Northwest Indiana Top-10

Week-5, 2010 High School 'Renegade' Poll

4-23-2010

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

CROWN POINT (4-25-2010) Strong playing weather and the teams began to settle into place. Can you handle the truth?
WE don't have as many top level team as we thought.

Lowell and Hanover Central are struggling in relation to what was expected. It could be an early season illusion (we are not at the midway mark) but there seem to be more errors this season. That could be because more ball are put into play. Hanover and LC are having an awful time just fielding the ball. Only Wheeler's Lanay Parks, CP's Taylor Perry and Lowell's Lauren Wells are rolling up the traditional extreme strikeout totals in the early going.

Outside the area: Mishawaka is 11-1 with pitcher Shelbie Jones (9-1), who pitched two complete games last Saturday against Concord. What's up with Westville (6-1) and pitcher Ashley Henrich, who pitched two complete game wins against Washington Township last Saturday?

Goshen's Natalie Newell is 9-1 for the Redskins (10-2) and she struck out 17 against Elkhart Central on April 13. She's struck out at least 10 in every game and Newell struck out 255 and walked 14 last year. She allowed just 32 hits in 138 innings.

Class 3A No. 9 St. Joseph's (7-0) has informed Crown Point that they cannot attend Saturday's Crown Point Invitational involving Andrean (7-1), Crown Point (8-1) and Hanover Central (6-3). A revised schedule now has Hanover playing Andrean at 10:00 a.m., followed by HC versus CP at 12:00 Noon and then Andrean versus CP at 2:00 p.m.

The draw for the 16-team Twin Lakes Invitational (May 7 & 8) is as follows. It appears to be exactly the same as last year.

FRIDAY (all times are Eastern Standard Time)
Twin Lakes vs. Maconaquah - 5 p.m.
(West Lafayette) Harrison vs. Pioneer - 5 p.m.
(Lafayette) Jefferson vs. Lewis Cass - 5 p.m.
CROWN POINT vs. Frontier - 5:45 p.m.
(Howard County) Eastern vs. McCutcheon - 6:30 p.m.
Munster vs. Western - 6:30 p.m.
ANDREAN vs. HANOVER CENTRAL -6:30 p.m.
Benton Central vs. LOWELL - 8 p.m.

SATURDAY (all times are Eastern Standard Time)
Frontier vs. Twin Lakes - 9 a.m.
Eastern vs. LOWELL - 9 a.m.
Munster vs. (West Lafayette ) Harrison 9 a.m.
Jefferson vs. ANDREAN - 9 a.m.
Maconaquah vs. CROWN POINT - 10:30 a.m.
McCutcheon vs. Benton Central - 10:30 a.m.
Pioneer vs. Western - 10:30 p.m.
Lewis Cass vs. HANOVER CENTRAL - 10:30 p.m.
Maconaquah vs. Frontier - 12 noon
McCutcheon vs. LOWELL - 12 noon
Munster vs. Pioneer - 12 noon
Lewis Cass vs. ANDREAN - 12 noon
Twin Lakes vs. CROWN POINT - 1:30 p.m.
Eastern vs. Benton Central - 1:30 p.m.
Harrison vs. Western - 1:30 p.m.
Jefferson vs. HANOVER CENTRAL - 1:30 p.m.

Semifinals - 3:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Championship - 6:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

1. CROWN POINT (8-1)
2009 (24-5), 18-11 (2008), 16-14 (2007), 13-14 (2006), 12-14 (2005)

CROWN POINT: The Bulldogs rallied to beat Lowell 5-4 and they have shut down everyone else. Taylor Perry has three shutouts and Jackie Beilfuss is 4-1. CP may be a cut above the other top teams defensively. In truth, Beilfuss and Perry don't let a lot of balls get hit into the field. But, other than the 6-4 loss to Penn, there haven't been any big defensive meltdowns that crucify most softball teams. Good tests for CP: This Saturday (April 24) when they take on Andrean (7-1) and Hanover Central (6-3), teams that know them well.

2. Wheeler (10-0)
2009 (27-3), 2008 (20-7), 2007 (25-4), 2006 (14-16)

UNION TOWNSHIP: Wheeler is still shutting down everyone. The schedule isn't good so far but no one has dominated the first third of a schedule in then history of NW Indiana softball as Wheeler has. I have Wheeler outscoring their first 10 opponents 110-1. That is unheard of. Even Whiting (with Mel Dumezich) never did that over a 10-game span. But Wheeler isn't afraid to play Boone Grove, Hanover (It's too bad they can't get into that CP tourney Saturday, replacing St. Joseph's) and Lowell. Circle May 13. Wheeler and Lanay Parks against Lowell and Lauren Wells.

3. LOWELL (7-4)
23-11 (2009), 20-10 (2008), 30-7 (2007), 23-7 (2006), 21-10 (2005), 20-9 (2004)

LOWELL: The Red Devils are losing the close ones. 5-4 to CP. 3-2 to Griffith. 7-6 to Lake Central. The Devils, the most experienced team in NW Indiana (10 seniors, 8 returning starters) looked noticeably superior to CP for five innings, but gave up 5 runs in the sixth and lost 5-4 on April 17. Left-hander Lauren Wells struck out 12 against Boone, 17 against KV, 12 against CP and 14 against Griffith. Coaches and players are hesitant to admit this, but left-handers have an edge over right-handers in high school softball because you just don't see many of them. Lowell travels to Andrean on April 28. I think Lowell is better than CP, but CP has played better so far.

