Northwest Indiana Top-10

Week-8, 2007 High School 'Renegade' Poll

5-15-2007

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

CHESTERTON (5-15-2007) The hurry-up state tournament begins next week with no clear cut favorite in Northwest Indiana. Hurry-up? Look at the schedule. For reasons I cannot explain, the Indiana softball state championship games are scheduled for June 9, leaving three weeks of good weather in June AFTER THE SEASON ENDS. When Boone Grove reached the baseball state finals seven years ago, the title game was played on June 23. When Griffith made it in 2002, they played on June 22. Why the rush now?

It goes back to a closed-door IHSAA ruling a few years back that insists that all spring sports must end by mid-June. Since softball can't really start in NW Indiana before mid-April and the regular season ends in Mid-May, the softball season is seriously handcuffed in this state. The argument that the season must end so the kids can go on vacation and get away from sports is ludicrous. The day after they are eliminated from the state tourney, most softball players join their summer teams. Even though real working people work 52 weeks a year, athletic officials, quite understandably, want to go on vacation during the summer. It's is one of the perks of their job.

What I suggest is that softball begin when golf does and the playoff begin parallel to major league baseball's playoffs. Take girls soccer and put it in the spring (where it was played in the 1990s), start the season about March 10 when girls basketball ends and play until May 10, ending your state tournament around June 1 with no problem. All credit to teams like Lowell (23-6) which will end up getting to play 30 games, largely in one six-week span. Tip the cap to Portage and Hanover Central, which signed on for a previously unscheduled game Monday just to play as many games as they possibly could.

But coach and athletic directors need to discuss switching girls softball with girls soccer or volleyball. It would be a tough switch to make, but that's 1000 times more likely than athletic officials who want long vacations agreeing to push the softball tournament back into June where it used to be.

The playoffs serve up major showdowns right off the bat. Morgan Township (14-3) vs. Whiting (18-3) in 1A. Munster (23-4) vs. Lake Central (19-3) in 4A and Wheeler (19-2) vs. Hanover Central (17-8) in 2A.

Good news for local softball was the agreement between the Region Sports Network (RSN) and WJOB (1230) AM to air the girls softball and boys baseball playoffs. The RSN was airing games on WWCA (1270) AM but with only one over-the-air Lake County outlet they'd have bumped softball for baseball. With two outlets, softball gets a fair play. With softball regionals to be held in Caston, LaVille, Twin Lakes and Penn, local softball parents and fans who don't have an Arab friend who can send them unlimited gasoline need the games on the radio.

1. (4A) Chesterton (18-4)
30-2 (2006), 27-3-1 (2005), 20-7 (2004), 22-5 (2003), 21-4 (2002)

CHESTERTON - The Trojans have a big final week facing Munster (21-5), and I believe they might try to make up the non-conference game with Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) champion Mishawaka (20-0), although it's getting late for that. Chesterton took the weekend off and I think South Central and Munster are the final two games after they dominated Highland 9-2 Monday. You worry that this team has not played that many games (24) when some teams have been able to max out the schedule. There might be a lack of confidence here after a 13-0 start, but this is basically the same team that won 30 in a row to get to the final game last year. A blunt assessment? Chesterton is the only good offensive team among the six at the 4A Merrillville Sectional so they go in as the favorite.

2. (4A) Lake Central (20-4)
25-8 (2006), 32-1 (2005), 29-3 (2004), 32-3-1 (2003), 28-1 (2002), 30-4 (2001)

St. JOHN - Lake Central shut out Merrillville 6-0 and nipped strong Illinois squad Homewood-Flossmoor 4-2 behind Jessica Dobson (8-2) and Rachel Weaver (11-2). The Indians drew a quarterfinal bye and Munster (21-5) in the Highland sectional. What you keep coming back to is that nobody has scored more than three runs off Lake Central pitching since a 13-6 win over Evansville Memorial on opening day. LC has Lowell (22-6) and Griffith to play in the final week and I'm not sure LC is really a game you want against a sectional opponent. But, with Dobson and Weaver pitching and a first round bye, LC is the sectional favorite.

