Northwest Indiana Top-10,

Week-2, 2009 High School 'Renegade' Poll

4-07-2009

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

ST. JOHN (4-10-2009) Northwest Indiana's traditionally brisk weather kept a lot of softball teams indoors in the first 10 days of the season. Munster got to play four times while Lake Central and Lowell got three games in. But some teams like Whiting and Hebron didn't get out of the gym at all, which means the postponements pile up. Snow put all the bats and balls in the closet on Monday, April 6 which is going to send a lot of coaches to the phone to reschedule.

The answer? Don't start the season until the third week of April, start games at 4:00 p.m. and make every date a double-header. All teams get a longer pre-season and you only need 15 dates to finish your schedule. Baseball can't do this but softball can.

Much has been made here of Whiting's soft schedule and the fact that Lake Central and Andrean don't play (in virtually any sport) but there are other 'fantasy' matchups I'd like to see.

Boone Grove vs. Lake Central
Until recently, Boone wasn't competitive and LC likes to stick to the 4A crowd, but with former Boone coach Glenn Eisfelder now the head man at LC, this game could happen this year if their are enough rainouts (or snowouts).

Hanover Central vs. Lake Central
These two are right down the street. The boys baseball teams meet and the gap between the two schools is much smaller in softball. They did play in the early part of this decade and the games were close. It is less likely to happen here than the Boone-LC thing because LC has no reason to play Hanover.

Lowell vs. New Prairie
Lowell might like to get away from the annual game with Pioneer and West Lafayette. NP is consistently competitive (they won 30 games in 2007) and the Cougars would certainly want the game. The distance (90 minutes) makes this one questionable.

Hanover Central vs. Benton Central
This seems like a natural game since HC already plays North Newton and Rensselaer, teams south of Lake County. BC is always strong in softball (they won 23 last season) and their league schedule allows a lot of non-conference play. Hanover has gotten away from playing the non-4A north Lake County schools (except for Griffith and Whiting) that are not competitive anymore.

Andrean vs. Lafayette Catholic
Here's a natural match-up that I do not believe has ever occurred. Lafayette Catholic was 21-8 last year and the undefeated champ of the Hoosier Heartland Conference. The Niners have vested interest in playing other Catholic schools and they do not mind traveling. Andrean only plays seven home games this year.

There are few local tournaments, but in the early going, a highlight could be the 'Four Class' tourney, which was rained out at Crown Point last year. CP (1-0), Andrean (1-0), Hanover Central (2-0) and South Central (1-0) all started well last week and they go head-to-head at Crown Point on April 25. The Twin Lakes Invitational (May 9) in four weeks includes Lowell (3-0), Andrean, Hanover, Munster and, this season, Crown Point. Boone Grove plays in the South Bend Invitational at Adams on April 18. That's the day that Andrean's 'World Tour' begins. The 59er girls ride the big yellow bus to southwest lower Michigan for the Dowagiac Invitational.

Once again, because of their shared presence in the Twin Lakes Invitational and the Class 4A Sectional One field, Lowell and Munster can meet four times this spring.

1. LAKE CENTRAL (3-0)
25-7 (2008) 21-6 (2007), 25-8 (2006), 32-1 (2005), 29-3 (2004)

ST. JOHN: Lake Central started quickly with a 6-2 win over Penn, a 2-1 win over Munster and a 1-0 win over Highland. The Lady Injuns have not hit well yet, but it's hard to judge offense in 30-40 degree weather. Softball is not a team sport. It's all about the pitcher. Right-hander Jessica Dobson (3-0), who four-hit Penn, two-hit Highland and no-hit Munster, is probably the top right-handed pitcher in this area. Again, the argument that LC does not have a strong No. 2 pitcher is as bankrupt as Chrysler. Who LC's No. 2 pitcher is only matters if they ever decide to go to the No. 2 pitcher. If Dobson pitches 25 times this year, what is LC's record? See? That's why they're ranked at No. 1.

