beat Naperville Central (20-9) in Illinois.  The 59ers pitching staff is very young after Ken Mahala and they are still improving.  The eight errors against Cathedral was upsetting.  Niner players know they won't see sectional foes like the teams they play during the season.  I'd bet Andrean is looking forward to games with Highland (May 13) and Munster (May 17) as a boost for the upcoming playoffs.

WHAT DO THEY WANT:  To play as many regular season games as possible and then to get a quarterfinal bye.  This is a very young team.  The Niners face Kankakee Valley, Griffith, Knox, Rensselaer and Calumet in the sectional which will be held at Andrean.  KV (12-8) looks like a threat.  Griffith can't be as bad as their record.  But if the Niners get a bye, they are still the sectional favorite.  They've only lost five games.

6. (4A) Munster (13-6)
11-16 (2009) 15-10 (2008), 22-7 (2007), 23-11 (2006)

MUNSTER:  Munster scored 10 runs in the sixth inning to win 11-7 at Lowell Monday (May 10) improving to 8-0 in league games. It was coach Bon Shinkan's 500th win. Only Andrean's Dave Pishkur has more.  Lefty Ryan Wilkinson struck out 15 in a game where he gave up nine hits, but six runs were unearned.  Josh Lukoshus hit his seventh home run of the season.  Munster's pitching staff isn't deep, but do you rank a team on their overall record or do you rank them on what they are when their best pitcher in on the mound?

WHAT DO THEY WANT:  A balanced bracket.  Munster would like to see either LC or Highland in the quarterfinals and the other in the finals because Wilkinson could pitch against both.  But if they see LC and Highland back to back at the sectional, they are probably done.