3. (4A) Portage (18-6)
2006 (18-12), 2005 (20-9), 2004 (27-4-3), 2003 (19-9)

PORTAGE - Portage ran the win streak to seven Monday afternoon with a 2-1 win over 2A power Hanover Central. Meagan Gutierrez struck out 11 for the win. The Indians pushed across 11 runs against Valparaiso and 10 against Merrillville in wins last week. That's what they've needed to improve on. Portage got the best draw in all of NW Indiana. They get a quarterfinal bye. They play a semifinal against a Valparaiso team they've beaten 3-0 and 11-0. And they've got a pitcher who has not lost this month. I like Portage as the No. 1 contender to arch-rival Chesterton at the Merrillville sectional.

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

MUNSTER - Munster took a couple of losses, 2-1 to Lowell and 1-0 to Harrison (16-7) last week but those are good teams. I don't care about league races and nobody will remember the LAC champ unless they win the sectional. Munster got a quarterfinal bye but drew Lake Central, a team they beat 2-1 on April 18. The Mustangs still have Chesterton to play and they will end up playing 29 games. The Lady Ponies have had a fine season against very tough foes, but it still comes down to one game against one team. Can they beat Lake Central or does the season end? Munster is 1-2 against Lowell, but it makes no difference. Everybody knew it would comes down to Lake Central and it's going to be Munster's offense versus LC's pitching.

5. (3A) ANDREAN (20-3-1)
26-4 (2006), 32-3 (2005), 29-5 (2004), 27-2 (2003), 30-3 (2002), 26-7 (2001)

MERRILLVILLE - The Niners have to defeat Kankakee Valley, a team they have beaten only 1-0 and 3-1. For some reason, the 59ers have not hit the ball on KV the last three times they've met against different pitchers. Andrean knows their sectional is not that strong so they play in the Bishop's Cup tournament on the final weekend of the season. They may see 3A power Mishawaka Marian (22-3) and that would be a good thing. Marian beat Andrean 1-0 in the title game of the Highland Invitational last month. I'll say the same thing I said last year before KV beat Andrean. There's no way the 59ers should lose this sectional. The Niners have played far too tough a schedule to lose here. But, I will say this. The scores of those KV-Andrean LAC games have to worry you. This team does not score that many runs and it gets much tougher to score in the post-season.

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

LOWELL - The Red Devils lost 6-1 to Hobart and 1-0 to Wheeler, but they then beat Munster 2-1. Junior pitcher Alyssa Reed (11-2) had an arm problem at the start of the week, but she came back to pitch seven innings against Munster. Kaitlyn Bolanowski (12-4) pitched a complete game in a 1-0 loss to Wheeler. Lowell romped over Morton 12-2 Monday. Shortstop Kelly Johnson and catcher Katherine Allert have missed a game or two with injuries and that's not some thing Lowell can overcome to win three sectional games. Allert played against Morton so I'm assuming they'll play whether they're hurt or not, but the Devils can't beat Highland and Munster or Lake Central unless all hands are on deck. Lowell has a final week non-conference game with Lake Central, which has always been an odd date since the two teams became sectional rivals. They have offense and experienced pitching... when everybody's healthy.

7. (2A) Wheeler (20-2)
2006 (14-16), 2005 (10-18), 2004 (7-21), 2003 (7-18), 2002 (11-14)

UNION TOWNSHIP - Wheeler has beaten Lowell (22-6), Hanover (17-8), Whiting (18-3) and 12 other teams, many of them twice. I know they play in northern Indiana's weakest conference, the LAC Blue. But Wheeler and pitcher Lanay Parks (15-1) have been dominant, more so than Whiting and star soph Mel Dumezich. The Bearcats may have played a couple of games over the weekend that were not scheduled and were not reported because their record jumped two wins over the weekend without explanation. I keep hearing teams say they wish they think they can beat Wheeler or they think they should have. But Parks has only one loss and it was the season opener. She has 13 shutouts. I don't know what kind of defense Wheeler has because nobody ever hits the ball off Parks. Anybody who plays Wheeler at the sectional has to be seriously worried. But the Bearcats don't really know what happens if they fall behind next week. They've trailed just three times all year and they've lost two of those games. They're going to need some luck.