2. LOWELL (3-0)
20-10 (2008), 30-7 (2007), 23-7 (2006), 21-10 (2005), 20-9 (2004)

LOWELL: Why has Lowell made this leap in the poll? Because they have a ringer. A secret weapon. Apparently, many knew about Lauren Wells because she got a scholarship offer to Eastern Michigan as pitcher. Lowell did not use Wells as a pitcher more than twice last season. Three girls were ahead of her. But in her first two starts in 2009, Wells shut out Chesterton and Valparaiso and struck out 24 batters in 14 innings. I'm sure she won't continue that pace against Top-10 teams, but I'm also sure that pitching questions about Lowell have been answered. The Devils, who have 12 juniors and one senior, outscored their first three foes 20-0. Lowell's 'junior' varsity enters the state top-10 very soon now. If the weather eases, the Devils play at Andrean Thursday (4-9-2009) in one of those Top-10 tests.

3. CROWN POINT (1-0)
18-11 (2008), 16-14 (2007), 13-14 (2006), 12-14 (2005), 8-19 (2004)

CROWN POINT: The Lady Bulldogs have been in the fieldhouse because of the weather. A game with Hobart was postponed for the second time Monday and the LC game on April 7 probably also bites the dust for at least 24 hours. CP got a big win on their rain-delayed opening day at Penn (2-2). The Bulldogs won 2-1 as Taylor Perry pitched a complete game and scored the tying run in the seventh inning. Any win at Penn, a new addition to the CP schedule, is big and it's a signal that the Lady Bulldogs can play anybody and win. They needed that because CP has no tradition of softball success. The long range question will center around CP's offense. How many runs can they score? But as you sit indoors waiting for spring to come, it's better to be 1-0 than 0-1.

4. HANOVER CENTRAL (2-0)
20-10 (2008), 20-10 (2007), 16-4 (2006), 26-5-3 (2005), 25-7 (2004)

CEDAR LAKE: Hanover rescued a struggling start with a six-run seventh inning to beat Munster 8-5 Saturday. The Lady Cats had stopped River Forest only 6-1 two days earlier and, when they fell behind Munster 5-0 Saturday, there had to be some doubts. Jessica Toth (2-0) gave up five first inning runs but then pitched six shutout innings. Toth also drive in two runs. HC has three junior pitchers so they wont be shorthanded when the postponed games pile up. But HC drops in the poll because, at first glance, they seem a little short on depth, especially in the outfield. The Lady Cats will play three times at the CP tourney on April 25. They'll play at least three times (maybe 5) in 24 hours at Twin Lakes and they'll have three games in 24 hours at the PCC tournament in mid-May. HC core players are going to have to play a lot on those weekends but they'll need the bench. HC's 7-game week comes up April 20-25 when they host Boone (April 20), travel to Lowell (April 22), host Illinois two-time state champ Beecher (April 23) and LaCrosse (April 24) and play three times at CP on the 25th.

5. BOONE GROVE (2-0)
22-6 (2008), 16-11 (2007), 14-16 (2006), 9-19 (2005)

PORTER TOWNSHIP: Boone Grove stopped Valpo 3-0 and Griffith 3-2 but they have some offensive worries, too. Junior pitcher Taylor Johnson tossed a shutout against Valpo and Gavit-transfer Roxanne Miniuk got the win in relief against Griffith. Taylor Johnson did smack two doubles against Griffith. The idea that 2A Boone may be somewhat disappointed in the closeness of wins over 3A Griffith and 4A Valpo indicates the level their program has risen to. But the season began with concerns about the offense and it would be good to see them score seven or eight runs against somebody. Boone plays in the South Bend Invitational at LaSalle on April 18 and then they come back for the first of what may be three meetings with rival Hanover Central on Monday, April 20.

6. ANDREAN (1-0)
18-10 (2008), 29-3 (2007), 26-4 (2006), 32-3 (2005), 29-5 (2004)

MERRILLVILLE: To my knowledge, the 59ers have only played one time, an 11-2 win at Portage. Very impressive. Alyssa Mosley had five hits and pitched the complete game win. The Niners do not schedule a lot of single non-conference games because they have five weekend tournaments. Andrean did not have any games scheduled last weekend. The 59ers can't rise in this poll until they start playing regularly. The Niners will come off a 7-day layoff for the 2009 home opener against Lowell Thursday, April 9. Andrean is a little behind everybody because they haven't played, but they're a little bit ahead of everybody because they also haven't had any games postponed. Here's another team that needs depth because they have the five tournaments (Dowagiac, Michigan, CP, LaPorte, Twin Lakes and Marian) where they must play two or three times in the same day.

