Northwest Indiana Top-10

Week-12 & Final, 2007 High School 'Renegade' Poll

6-14-2007

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

PORTAGE (6-14-2007) The state finals brought back two trends that have dominated Indiana high school sports in the last couple of decades. Not only did three private schools (Scecina, Lutheran and Andrean) win three of the four state softball titles, but three Indianapolis area schools (Scecina, Lutheran and Hamilton Southeastern) won titles. Let's discuss the latter. On the surface, it is understandable the schools from Indianapolis, the largest metro area in the state, would win most of the state titles. Throw in the affluence of Hamilton County (north of Indianapolis) and it's another notch in their favor. Anyone who claims that affluence does not help team sports doesn't understand what's happening.

The size of the schools is also a factor. Warren Central (3,896 students) is not only Indian's four-time defending big school football champ, they are also the two-time defending champions of both girls and boys track. Don't blame, if you have to find fault, small schools for class sports. Blame the Warren Centrals. Southeastern was at 3,700 students before they split and created Fishers high.

Part of the Indy success has to do with geography. Scecina, Lutheran, Southeastern and Pendleton Heights (they were upset in the semifinals), are home teams at the state finals. They play and then they go home to bed. All others play and then go back to the hotel. It is an edge. Also, Indy teams are used to the field they play on. Southeastern girls had played at Carmel all their lives while Lowell people were visiting the Cherry Tree Complex for the first time. I think I understand the 'game' here. I realize that the state finals in basketball and football are money makers for the city of Indianapolis and, with pro facilities available, they won't be moved.

But I would like to see the state finals in other sports rotated to other cities so Indianapolis teams do not always have the home field advantage. Maybe (I'm sure they would) IU or Purdue or Notre Dame would like to hold the state softball finals. School is out by June so there would be no overcrowding. Players could stay at the colleges involved. Indianapolis is centrally located (I have no idea who got paid who to move the state track finals to Bloomington) and Indy is where the big money sports state finals should stay. But the IHSAA would make a lot of friends if they moved other state finals to long-suffering and long-traveling areas in the north once in awhile.

The message of the state finals might be to breed left-handed pitchers. Hamilton Southeastern's Morgan Melloh throws especially hard (certainly harder than anyone in NW Indiana in recent years), but throwing from the left side makes her difficult to adjust to. Pendleton Heights lefty Lindsey Beisser (15-0, 0.78), a 5-foot-10 junior finished the season undefeated and McCutcheon's junior lefty Tori Collins (12-5, 0.70) reached the finals for a second time.

Baseball and softball are right-handed games. Most hitters are right-handed because you have to throw right-handed to play second, third, shortstop or be a catcher. So coaches make right-handed batters lefty hitters to bat with the predominance of right-handed pitching. If coaches can develop strong left-handed pitching, they are a step ahead of the parade. Lowell (30-7), a relentless attacking team, was shut out by Collins and Melloh and I don't think it was a coincidence. The batting order was built, as most are, to handle right-handed pitching. The college are already onto this. Most of the college teams deep in the playoffs have a lefty.

It's not that tough to get to the state finals anymore. Before class sports, you needed six or seven wins to get to the finals. Now, some teams only need to win four times to reach the final four. But, when you get there, especially in 4A, you need a 'freak'. Someone who has an edge over everybody in one respect or another. That edge, for three of the eight state finals teams, was a left-handed pitcher.

It was a good year for NW Indiana softball and 2008, almost certainly, will be a better one.