8. (2A) HANOVER CENTRAL (17-8)
16-14 (2006), 26-5-3 (2005), 25-7 (2004), 25-6 (2003)

CEDAR LAKE - Hanover got three shutouts from freshman pitchers Kelsey Jankowski and Jessica Toth to sweep the Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament. The Lady Cats have lost to Munster (23-4), Lowell (21-6), Beecher Ill. (24-3), McCutcheon (24-3), Chesterton (19-4), Eastern (20-4) , Portage (18-7) and Wheeler (19-2). The big doubt here surrounds a team made up largely of freshman and sophomores. Those losses are badges of honor except for the last one. The Lady Cats have to beat Wheeler next week. They have to score off a pitcher who has 13 shutouts. HC has played 2A regional foes like Winamac (17-6) so they know that one team blocks their path to the state finals, and that's Wheeler. But with top shortstop Kara Gilbert injured and out until the sectional semifinals, at least, I don't know if they have enough offense to beat Wheeler.

9. (4A) CROWN POINT (15-10)
2006 (13-14) 2005 (12-14), 2004 (8-19) 2003 (16-16), 2002 (11-16)

CROWN POINT - The Bulldogs were slowed by LaPorte 5-4 and Boone Grove 4-2 recently and they got a long draw at the Merrillville Sectional, including a third meeting with the host Pirates. Kelsey Rather became the first CP soph to win 10 games in many years, but CP has to decide who will pitch in the sectional and they have three choices in Rather and freshmen Taylor Perry and Jackie Bielfuss. I don't like them having to play three games at Merrillville... and the Pirates can beat CP. It's no break to play them again at all. A lot of what they accomplished this season (after three losing years) would be diminished if CP lost early in the playoffs. The Bulldogs need a big final weekend against Highland (14-12) and Hanover (17-8) to help them run through the field at Merrillville.

10. (3A) Griffith (12-12)
12-19 (2006), 19-15 (2005), 16-15 (2004), 18-14 (2003)

GRIFFITH - The Panthers are up and down, but they only have to be ready in two weeks. They got a break after the Noll game that was extended when Tuesday night's game with Lowell was rained out. Griffith had four games scheduled for the final week including a non-conference match with Lake Central. There just isn't much competition at the six-team Griffith 3A Sectional unless Griffith underestimates the field. The Panthers get a quarterfinal bye and they face Clark in the semifinals. Calumet (14-10) has a lot of problems defensively and Gavit struggles to score. The heavy schedule the final week won't hurt them with the quarterfinal bye. Griffith has beaten Morton 5-3, but they haven't faced any of the other four schools. That should help them here.

On the outside looking in...

(1A) Whiting (19-3)
33-0 (2006), 11-16 (2005), 28-6 (2004), 21-10 (2003)

WHITING - Whiting finishes the season as they started it, with a big question mark. They have not played a winning team larger than Class 2A, and with a pitcher who strikes out 12 batters a game. No one knows what their defense is like and no one will until there's some hard hit balls. But I think you favor Whiting. They host the sectional. They'll play some night games, which will help star righthander Mel Dumezich, because the vision is poorer and the weather is cooler. Remember that Whiting went to the state finals in 2004, too, when Dumezich was in 7th grade. Whiting didn't just get good yesterday. And they have a favorable path and 1A simply is not a deep bracket. But Whiting opens the playoffs with Morgan Township (15-3), a far more experienced team than Whiting is.

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