Northwest Indiana Top-10 Week-11, 2007 High School 'Renegade' Poll 6-07-2007
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

But this team, which began the playoffs with a 13-11 record, stopped Pioneer 5-1 and then outlasted Lakewood Christian 17-11 to win the 1A Caston Regional.  South Central committed nine errors and their pitcher Taylor Scarborough (11-6) gave up 17 hits, but they're in the state finals.  God Bless 'em.  SC will now face Tecumseh (27-3) and pitcher Audra Sanders, who struck out 20 batters and pitched a two-hit shutout Monday night in Tecumseh's 1-0 win over Clay City for the North Daviess Regional title.  If they won, they'd see top-ranked Indianapolis Lutheran (23-6) in the title game in Indianapolis.  But if I was the Satellites, with seven seniors and a team that was 8-9 at one time this year, I'd be very, very happy just to be there.

Lowell (30-6) may have their best team ever.  I just don't know for sure because three starters, freshmen Lauren Wells, Jacki Fletcher and sophomore Katherine Allert, have potential that can't be defined as of yet.  This isn't Lowell's best senior class (there's only 2 players) but this is a very gifted team overall.  Still, they didn't play Lake Central (21-6) at the 4A Highland Sectional and they didn't see Portage (23-7) at the 4A Penn Regional.  But they're up against it now.  The Devils got the worst draw of any of the 16 finals' teams getting the undefeated, undisputed big school No. 1 ranked team Hamilton Southeastern (29-0), virtually in their own (same county anyway) home town at Carmel.

From a Lowell standpoint, I'd change the time on this match up (the other two teams are 29-game winner McCutcheon and Boonville with undefeated Erika Taylor (19-0, 269 Ks in 140 innings) so the Devils would meet HSE in the title game.  But I don't want to win the state title without beating the No. 1 team (or No. 2 if you are No. 1) in the state.  To me it's a paper trophy if you ducked good competition.  Anybody who reaches the state finals can call it a great year, but Lowell knows they're great if they beat Southeastern, a team that has allowed only 14 runs all season.

Andrean is the constant.  This will be the 59ers' 5th appearance in the state finals and their 10th year of 25 wins or more.  It is no accident.  I want to emphasize again that this is a team that is 'on the road again' more than Willie Nelson.  Andrean plays only seven home games (the seven required league games) during the regular season.  They want to travel and they want to play on the road every week and it pays off.  No one else uses the regular season as an extreme road test, but don't be at all surprised if Crown Point, now directed by former Andrean assistant Brett Crutchfield emulates the Andrean scheduling game plan.  Works for them.

I think the Niners won't be nervous in the state finals and I'm confident their schedule is better than that of Luers.  If Andrean reaches Saturday night, they will face a situation similar to Lowell because they'll face a team with three Division I players (and undefeated 5-foot-10 No. 2 pitcher Lindsey Beisser (15-0) in Pendleton Heights (31-1), which is said to bat .429 as a team.  They'll be a little overmatched.  But the Niners will have seen so many good players, they won't be intimidated.

A couple of weeks ago, I said that Culver Academy's Holly Johnson striking out 30 batters in a playoff game last month was a state record.  No.  It was a state tournament record.  The Indiana all-time state record is held by a name that may become infamous to Lowell fans.  Hamilton Southeastern left-hander Morgan Melloh struck out 37 batters on May 9, 2005 in a 25-inning, 2-1 win over Avon.  The game lasted 5 1/2 hours over 25 innings, which at the time, was the 10th longest high school softball game ever played in the United States.  For the record, the longest high school softball game ever played lasted 35 innings.

Local radio will stay with local teams as long as they are alive.  The Region Sports Network will carry Friday's games for sure on WWCA (1270) AM or WJOB (1230) AM.  But if you want to see the finals, you have to get on the highway because the IHSAA television network, which carries the state football, basketball, baseball and volleyball championships, does NOT include the state softball finals.

Class 4A State Softball Finals
at Cherry Tree Complex - Carmel
6-8 (Fri) McCutcheon (29-6) vs. Castle (29-6)  6:30 p.m., EDT
6-8 (Fri) Hamilton Southeastern (29-0) vs. LOWELL (30-6) 8:30 p.m., EDT -  WJOB (1230)/ WWCA (1270)  AM
6-9 (Sat) 4A State title game - 6:30 p.m., EDT

Class 3A State Softball Finals
at Pike High School - Indianapolis
6-8 (Fri) Bishop Luers (21-7-1) vs. ANDREAN (27-5)  6:30 EDT - WJOB (1230)/WWCA (1270) AM
6-8 (Fri) Boonville  (22-5) vs. Pendleton Heights (31-1) 8:30 p.m., EDT
6-9 (Sat) 3A State title game - 4:30 p.m., EDT

