Northwest Indiana Top-10

Week-4, 2007 High School 'Renegade' Poll

4-17-2007

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

CHESTERTON (4-17-2007) The spring cold wave ended to the extent that lots of teams were able to play Friday and Saturday, avoiding another batch of postponements. It's going to be a while before teams play enough games in succession to pass serious judgement on them.

Andrean won the Dowagiac, Michigan tournament with three cold weather wins and LaPorte topped New Prairie to win the Slicers' four-team annual playoff. Griffith, Noll, LaCrosse, Crown Point and North Judson all got two games in between the snow flurries at a time when decisions aside, simply playing the games is the most important thing.

Wheeler's Lanay Parks pitched her second consecutive no-hit game. Admittedly, the vanquished squads were Lake Station (0-5) and Clark (3-3), but it was 13 hitless innings with 24 strikeouts. As much as I'd like to commend Parks, Whiting's Mel Dumezich and Lake Central's Jessica Dobson for pitching consecutive no-hitters, I suspect the consistent 30-40 degree conditions may have had something to do with the pitching excellence. Munster has allowed five runs all year. Morgan Township's Michelle Madden (3-0) has begun the season with three consecutive shutouts.

It may be more. Some of the games might not be getting reported. It isn't just here. In Indianapolis, Lutheran freshman Morgan Lewis shutout 4A, No. 4 Center Grove 1-0 in nine innings, striking out 12. To be fair. the Lutheran freshmen are highly-regarded, reportedly coming from a national championship travel ball team.

There's too many zeroes, even with the pitching-friendly nature of the game, for all this to be the skill of the hurlers. Batters shouldn't get frustrated. Even the Cubs and Sox can't score. In major league baseball, scoring is down two runs per game and hitting is down, on average, 20 batting points a batter after two weeks. Wait until we get some warm weather before you decide how good you are.

There does seem to be a vivid upgrade in the game from what I am reading in other parts of the state. The Lutheran team is probably the best example. They lost seven seniors and came back with a squad that has jumped to Class 1A, No. 1 in the second poll. In NW Indiana, Boone Grove has been lifted by freshman position players although senior pitcher Lauren Denhert is still the key factor there.

Wheeler, Hanover, Andrean, Crown Point and Munster have benefited from freshman pitchers coming straight to the varsity which speaks well for the game for the next several seasons. Every year, there's one or two freshman pitchers who excel, but there may be 10 in Northwest Indiana this season. That has not happened before. There's no way to know if more are on line for next year, but softball is a game which has always lacked depth in talent locally.

I wish there were as many promising freshmen varsity catchers as there are pitchers. Teams seem to be running wild on the bases this year.

The non conference highlight this week might be the visit of Beecher, Illinois, a two-time Illinois small school state finalist to Hanover Central. Andrean joins the field at the annual Highland Invitational on the 28th of April.

1. (4A) Chesterton (9-0)
30-2 (2006), 27-3-1 (2005), 20-7 (2004), 22-5 (2003), 21-4 (2002)

CHESTERTON - The Trojans held on to turn back undefeated Lake Central 3-2 last week. Pitcher Dawn McClellan allowed only three hits as Chesterton took a 3-0 lead in the second inning against undefeated LC right-hander Jessica Dobson. The Trojans also rolled over sectional rival Hobart 10-0 Saturday and Chesterton outscored their first nine foes 69-9. Unofficially, I have Chesterton winning the final 24 regular season games in 2006, giving them a 33-game regular season winning streak, which I believe is the most ever in 4A in NW Indiana. Pitcher Dawn McClellan (6-0) has a 21-game regular season winning streak. The only question about Chesterton is one that rarely comes up. They are not a slapping, run-creating squad. They basically hit the ball. Except for the 2006 state championship game, they haven't run up against a pitcher they have not been able to hit eventually.

2. (4A) Lake Central (7-1)
25-8 (2006), 32-1 (2005), 29-3 (2004), 32-3-1 (2003), 28-1 (2002), 30-4 (2001)

St. JOHN - Lake Central could not rally past Chesterton, losing 3-2 in the showdown of undefeated teams late Friday (4-13-2007). Chesterton was the first team to hit right-hander Jessica Dobson (2-1) this season. Her 22-inning season-opening scoreless inning streak ended when Alexis Paz smacked a three-run second inning double. Junior Rachel Weaver (3-0) pitched a no-hitter in a 10-2 win over Crown Point, LC's third no-hit game this season. LC has outscored the opposition 49-12 through eight games and they unofficially have made eight errors all season. They'll get another chance at Chesterton next month. Maybe two more chances.

