2011 - Week-7, Top-10
High School Baseball Teams
in Northwest Indiana

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

5-27-2011

ST. JOHN (05-25-2011) Even though the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) says the post-season doesn't begin until May 26, the reality is: That doesn't work. The 'unusual' state tournament format begins Wednesday (May 25) with one eight-team sectional and sectionals which do not have lighted field getting the earlier start.

The most bizarre schedule is at the eight-team Merrillville Sectional where four teams play quarterfinal games Wednesday, four more play Thursday and the semifinals are Friday. Then when everyone is out of school and totally available, no one plays on Saturday. And on Monday, Memorial Day, which is traditionally (for about 30 years) the day the tournament began, there is only the one championship game.

If you ask why the tournaments can't start Thursday with the semifinals Saturday, it is suggested that the design was to have No. 1 pitchers pitch the sectional championship and the way to do that was to leave two days vacant before the title game. Whoever imagined this format had an obsession with having the best pitcher on each team pitch the title games. That's why the semistate and state finals are one game.

But let me show you the flaw. In the five-team Wheeler (2A) sectional, Hanover Central got a bye and will play Friday. Senior Andy Wellwerts (6-0), who averages about 12 strikeouts per seven innings, will pitch the semifinal Friday and, with three days off, can start the final Monday. He could then start the four-team one day semifinals at Jimtown and, if that game goes only five innings, he could also start the regional title game that night.

Obviously, he could start the semistate and state title games if Hanover got there. It would be great for Hanover because Wellwert's ERA is less than one. But how fair is that? This isn't girls softball. You should not be able to ride one pitcher throughout the tournament.

The oddest format is at the 6-team Rensselaer (3A) sectional where Andrean plays Kankakee Valley at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and Calumet meets Knox Thursday in the quarterfinals. The tournament then takes Friday, Saturday and Sunday off before jamming the semifinals AND finals into one day Monday.

The solution: As I said last week. Restore the longtime four-week format. Play three or four-team (they could be double-elimination) sectionals, a four team Saturday regional and a four-team Saturday semistate. How? Easy. This year's title game is set for June 18, which leaves two full weeks in June. The final eight schools can delay their summer vacations until the end of June. It's no hardship. Enough preaching. It's up to coaches and athletic directors to change this format.

Long range weather forecasts are so-so for the sectional weekend May 26-30. The best day is Sunday when nobody can play, but there probably won't be any rain the boys can't play through.

The Class 4A state championship game will televised by Lakeshore Public Television (Comcast Cable Ch. 17), the old Channel 56, Saturday, May 18 at 6 p.m. I would guess that if any local team makes the finals in 1A, 2A or 3A that game would also be televised, although they have not ever done that before. This is the first year of the new IHSAA TV network and when Bishop Noll reached the 2A state finals, the game was on TV in NW Indiana.

Starting Wednesday night (5-25-2011), watch for highlights of local sectionals on Lakeshore Public Television (LPT) on their nightly news at 9 p.m. I wouldn't anticipate highlights from the 3A Rensselaer Sectional, but the games in 2A (Hanover Central and Boone Grove) and in 4A (Munster and Merrillville) should be easy to cover.

1. (4A) LAKE CENTRAL (23-4)
20-6 (2010), 27-5 (2009), 22-9-2 (2008), 16-12 (2007)

ST. JOHN: LC won 9 of their last 13 ending with a double-header sweep of Downers Grove (Ill.) South 6-2 and 8-1 Saturday. Brad Wartman (5-12) and Taylor Lehnert (4-2) got the victories but remember pitching depth (Beyond your top 2 starters) is irrelevant in the state tourney. Lake Central got a quarterfinal bye and they don't play until Monday, May 25, where they will have to win twice in one day. Chase Fieldhouse has seven home runs. Brandon Cloutier is still hitting over .500 but I don't think this team can survive the pitching they will see.

HIGHLAND: Highland rolled down the stretch defeating Kankakee Valley (18-10), Hanover Central (16-5), Bishop Noll and Munster in the final full week. Highland has a decision to make. Do they want right-hander Keith Mahler (8-0, 1.63) or lefty Jordan Minch (6-2) to face Lake Central in the sectional championship game. Highland gets two relatively easy games in the sectional Friday vs. Morton and Monday morning vs. East Chicago or Gary West Side so they can set choose who they want in the title game. I like the Trojans to defeat LC in the sectional final.

PORTAGE: Portage went 6-0 in the final week including a two-game sweep over Peru 8-1 and Twin Lakes 13-3 at the Twin Lakes Invitational Saturday (5-21-11). The Indians scored 1-0 win over LaPorte (5-19-11) to earn second place in the Duneland Conference with Cody Jackson pitching a 4-hit shutout. The Indians got the best draw at the 8-team Merrillville sectional and they will definitely be in Monday morning's title game. I think the last time Portage won a baseball sectional was back during the Nixon administration but I can see it happening this week.

MERRILLVILLE: Andrean was good down the stretch but they enter the post-season without second baseman Mark Pishkur and catcher Jordan falls, both out for the season with injuries. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying here. The 59ers are still the sectional and regional favorite if they get by Kankakee Valley (18-10) in Wednesday opener at the 3A Rensselaer Sectional. Niner losses are 3-2 to Brebuef (14-8), 2-0 to Penn (22-4), 5-4 to Chesterton and 3-2 Highland (20-7). But there's no way they can be as good a team without two regulars on the 2010 state title team. They have been presented with a challenge.