Class 2A State Softball Finals
at Ben Davis High School - Indianapolis
6-8 (Fri) Lewis Cass (21-7) vs. (Indianapolis) Scecina (29-1)  6:30 p.m., EDT
6-8 (Fri) North Posey (22-8) vs. Jimtown (23-8)
6-9 (Sat) 2A state title game - 1:30 p.m., EDT

Class 1A State Softball Finals
at Hamilton Southeastern  High School - Fishers
6-8 (Fri) Jac-Cen-Del (17-7) vs. Indianapolis Lutheran (23-6)  6:30 p.m., EDT
6-8 (Fri) South Central (17-11) vs. Tecumseh (21-7) or Clay City (20-3) 8:30 EDT - WEFM (95.9) FM
6-9 (Sat) 1A state title game - 10:30 a.m., EDT

1.  (4A) Portage (23-7)
2006 (18-12), 2005 (20-9), 2004 (27-4-3), 2003 (19-9)

PORTAGE -  Portage pitcher Meagan Gutierrez (22-6) struck out 15, but lost a 1-0, 10-inning semifinal game at the Penn Regional.  It was a very difficult end for a team that had already defeated Lowell, the team that eventually won the regional title.  The Indians had two on and nobody out in the ninth inning and could not score.  Gutierrez (U of Indianapolis)  and catcher Sammy Griffith will leave with a sectional title and Portage faces some rebuilding, although Olivia Leggett should do well as Portage's new No. 1 pitcher.  The Indians did stop Chesterton 2-out-of-3 and they beat 20-game winners Munster, Lincoln-Way East and Hanover Central.  The loss to Adams (21-9) was an upset, but the win over Lowell looks better all the time.  Even if you discount Portage's 4-2 win over Devils, I can't rank Lowell above them just yet because of Gutierrez, a tougher schedule, and more experienced players.  But the season isn't over.

2.  (4A) Chesterton (20-6)
30-2 (2006),  27-3-1 (2005),  20-7 (2004), 22-5 (2003), 21-4 (2002)

CHESTERTON -  Chesterton still has to wonder what would have happened had ace pitcher Dawn McClellan (19-4) continued in the Portage game with the score tied 3-3 in the sectional final.  Veteran coach Lou Ann Hopson made the move she thought was right, but the Trojans certainly had the potential to get to the state finals again.  Here's another team that loses the dominating pitcher they've relied on for the last few years.  I watched the Trojans beat Hobart 3-2 and Crown Point 4-0 before the 8-4 loss to Portage, so it's hard to downgrade them.  Chesterton split with Lake Central, and defeated Lowell (28-7), Hanover (20-10) and Hobart (17-11) twice.  This team had three extra-inning losses and four by one run.  Plus two losses to Munster (24-7) and Elkhart Memorial (23-6).  Consider Memorial's wins over Penn and Mishawaka (24-1) and their extra inning battle with Lowell, a team that Chesterton beat 8-4.  Portage, Chesterton and Lowell are a close top-3 in that order.  But the season isn't over.

3.  (4A) LOWELL (30-6)
23-7 (2006), 21-10 (2005), 20-9 (2004), 13-16 (2003), 14-15 (2002),  21-9 (2001)

LOWELL -  Lowell scuffled a little to get by Elkhart Memorial 3-2 and South Bend Adams 3-2 to win the school's first regional crown in the 23 years of the state tournament.  Junior right-hander Allyssa Reed (15-2, 1.34 ERA) got both wins as the Devils came from behind to win both games.  Lowell enters the state finals with eight starters hitting .300 or better plus two .400 hitters in Becca Nida (38-93, .409) and Lauren Wells (33-79, .418).  Lowell's losses have been to Wheeler (25-3), McCutcheon (27-6), Chesterton (20-6), Portage (23-7), Munster (24-7) and Hobart (17-11) and they have recorded a school-record 30 victories.  That will mean little to state finals' foe Hamilton Southeastern and Morgan Melloh (25-0, 18 shutouts), who has allowed four earned runs all year.  The Devils have five left-handed hitters and while they have seen little left-handed pitching, I'm sure Melloh has not seen a team full of left-handed batters.  Lowell has to dig up every bunt, slap, fake, slice combination they can think of at the plate to try to reach base.  Realistically, you can't rank Lowell ahead of more experienced teams with better pitchers who have already defeated the Devils.  At least, not until late Friday night.