3. (4A) LOWELL (7-2)
23-7 (2006), 21-10 (2005), 20-9 (2004), 13-16 (2003), 14-15 (2002), 21-9 (2001)

LOWELL - The Red Devils ran their win streak to five with wins over Hobart 8-2 and Crown Point 6-4 in nine innings. Kelly Johnson was 3-for-5 against Hobart and Michelle Johnson's two-run ninth inning single beat CP. Alternating junior pitchers Kaitlyn Bolanowski (4-1) and Alyssa Reed (3-1) have given the Devils a chance to win every game but one, the 8-4 loss to Chesterton (9-0). Lowell has never won the Lake Athletic Conference, so that's a goal here in the league's final season. The Red Devils face Munster (6-1) Monday (4-16-2007) and they have road trips to Pioneer and Twin Lakes coming up. Lowell still has a lot of youth in the infield and that's a factor with pitchers who are not strikeout artists. They'd probably like to play that Chesterton game over again, but they'll have to win a lot of games next month to get that chance.

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

PORTAGE - I still like Portage here because they just don't give up many runs. Pitcher Meghan Gutierrez (3-2) pitched a one-hit shutout against LaPorte on April 14 after losing a 1-0 game to Hobart on April 9. Portage then lost 1-0 to Harrison Saturday. This may not seem possible, but the combined score of the six Portage games so far is Portage 9, opponents 8. News flash. There's very little offense here. I think that Portage would beat Lowell because they consistently have in recent years including this one. Lowell has the better team, but they didn't have a pitcher like Gutierrez and they don't play Portage's schedule.

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

MERRILLVILLE - Andrean had a big week with five wins, including 2-1 victories over Munster and Griffith and three wins in the Dowagiac, Michigan tournament including a 3-1 win over undefeated Mishawaka Marian (6-1). Junior Nicole Derezinski (5-0) stopped Munster and Marian while freshman Alyssa Mosely (2-1) turned back Griffith and out of state traditional power Portage (Michigan) Northern. Christina Caldwell hit two home runs in a 10-0 win over Grandville, Michigan. I'd like to see this team play 10 more games. It's hard to rank them because they are like their friends at Portage. The 59ers have outscored eight foes 32-9. Take away two games on Saturday and Andrean averages about 2 1/2 runs a game. The pitching's been fine, but the scoreboard isn't getting much work. Maybe its just frozen.

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

MUNSTER - Munster lost 2-1 to Andrean but they rebounded with an 11-0 win over Kankakee Valley in super cold conditions Thursday (4-12-7) and a 4-0 shutout of Homewood-Flossmoor Saturday. The Lady Ponies struck a blow for Indiana turning back undefeated H-F right-hander Stacey Sturzynski 4-0 Saturday. Sturzynski (6-1) had struck out 23 batters in a game this year and she fanned 12 Mustangs but freshman Holly Ispas (3-0) pitched the first four innings to get the win. Munster has outscored seven foes 39-5 and hasn't allowed more than two runs in any game. They have made an unofficial seven errors all year. You cant get much better than that. A 2-1 road loss to a top-10 team in freezing weather really doesn't tell you anything in softball. Might just have been an off day. For them or you or both. The Munster defense gets its biggest test of the year at home against Lowell Monday.

7. (4A) LaPorte (5-3)
2006 (16-11-1), 2005 (13-16), 2004 (3-21)

LaPORTE - The Slicers stopped New Prairie 4-3 and Plymouth 17-0 to win the Plymouth Invitational. The Slicers lost to Hobart (6-3), Portage (3-3) and Chesterton (9-0) early, all by shutout. But they may be ready to break out after 20 hits in two games Saturday including Tara Buchanan's grand slam homer. Pitchers Bre Smith (2-1) and Amanda Jones (2-2) alternate on the mound and Buchanan is the core hitter. Alias 'Smith and Jones' combined on a 3-0 shut out over Merrillville last week combining for nine strikeouts. Due to the DAC double round robin schedule, this team has about as much chance of winning 20 games as the Chicago Bulls do of winning the NBA title. But they play in one of the few weak 4A sectionals, so the post-season is very much the focus.

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

CEDAR LAKE - Hanover returned to action after an 11-day layoff with a 2-0 shut out at North Newton and a 3-0 shut out at Hebron. Freshman right-hander Jessica Toth (2-1) was the complete game winner in both games against teams that, frankly, Hanover should beat. The Lady Cats made just three errors in the first five games which is an upgrade over 2006. But take away the 22 runs against River Forest in the season opener and this team has scored only six runs in four games. That's very disappointing because the Hanover offense was hoped to be much improved this season. But I'm going to give them the weather excuse as well. I'm lost as to what's going on with the HC schedule. They have at least five games lost to the weather including a showdown game in the Porter Country Conference (PCC) with Morgan Township (3-0). HC can't make up three games they lost in the LaVille tournament so I'm looking for them to schedule some schools they do not usually face. I don't know when the Morgan game will be made up, but it won't be Tuesday, when they play at Wheeler (4-1), Wednesday, when they play at Lowell (7-2) or Thursday, when they host Illinois small school power Beecher. Would Griffith beat Hanover Central? A couple of more postponements and we'll find out.