Class 4A State Softball Finals
at Cherry Tree Complex - Carmel
6-8 (Fri) Castle 5, McCutcheon 3 (9 innings); Hamilton Southeastern 3, LOWELL 0
6-9 (Sat) Hamilton Southeastern 2, Castle 1 (10 innings)

Class 3A State Softball Finals
at Pike High School - Indianapolis
6-8 (Fri) ANDREAN 4, Bishop Luers 1; Boonville 4, Pendleton Heights 0
6-9 (Sat) ANDREAN 2, Boonville 0

Class 2A State Softball Finals
at Ben Davis High School - Indianapolis
6-8 (Fri) Lewis Cass (21-7) vs. (Indianapolis) Scecina 5, Lewis Cass 0
6-8 (Fri) North Posey 11, Jimtown 1
6-9 (Sat) (Indianapolis) Scecina 5, Jimtown 0

Class 1A State Softball Finals
at Hamilton Southeastern School - Fishers
6-8 (Fri) Indianapolis Lutheran 10, Jac-Cen-Del 0
6-8 (Fri) Tecumseh 7, South Central 0
6-9 (Sat) Indianapolis Lutheran 1, Tecumseh 0 (10 innings)

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, a very difficult end for a team that had already defeated Lowell, the team that eventually won the regional title. 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 (30-7) looked good in the end. Portage also lost to Lakeshore Michigan (37-5), a Michigan state finalist and they split two games with Lincoln-Way East, a 3,300-kid Illinois school. Olivia Leggett figures to be the No. 1 pitcher in 2008 and she should do a good job.

There is no clear-cut No. 1 for 2007. I'm not simplistic enough to say that the team than won the title is automatically No. 1. Nobody is automatically anything. Portage did not play 3A champ Andrean, but I don't think the 59ers would say they are superior. We get back to the fact that Portage had NW Indiana's top pitcher, they beat Lowell (30-7) and Chesterton (20-6). They defeated Munster (24-7), Lake Central (22-6) and Hanover Central (20-10). Portage played an especially difficult schedule and they did with the sectional championship. Portage is a narrow No. 1.

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

CHESTERTON - After watching the state finals, it would have been interesting to see Chesterton's nine experienced right-handed batters face strikeout leader Morgan Melloh. 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. But the Trojans had a couple of juniors who should be capable in 2008. 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 (30-7), Hanover (20-10) and Hobart (17-11) twice.

This team had three extra-inning losses and four by one run. Add to that 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. It's very hard to rate Lowell ahead of Chesterton because the Trojans did not beat them and Chesterton had a better pitcher and more experienced batting order.

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

LOWELL - Lowell struck out 16 times against eventual state champ Hamilton Southeastern (31-0) and lefty Morgan Melloh (27-0). But McCutcheon struck out 22 times against Melloh and Castle struck out a playoff record 26 times in the state final game. Lowell's losses have been to Wheeler (25-3), McCutcheon (29-7), Chesterton (20-6), Portage (23-7), Munster (24-7) and Hobart (17-11) and they have recorded a school-record 30 victories. Lowell is one of several teams that return two regular pitchers (Allyssa Reed and Kaitlyn Bolanowski) in 2008. So do Hanover, Munster, Crown Point, Hobart and state champ Andrean. The Devils will probably slide freshman starter Jacki Fletcher to shortstop and Bolanowski will probably become a position player as well as a pitcher. I hesitate to say this, but Lowell actually can come close to replacing twins Michelle and Kelly Johnson, their only seniors. The Devils return the entire outfield and all-area catcher and clean-up hitter Katherine Allert. Only Hanover Central returns more next season. I still rank them ahead of state champ Andrean in 2007 based on two head-to-head victories, more pitching and hitting. But Chesterton and Portage had better pitchers than Lowell and the Devils lost those head-to-head matchups. I don't see any pitcher returning in 2008 in NW Indiana that can shut down the lineup Lowell has coming back.

4. (3A) ANDREAN (28-5-1)
26-4 (2006), 32-3 (2005), 29-5 (2004), 27-2 (2003), 30-3 (2002), 26-7 (2001)