4.  (4A) Lake Central (22-6)
25-8 (2006), 32-1 (2005), 29-3 (2004), 32-3-1 (2003), 28-1 (2002), 30-4 (2001)

St. JOHN -  I thought Lake Central losing to Lowell in the final week was an upset, but maybe in retrospect, it was not.  LC swept sectional champ Portage and they also beat Castle (29-6), who is in the state finals.  Lake Central coach Keith Hauber certainly looked at the Penn Regional and saw four teams they could have beaten (or at least three, without Lowell), but I think it's good for a top program to be taken down a notch every once in awhile.  You can't say that Andrean's elimination at the sectional level in 2006 had nothing to do with their state finals appearance in 2007, but I would argue that point.  LC was a high quality team and they will be again next year.  Both Jessica Dobson (8-2) and Rachel Weaver (12-3), who was a surprise choice as the Duneland Conference MVP, will return in 2008.  LC comes back in 2008 as the clear-cut favorite in the DAC, but they want to restart a just-ended streak of six consecutive sectional championships.  That gives the Indians more pitching coming back than anyone else, except for maybe Lowell.  But this team needs more speed and better contact at the plate.

5.  (3A) ANDREAN (26-5-1)
26-4 (2006), 32-3 (2005), 29-5 (2004), 27-2 (2003), 30-3 (2002), 26-7 (2001)

MERRILLVILLE -  I do not know how Andrean, with a team batting average of .263, was able to dig up an eight-run sixth inning to beat Griffith 8-4.  It was clearly the defining moment of the 2007 season and a young team with no great victories during the season, came through.  The Niners got two complete-game wins from Alyssa Mosely (16-3, 0.42 ERA), the second a 2-0 shut out over Emily Butler (21-3) and Benton Central (25-6).  The Niners top pitcher is a freshman and so is their big bat, freshman Audrey Bickel (37-89, .416, 3 HRs, 29 RBIs).  I'd like more than three seniors in the state finals but senior catcher Christina Caldwell  (32-91, .352, 6 HRs, 31 RBIs) is needed at this position.  The schedule gives Andrean a chance.  The Niners' only losses this season were to McCutcheon (29-6), Marian (23-5) twice and Lowell (30-6) twice.  Luers has not played the wide-ranging schedule that Andrean has, but it will take more than frequent flier miles to take down Pendleton Heights (31-1) in Saturday's state championship game at Ben Davis.

6.  (4A) Munster (24-7)
22-7 (2006), 25-3-1 (2005), 25-3-1 (2004), 22-7 (2003), 15-12 (2002), 23-10 (2001)

MUNSTER -  Munster has to feel a little better about losing to Lowell 10-1 at the sectional now that Lowell is in the state finals.  Munster beat LC twice for the first time in school history and the Mustangs definitely had a good season with the only losses to Harrison (20-8), Portage (23-7), Andrean (26-5-1) twice and Lowell (30-6) three times.  All but Harrison (defeated by McCutcheon) were sectional champions and I don't see any bad losses here.  The Mustangs lose some very experienced position players, but Munster returns both Eleanor Kennedy (11-5) and Grace Ispas (13-2) next season so they'll be a league and sectional contender again in 2008.  Lowell certainly proved that if you keep knocking at the door, it eventually opens.  But South Central has most definitely proven that you don't need the best team in school history to reach the finals.  With the returning starting pitchers, you have a chance.

7.  (2A) Wheeler (25-4)
2006 (14-16), 2005 (10-18), 2004 (7-21), 2003 (7-18), 2002 (11-14)

UNION TOWNSHIP  -  Wheeler lost to Jimtown (23-8) in the regional semifinals at LaVille.  Freshman pitcher Lanay Parks walked five batters and there's the game right there.  Parks didn't walk much of anyone all year.  The Bearcats did take out Porter County Conference (PCC) champion Hanover Central (20-10) in the Wheeler 2A Sectional title game, but Hanover might have been a better regional competitor due to more tournament experience.  That's the Cats next step.  Hanover plays in three regular season tournaments.  Wheeler needs to do that.  Softball is not about single games.  The Bearcats were not a great offensive team, but they have an odd mix of four freshmen and four seniors in the starting lineup and they rose to the occasion to beat Hanover, a much more battle-tested squad.  Catcher Ashley Marino will be very hard to replace, but Parks should be a consistent winner.  Marcy Medina (36-74, .486) is a fine SS and No. 2 pitcher and Parks (32-71, .451, 30 RBIs) is a good hitter.  Wheeler must take advantage of the LAC breakup to schedule tougher foes, but they'll be playing Hanover again next year for the sectional title.