7. (4A) Munster (2-2)
2008 (27-7), 2007 (24-7), 2006 (22-7), 2005 (25-3-1), 2004 (25-3-1)

MUNSTER: Munster should be 4-0. They led Lake Central 1-0 in the sixth and lost 2-1 on April 2 and they led Hanover Central 5-2 in the seventh and lost 8-5. But the Denver Broncos should have been in the NFL playoffs with Jay Cutler last year until they blew up in the last three games. Sophomore Shannon Shreibiak (1-1) is off to a good start teaming with veteran pitcher Holly Ispas. I'm not sure LC and HC aren't superior teams to Munster right now, but the Lady Ponies will get better. The 2-2 start may not be what they wanted, but it is about what they should have expected. Munster plays 4A state champion McCutcheon at the Carmel Invitational on Saturday, April 25.

8. Chesterton (2-2)
2008 (17-10), 2007 (20-6), 2006 (30-2), 2005 (27-3-1), 2004 (20-7)

CHESTERTON: Beyond the Top-7, I don't know where we are, but the Trojans have been competitive in every game. Pitcher Taylor Harlow (2-1) seems to give them a good game every time out. Saturday, Chesterton split with Mishawaka winning 4-3 and losing 6-5 in a game where Harlow did not pitch. The Trojans' loss to undefeated Lowell was just 2-0. Their defense is a little like the economy. Not great right now, but it should be much better by the end of the year. The Trojans have a rained out game with Hanover Central (2-0) to be made up.

9. (3A) Griffith (1-2)
2008 (21-8), 2007 (16-14), 2006 (12-19), 2005 (19-15), 2004 (16-15)

GRIFFITH: Griffith hasn't started that well, losing 10-1 to Chesterton, but they played Boone Grove evenly in a 3-2 loss and both defeats have been on the road so far. I'm not going to overreact here. New pitcher Alex Latronica shut out Merrillville and was the 3-2 loser at Boone. I'm very surprised by just seven runs in the first three games. I'm almost sure this team will hit. To me, their pitching is the question. Griffith plays everybody. Munster twice. Andrean twice. Lowell twice. LC. CP. They've even added Hanover Central this year on April 15 in Griffith.

10. (4A) LaPorte (1-0)
2009 (20-14), 2007 (17-11), 2006 (16-11-1), 2005 (13-16)

LaPORTE: I am not a big believer in LaPorte. They went to the state finals with an 18-14 record last year. But pitcher Amanda Jones (12-10 last season) is back and she blanked Hobart 9-0 last Saturday. LaPorte has two girls named Jessica Craft and I'm not sure which one of them had two doubles, a triple and a home run last Saturday, but it really doesn't matter. Andrean plays in the LaPorte Invitational on May 2, but the Slicers would like to win at least one game from Lake Central (they were 0-2 in 2008) this year.

On the outside looking in...

(1A) Whiting (0-0)
2008 (34-0), 2007 (26-4), 2006 (33-0), 2005 (11-16), 2004 (28-6), 2003 (21-10)

WHITING: The early season weather has meant two things.

1.) Injured right-handed all-stater Mel Dumezich won't have to miss so many games. There's no doubt that Whiting will postpone any games that are even semi-questionable weather wise and push them back into May when Dumezich (31-0 pitching, 15 HRs, 52 RBIs, in 2008) is expected to be healthy. If it keeps raining and snowing she may not miss any games.

2.) Here's one last chance for Whiting to 'do the right thing' and schedule Lowell, Andrean, Lake Central or Crown Point so Dumezich can pitch against the top squads. I do not know of anyone who would not like to see Whiting vs. Lowell, for example. LC, CP, Griffith -- they've all asked to play and all have been rejected. Even Whiting vs. Boone Grove would be an event.

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