MERRILLVILLE - The Niners shut down Bishop Luers (21-7-1) and Boonville (23-6) to win the school's second Class 3A state title. The Niners got seven complete game wins from freshman Alyssa Mosely (18-3), the final one a 2-0 win over Boonville and previously undefeated Erika Taylor (20-1). The Niners freshman Audrey Bickel (37-89, .416, 4 HRs, 31 RBIs) hit her fourth home run to win the title game. Senior catcher Christina Caldwell (32-91, .352, 6 HRs, 31 RBIs) led the team on the field and the 59ers overcame an early penchant for defensive mistakes in the infield to play errorless ball in the title game. The Niners' only losses this season were to McCutcheon (29-6), Marian (23-6) twice and Lowell (30-6) twice. It was a great year for the 59ers, but I'd have hard time rating Andrean ahead of Lowell, while Chesterton and Portage were just too senior-dominated. The Niners never met Top-5 powers like Northridge or Pendleton Heights (31-2), but that wasn't their fault. Those other power teams got beat. Again, I know there's a knee-jerk reaction saying that a state title team should be automatically ranked No. 1, but I've never done that here. It's who you play.

But here's the kicker. Andrean batted .260 as a team and they will do much better than that in 2008. If they can replace Christina Caldwell behind the plate (a big if), the defense will be much the same as this year. Bickel was an impact freshman and Mosely has the chance to eventually be one of the state's best pitchers. The last time Andrean won the state title (1998), they went back to the final the next year. That should happen again. I truly believe this team will be better in 2008.

5. (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 since Lowell reached the state finals. Munster beat LC twice for the first time in school history and the Mustangs definitely had a good season with the losses only to Harrison (20-8), Portage (23-7), Andrean (28-5-1) twice and Lowell (30-7) three times. All but Harrison (defeated by McCutcheon) were sectional champions and I don't see any bad losses here. I had to slip Munster ahead of LC in the final poll after the Niners won the state title.
LC didn't play them. Munster also beat McCutcheon and Lewis Cass, who made the state finals. 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.

Munster loses speed and they may have problems creating runs in 2008 to compensate for the graduation-loss of all-time home run leader Hallie Gibbs. They will face a tough road in the new Northwest Crossroads Conference (NWCC) with two state finalists (Andrean and Lowell) returning the majority of their pitchers and position players. But there is no substitute for returning starting pitchers, and that puts the Lady Ponies far ahead of most NW Indiana teams. The sectional changes slightly in 2008 with the addition of Morton, but it will still come down to the trio of Munster, Lowell and LC.

6. (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 made 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 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 and Hanover. This team needs more speed and better contact at the plate. But a sectional elimination is always a significant motivator.

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. Jimtown was bombed in the state finals, so it was a disappointing end for the Bearcats after Wheeler's first-ever sectional title. Once you win the sectional, it's a big downer not to get to the finals because you only need those two wins. The Bearcats did take out Porter County Conference (PCC) champion Hanover Central (20-10) in the Wheeler 2A Sectional title game, but HC might have been a better regional competitor due to more tournament experience. I'll say it again. Wheeler has the pitcher to win the state title, but the schedule is not good enough to win the big trophy. The Bearcats should play LC, Crown Point, Portage, Chesterton and Andrean and they need to join Hanover in the LaVille Invitational, which usually includes one of the foes the 2A Lake County champ will see at the LaVille Regional.

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 will no longer be in the same sectional with Boone Grove in 2008, but they will see Hanover, Bishop Noll, Lake Station and Wheeler, which means they'll play HC for the sectional title for the next four years. They were fortunate to beat HC in the 2007 playoffs and they've got to get ready for future showdowns with a much tougher schedule.

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). HC could have played Scecina for the state championship and they know it. The 2007 Lady Cats have lost to Munster (24-7), Lowell (30-6), Beecher Ill. (33-4), McCutcheon (29-7), Chesterton (20-6), Eastern (24-4) , Portage (23-7) and Wheeler (25-4) twice. Hanover started three freshman and three sophomores in 2007 and they won the PCC and got the young girls valuable experience. Oddly, HC easily defeated South Central (17-12), which reached the 1A state finals. 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.

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. Hanover actually does not have a position available. If all underclassmen return, HC can start someone who started in either 2006 or 2007 at all nine positions. What's scary here is the trend. In 2006, HC brought up four freshmen, Kara Gilbert, Lindsay Thompson, Victoria Wigsmoen and Jordan Kramer, who went directly onto the lineup. In 2007, freshmen Morgan Austgen, Jessica Toth and Kelsey Jankowski also went directly into the lineup. That's seven returning starters for the next two seasons and there are six other varsity players who are eligible to come back. With 13 varsity players returning and a schedule that includes every good team in NW Indiana except LC and Griffith, HC has to be thinking about the 2008 state finals.