9. (3A) Griffith (4-6)
12-19 (2006), 19-15 (2005), 16-15 (2004), 18-14 (2003)

GRIFFITH - The Panthers split on the road at 4A South Bend Riley Saturday, winning 2-1 and losing 1-0 in eight innings in a game where junior right-hander Brittany Bridges struck out a career-best 14. Bridges struck out 11 in a 2-1 loss to Andrean on April 13. The pitching is why Griffith is still in the poll. They have allowed 32 runs in 10 games, including seven games against 4A schools. The pitching and the schedule. You have to play a good schedule to be ranked here. That's how the Panthers are one of NW Indiana's 10 best teams with a 4-6 record. If you think back, Griffith does this every year. They were 12-19 last year and ended up in the 3A regional title game. Would Whiting (7-1) beat Griffith? No. Griffith has seen Chesterton, Andrean, Highland and Munster.

10. (4A) Hobart (6-3)
2006 (12-15), 2005 (19-12), 2004 (15-10), 2003 (19-11)

HOBART - Hobart got slowed dramatically in back-to-back losses 8-2 to Lowell (7-2) and 10-0 to Chesterton (9-0). But, to be honest, those were teams that Hobart didn't figure to beat at the start of the year. Hobart did beat Portage 1-0 and Kankakee Valley 13-4. Hobart has begun to use sophomore Mikala Hatch (3-1) as the starting pitcher and bringing in junior Brittany Spears (3-3), who is averaging over a strikeout an inning (69 Ks in 43 innings) , in relief. But the big drop in the polls has nothing to do with pitching or batting. Hobart was credited with an unofficial nine errors in BOTH losses this week. 18 errors in two games after making just seven boots in the first seven games in the sign of the apocalypse and let's tell the truth. Scorekeepers are afraid to credit more than one error on the same play and that happens a lot. In softball, when your team is credited with nine errors, you usually committed about 13. But, even if its just nine, at NASA, they call that a major systems failure. The entire season depends on correcting the defensive holes immediately before all confidence is lost.

On the outside looking in...

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

WHITING - Whiting faced a rare good foe and nipped Marquette 3-2 Saturday. Soph catcher Adi Cruz had a two-run double in the second inning. Soph pitcher Mel Dumezich (6-1) struck out 13 and she is the only NW Indiana regular starting pitcher averaging over two strikeouts (94 Ks in 45 innings) per inning. The competition is weak, as we always must say, in the LAC Blue and Whiting faces none of the DAC or LAC Black. But the Oilers have done a good job so far carrying the burden of the state's No. 1 ranking. I'd still like to see them be one of the makeup games that Andrean and Portage are looking for.

(4A) CROWN POINT (5-5)
2006 (13-14) 2005 (12-14), 2004 (8-19) 2003 (16-16), 2002 (11-16)

CROWN POINT - They stomped Valpo 8-2 and North Newton 6-1, but they lost a close one 6-4 to Lowell in nine innings (2-1) and Hobart (5-1). The losses are to New Prairie (4-4), Hobart (6-3), Lake Central (7-1), Chesterton (9-0) and Lowell (7-2). I'm not sure they're better than Highland but that schedule is strong and that's almost more important than wins during the regular season. The team needs an upgrade defensively, but that's possible during the season. The young pitchers soph Kelsey Rather (3-2) and freshman Jackie Bielfuss (1-3) are improving quickly and the offense, while not great, is good enough to win. Like LaPorte, though, the overall record won't be pretty due to the DAC. The Bulldogs faced the first of three possible meetings with 4A No. 1 Chesterton Monday.

(3A) New Prairie (2-2)
2006 (31-4), 2005 (21-10), 2004 (26-4)

NEW CARLISLE - The Cougars rolled over South Central 8-1 but lost 4-3 to neighbor and rival LaPorte Saturday (4-14-7). NP led LaPorte 3-1 in the final inning before giving up three runs. NP is still a quality team but they have not played well truthfully all season and they're lucky to be 4-3. Here's an odd case of a team which had 'almost everybody back' and just cannot seem to duplicate their 2006 level of play. In their defense, all three teams that have beaten them (Washington, Riley and LaPorte) are fairly good 4A teams. But losing 4-2, 4-3 and 5-4 is a sign. You don't see strong teams allow three runs a game like NP has this year. That 'Prairie' dog won't hunt.

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