LaPORTE: LaPorte faded in the final week losing 6-4 to Valparaiso, 1-0 to Portage and 5-4 to Goshen in 11 innings. The Slicers must top Clark in the season finale on May 23 to win at least 20 games for the 43rd season in a row. If they lose that game, that steak of nearly half a century will be on the line Wednesday, May 26 in the sectional opener against Crown Point (15-11). LaPorte really does not have a strong No. 2 pitcher but Connor Podkul (8-2) makes them a favorite in the opener and playing Wednesday means Podkul could come back in Monday's sectional title game (5-30-11) if LaPorte gets there. That's the problem. That semifinal game Friday against (most likely) Chesterton could be the end of the line.

CHESTERTON: Jake Post struck out eight as Chesterton swept the season series from Valparaiso, winning 5-3 Thursday (5-19-11). After the top five here, I wouldn't bet a lot of money on anybody. But Chesterton got a good draw. The Trojans drew Michigan City (6-16) in the quarterfinals of the 4A Merrillville Sectional and they wont see LaPorte's Connor Podkul (8-2) or CP's Nick Nuaracy (6-1) in the semifinals because those two will pitch in the first round. Chesterton does not have to great No. 1 strikeout pitcher and they don't have a big time offense so they have as much chance of reaching the state finals as the Chicago White Sox do of winning the American League pennant. But when you look at the draw, Chesterton has a better than 50-50 chance of winning the sectional at Merrillville.

7. (4A) CROWN POINT (15-11)
27-5 (2010), 30-3 (2009), 29-6-2 (2008), 29-3 (2007)

CROWN POINT: Crown Point topped Benton Central at the BC Invitational Saturday before losing 9-7 to 3A No. 5 Western (20-1). The final week saw Ronnie Plesac (4-1) threw a 3-0 shutout over Merrillville and a 10-3 loss to Penn. CP has two losses to 4A No. 2 Indianapolis Cathedral (22-2), two to Portage (22-7) and one each to Lake Central (23-4), LaPorte (19-9-1), Plymouth (16-7) Penn (22-4), Chesterton (13-8) and Munster. You give CP a lot of credit for overcoming the loss of its top two pitchers and rolling up the wins they've had (including LC, LaPorte and Highland) but it would be a major surprise if they defeated LaPorte's Connor Podkul and advanced in the week's Class 4A Merrillville Sectional.

8. (4A) Hanover Central (16-5)
13-10-1 (2010) 6-20 (2009), 21-9 (2008), 12-12 (2007)

CEDAR LAKE: Because some of HC's wins are suspect (18-0 over Covenant Christian, 29-0 over Calumet, 9-0 vs. PCC teams) the Wildcats are not as seasoned as they'd like to be but I didn't ever remember putting Hanover baseball in this poll. They'll finish the season (after Monday's PCC championship game) with just 22 games played, about a half dozen less than they'd have liked. But they didn't lose to a bad team. The losses are to Wheeler (16-5), Hobart (16-11), Highland (20-5) , Lake Central (23-4) and Portage (20-7). Hanover won every PCC game and topped Clark, Lowell Morton and Merrillville. HC got a good draw in the five-team 2A Wheeler Sectional. HC gets a bye to the semifinals and takes on Bishop Noll (15-10). They'll also start the playoffs with undefeated right-handers Andy Wellwerts (6-0) and Nic Sampognaro (6-0). You may not know that in the 43-year history of the school, Hanover has never won a baseball sectional championship.

HAMMOND: Noll was 12-2 in the Greater South Shore Conference but just 4-7 outside league play. But of Noll's seven losses, two are to Lake Central (23-4) so the real record is 16-7.
Noll plays the traditional 'Bishop Noll schedule' so they face the teams they've always played for 30 years even though those schools are now much larger. That's why 2A Noll is facing 4As Merrillville, Highland Portage, and others. Junior Kody Alayon (.485, 3 HRs, 15 stolen bases) is the key to the Warriors attack. I usually pick Noll to go a long way in the state tournament. But if they top River Forest in the quarterfinals of the 2A Wheeler Sectional, they will face Hanover Central and undefeated right-hander Andy Wellwerts (6-0, 0.45 ERA). That dog won't hunt.

10. (3A) Kankakee Valley (18-10)
15-16 (2010) 18-12 (2009), 11-16-1 (2008), 20-11 (2007)

DeMOTTE: KV faced some tougher teams and fell late in the season losing three games at the Jasper Invitational on May 13. The Kougars, who were to finish the season Monday night (5-23-11) at Crown Point, swept North Judson Saturday 16-0 and 15-0 as The Kougars Kevin Bobby was 3-for-3 with four RBIs in game two. The problem here is the draw and KV drew Andrean (20-4) in the quarterfinals of the class 3A Rensselaer Sectional. KV has about as much chance of beating Andrean as Oklahoma City does of winning the NBA title.

2011 - Week-7, Top-10 High School Baseball Teams in Northwest Indiana

2011 - Week-7, Top-10
High School Baseball Teams
in Northwest Indiana