4. ANDREAN (7-1)
28-8 (2009), 18-10 (2008), 29-3 (2007), 26-4 (2006), 32-3 (2005)

MERRILLVILLE: Andrean has been quiet so far and the 3-1 loss at Lowell last week keeps them from moving higher here. Alyssa Moseley pitched a 5-hitter and the Niners rolled over Highland 7-2 on Tuesday (April 22) for Andrea's third consecutive win. Andrean has not yet hit the tough part of their schedule but that happens Saturday (April May 24) when they take on Hanover Central (6-3) and Crown Point (8-1) in the CP Invitational. Andrean faces Hanover again in the opening game of the Twin Lakes Invitational on May 7. Andrean will also play Lewis Cass May 8 at Twin Lakes.

5. BOONE GROVE (6-1)
24-8 (2009), 22-6 (2008), 16-11 (2007), 14-16 (2006), 9-19 (2005)

PORTER TOWNSHIP: Boone has been quiet so far but they edged rival Hanover 6-4 Monday (4-19-10) to take the lead in the Porter County Conference. There will be a rematch in the PCC tournament semifinals next month. Pitcher Taylor Johnson walked eight but allowed just three hits to HC. Boone lost 8-1 to Lowell but they do have a 10-1 win over Westville and pitcher Ashley Henrich. Boone hasn't played very many game and outside of Wheeler and Hanover, they wont see heavy duty opposition until the final week of the year when they face Crown Point and Portage. 43 runs in the first seven games is good but not great.

6. Chesterton (9-3)
2009 (14-15), 2008 (17-10), 2007 (20-6), 2006 (30-2), 2005 (27-3-1)

CHESTERTON: I know Hanover beat Chesterton but the Trojans are probably the better team right now. They lost to 4A CP (9-1) and Mishawaka (6-3). The Trojans have wins over Griffith and LaPorte and are 4-1 DAC play. Right-hander Taylor Harlow is splitting time with sophomore Taylor Bissonnette, who pitched a 3-2 win over Hebron.
The Trojans have been good scoring runs but its all going to come down to whether they can win a rematch with Crown Point. That rematch comes on May 6 at Chesterton...and perhaps in the sectional in 6 weeks.

7. HANOVER CENTRAL (6-3)
22-5 (2009), 20-10 (2008), 20-10 (2007), 16-4 (2006), 26-5-3 (2005)

CEDAR LAKE: Hanover has some nice wins over Chesterton and Bishop Noll but this team has major defensive problems. In the 2-0 loss to Griffith, HC made four errors. In the 6-4 loss to Boone, they made five errors. The Lady Cats made 24 errors in the first eight games and they know they're going nowhere with that level of defense. Kelsey Jankowski is batting nearly .500 and Tiffany Gibson is having a big year in the clean up role. Morgan Austgen is a fine defender but other players have to make plays. With right-hander Jessica Toth pitching well, Hanover should be 9-1. They won't lack for tests with Lowell, Wheeler, Andrean (twice), Lewis Cass and Boone Grove all still to come. But right now their defense is weaker than the Chicago Bulls.

8. LAKE CENTRAL (9-6)
25-2 (2009), 25-7 (2008), 21-6 (2007), 25-8 (2006) 32-1 (2005), 29-3 (2004)

ST. JOHN: Lake Central plays a top schedule and they've taken some hits like a 4-2 loss to Franklin Central at the McCutcheon Classic on April 19. LC was overwhelmed by CP's Taylor Perry (15 strikeouts) on April 12 and they have to be looking at that rematch as well. But here's another team that needs a 'D' makeover. Six errors against Highland, Five against Lowell. Four against Portage. But you can fix the defense as the season goes along. You can fix it or you can make changes. They don't have dominant pitching so they have to be error-free in the field. And they better get to it because they've already passed the halfway mark in the season. Time is running out for LC.

9. (4A) Highland (9-2)
2009 (16-14), 2008 (11-15), 2007 (17-13), 2006 (0-0), 2005 (20-9)

HIGHLAND: The Warriors lost a close one 3-2 to Hanover last week and they don't have a significant win yet. But pitcher Vanessa Hartzell gives them a big chance in every game. She struck out 10 in a 14-3 win over Clay and nine more in a 4-3 win over Logansport last Saturday. The Warriors have to be perfect defensively because they don't score that many runs. Noll's whole focus must be Wheeler, their foe in the Greater South Shore Conference and in the Noll Sectional. Every other game with every other team is irrelevant.

10. (2A) Bishop Noll (7-3)
2009 (20-14), 2008 (19-10), 2007 (9-19), 2006 (16-16)

HAMMOND: The Warriors lost a close one 3-2 to Hanover last week and they don't have a significant win yet. But pitcher Vanessa Hartzell gives them a big chance in every game. She struck out 10 in a 14-3 win over Clay and nine more in a 4-3 win over Logansport last Saturday. The Warriors have to be perfect defensively because they don't score that many runs. Noll's whole focus must be Wheeler, their foe in the Greater South Shore Conference and in the Noll Sectional. Every other game with every other team is irrelevant.

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