8.  (2A) HANOVER CENTRAL (20-10)
16-14 (2006), 26-5-3 (2005), 25-7 (2004), 25-6 (2003)

CEDAR LAKE - The Lady Cats sectional title game loss to Wheeler (25-4) didn't look good when Wheeler lost a regional semifinal game 3-1 to Jimtown (23-8).  The Lady Cats have lost to Munster (24-7), Lowell (30-6), Beecher Ill. (33-4), McCutcheon (29-6), Chesterton (20-6), Eastern (24-4), Portage (23-7) and Wheeler (25-4) twice.  Hanover started three freshmen and three sophomores in 2007 and they won the PCC and got the young girls valuable experience.  Oddly, HC easily defeated South Central (17-11), who reached the 1A state finals.  That may say more about the difference between 1A and 2A than it does about Hanover.  HC also may be interested in learning that Beecher, which defeated the Lady Cats in April, beat Casey-Westfield 3-0 on June 2 for the Illinois Class A (they only have two classes) state championship.  For Beecher (33-4), it was their second state title in four years.  There is a remote chance (SC needs a miracle to win the 1A title) that Hanover could end the season having played three teams that went on to win the state title and they most certainly will face three 30-game winners.  The future is 2008 and 2009 for HC.  In 2008, the Lady Cats will return seven starters and both pitchers Jessica Toth (11-6) and Kelsey Jankowski (8-4).  Toth was the MVP of the PCC as a freshman.  HC also gets back first baseman Victoria Wigsmoen, who missed almost the entire 2007 season with a hand injury.  Even without anyone new coming into school (and Hanover is growing like the Iraq war debt), HC will be a 2A Top-10 team at the start of next season and they could be one of the top teams in the state in any class by the end of the year.

9.  (3A) Griffith  (16-15)
12-19 (2006), 19-15 (2005), 16-15 (2004), 18-14 (2003)

GRIFFITH -  A very disappointing end for Griffith, losing 8-4 to Andrean after leading 3-0.  I'm not sure what happened in an 8-run Andrean sixth inning to blow up what should have been an insurmountable late lead.  Pitcher Brittany Bridges (10-10) returns in 2008, but core hitter Molly Orzechowicz (33-73, .452, 13 steals) graduates.  The Panthers will be facing some big scary monsters next year in the new Northwest Crossroads Conference (NWCC), with state finalists Lowell (30-6) and Andrean (26-5-1) plus Munster and Hobart, who return their top pitchers.  Griffith battled Lake Central (21-6) and Wheeler (25-4) in the final week and they now have to jump back to that level of play after two romps over out-manned Hammond schools.  Griffith lost twice to Lowell (30-6), twice to Munster (24-7), three times to Andrean (26-5-1) and to 20-game winners Chesterton LC and (South Bend) Riley.  Griffith's regular season records are uncomfortable.  I don't now if they passed any big test, but they certainly lost to the best.

10.  (4A) CROWN POINT (16-14)
2006 (13-14)  2005  (12-14), 2004 (8-19)  2003 (16-16), 2002 (11-16)

CROWN POINT  -  The Bulldogs beat Merrillville 8-0 and lost to Chesterton 4-0 in the sectional to end a rebuilding year.  When you look at it, CP lost twice to Portage (23-7), split their two games with Chesterton (20-6), lost twice to LC (21-6), once to Lowell (30-6), Riley (21-7), Hanover Central (20-10) and New Prairie (23-7).  With freshmen and sophomores pitching, much more than this wasn't realistic.  CP returns their entire infield and all their pitching staff next season.  They are in much the same position as Hanover Central with every position returning next season.  CP will play a different non-conference schedule in 2008 and I would like to see them begin their own four team tournament some Saturday next spring.  The Bulldogs need to play weekend tournaments like Andrean and Munster do and they know that.  The best two pitchers in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) graduate in 2007.  Lake Central, a team the Bulldogs have not beaten since 1998, remain very formidable and will be the favorite.  But CP can do next season what Lowell did this year.  The players are there.

On the outside looking in...

(1A) Whiting (26-4)
33-0 (2006), 11-16 (2005), 28-6 (2004), 21-10 (2003)

WHITING -  Whiting lost 1-0 to Lakewood Park Christian (21-7) on a home run by Logan Carnahan.  This was not a surprise as Lakewood Park only lost 4-3 to Whiting on a late rally in the 2006 regional.  The Oilers were no hit by Carnahan, who survived three errors.  Here's where the schedule comes into play.  Whiting could certainly schedule better pitchers than Carnahan (11-6) during the regular season.  They wouldn't have to travel very far.  Still, the window of opportunity is there for two more seasons.  Mel Dumezich (25-4, 433 strikeouts) clearly gives the Oilers state finals possibilities and they are certainly the sectional favorite in 2008.  But obviously, Morgan Township and South Central have closed the gap on Whiting.  The Oilers can't just bathe in the adoring press Dumezich gets for things like striking out 21 batters on a .500 Washington Township (13-13).  Whiting lacks a lot on offense, but that can be fixed.  The schedule (with no DAC or LAC Black teams) lacks a lot, but that can be fixed, too.

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