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 (30-7) and Andrean (28-5-1), plus Munster and Hobart, who return their top pitchers. I didn't think Katie Rone, a left-handed pitcher who transferred in from Andrean, had the season she hoped for. I single her out because the state finals was full of left-handed pitching. A hard-throwing left-hander dominates because nobody sees them and teams like Lowell, Hanover and CP are geared to face right-handed pitching. As much as I like the schedule Griffith plays, they like Hanover, need to defeat a couple of those bigger, highly-ranked schools. The Panthers are basically a .500 team the last five years and I would suspect they are not comfortable with that. Griffith needs offense. They need hitters. The pitching is there. But the urgency is obvious. Andrean and Griffith will be in the same sectional for the next four years. The Panthers must beat the state champs just to get out of the sectional now. It's a whole new ball game.

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

CROWN POINT - Unlike Andrean, CP's 'rebuilding year' ended in a sectional loss, not a state title. But Class 4A is hard core. When you look at it, CP lost twice to Portage (23-7), twice to Chesterton (20-6), twice to LC (22-6), once to Lowell (30-7), 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 three pitchers next season. They are in much the same position as Hanover Central with every position returning next season, except center field. This is a team that went to extra innings with state finalist Lowell before losing 5-4. With two left-handed hitters at the start of the lineup and right-handers like Jessica Martinez and Amy Fairchild in the middle of the lineup, the Bulldogs are set. The best two pitchers in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) graduate in 2007 and you could argue that the Bulldogs, who were 1-6 against Portage, Chesterton and LC in 2007, go into 2008 as the DAC's second best team behind LC. Lake Central, a team the Bulldogs have not beaten since 1998, remains very formidable and will be the favorite. But CP would not see LC until the regional and LC has a lot to do to get there in 2008. Crown Point has the greatest upside of any of the 10 teams in this poll because they may respond very positively to a tougher non-conference schedule. It is a virtual certainty that CP, which had a limited non-conference schedule, will warm up the bus and travel in 2008. CP would love to get into that Twin Lakes Invitational, which Lowell, McCutcheon, Lewis Cass and Andrean all used as a springboard to the state finals in 2007. I'd also like to see the Bulldogs host their own four or eight-team tournament like Munster does. But all three CP starting pitchers return for 2008 and 2009. Crown Point could do in 2008 what Lowell did in 2007.

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. Lakewood Park returns to the regional next year (they are a three-time defending sectional champ with all-state outfielder Holly Weaver, who batted .600 this season. Whiting will have to defeat Lakewood Park again. Even though right-hander Mel Dumezich (25-4, 433 strikeouts) had an all-state season, the numbers are starting to pale because you can only strike out 18 Lake Station hitters so many times. Whiting obviously lacks a lot on offense, but that can be fixed as the players grow older. The Oilers return eight starters from this team in 2008.

There is a tendency to give Whiting a pass on the 2007 upset because they won it all in 2006. But they gave Paris Hilton a lot of passes too, and she finally went to jail. Whiting has to want to compete against the best. The argument that the Oilers don't have to play any 3A or 4A teams because they are a 1A school indicates a lack of competitive spirit. Many who watch NW Indiana softball seem confused. Whiting played teams like Andrean, Munster and Lowell in 2004 and they reached the state finals. They dropped all 3A and 4A non-conference foes in 2006 and went 33-0. They basically fixed their schedule to rack up easy wins. That's why they aren't in the top-10 here. Andrean, Lowell, Crown Point, Munster, Highland, Griffith, Portage and Chesterton would all play Whiting just to match their hitters against Mel Dumezich. Oilers secretly may doubt their own ability, especially at the plate, if they never see good pitching. You can't win forever by ducking the good teams. With the break-up of the Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) comes another chance for Whiting to slate games against the bigger schools they met just three years ago. Let's see if they do it.

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