Northwest Indiana Top-10

Week-9, 2010 High School 'Renegade' Poll

5-21-2010

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

CROWN POINT (5-20-2010) Tournament champions include Crown Point, who went 5-0 at the 16-team Twin Lakes Tournament; Hanover Central, which went 3-0 at the Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament and Wheeler, which went 3-0 at the LaVille "Queen of Diamonds' tournament. Softball is ignored in Northwest Indiana by main line fans because there is simply no major event to attend. Even the Porter County Conference (PCC) Tournament, a very watch-able event, is in LaCrosse, a place that half of Northwest Indiana people don't even know exists.

Highland canceled their tourney. Crown Point's tournament is always rained out. No one else tries.

There is talk of a multiple team tournament at Portage next year. I hope that will happen. Every school should have their own softball tournament. Their own invitational. You can play three to five games without burning one gallon of gas and celebrate the sport you supposedly feel is worthwhile.

The draw is out and some teams are happy. Some are not.

Bishop Noll, Lake Central, Washington Township and Gavit could be on their home field all the way through the regional but odds are against that happening for any of those four. This is the season of the miserably-conceived Tuesday afternoon regional. No one likes it. It makes a regional championship game another throw-away night that the athletic director has to hurry to get through on a school night. It's another cheap shot to the sport which took hits around NW Indiana for four years when Whiting was No. 1, but refused to play anybody they couldn't beat.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that at schools, which are supposed to be for learning, all state tournament championship games should be on Friday or Saturday. Only those who aren't involved feel the tourney should not go back to the four-week concept that has always worked until the state master minds got a hold of it. The reason spring sports have four rounds of playoffs in four week is so you only use school nights as 'rain days.' It worked until some genius figured we had to squeeze the playoffs off in three weeks so adults could go home for the summer.

The chuckle heads who run the IHSAA have all regional games listed with 7:00 p.m. starts, unaware apparently that most schools don't have lights for softball. To have teams travel 20-40 miles to fields without lights for 4:30 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. games is as insane as it sounds. The IHSAA executive board must have had a few drinks before they agreed on this.

Baseball had a mid-week, home site regional a few years ago and they ash-canned it. It simply does not work because of distance, limited daylight and it's VERY vulnerable to bad weather. It's another step back for a sport that many schools, by their actions and the actions of the IHSAA, still consider equal in importance to mowing the lawn.

The recent tourney wins suggest a very bright post-season for Northwest Indiana teams. But that's misleading.

Hanover and Wheeler cannot BOTH survive sectional play. And the new format stops the lame practice of sending the regional champ directly to the finals. Now four NW Indiana schools must survive four four-team semistates. So we will NOT have four local teams in the state finals like last year. Odds are 4-to-1 against anyone making it now and none of the four semistate sites are anywhere near Northwest Indiana.

Favorites? Andrean. They are more battle-tested than the Boston Celtics. Crown Point. The new hurry-up format requires one pitcher to pitch and win four times in eight days. Girls claim they can pitch 10 innings every day and twice on Sunday, but they lie about that. You need two pitchers. Crown Point is the only team with two pitchers who have 10 or more victories.

It's hard to chose between Hanover and Wheeler because both have workhorse pitchers who may be hurting after the first game they pitch. Wheeler and South Central should decide the 1A regional crown. There is no easier path to the state finals than in Class 1A in the north.

1. CROWN POINT (23-1)
2009 (24-5), 18-11 (2008), 16-14 (2007), 13-14 (2006), 12-14 (2005)

CROWN POINT: The Bulldogs shut out LaPorte and Griffith on the same night to run their win streak to 22 games heading into the final week. The Bulldogs edge is that their pitchers have split time on the mound and both appear to be ready for the post-season run. CP drew a team they can beat in Michigan City. And if I'm reading the bracket rules correctly (and there's only a 50-50 chance of that) then CP is the home team in all three games they would play at the Class 4A Chesterton Sectional. CP, ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history, is the sectional favorite but can they win a rematch with Penn (20-1) at the regional?

2. ANDREAN (17-3)
28-8 (2009), 18-10 (2008), 29-3 (2007), 26-4 (2006), 32-3 (2005)

MERRILLVILLE: Andrean appears ready with losses only to LaPorte, Crown Point and Lowell, all 4A teams. Nicole Steinbach struck out 13 in a 2-0 win over Highland last week. Alyssa Moseley pitched shutouts over Hanover Central and Lafayette Harrison at the Twin Lakes Invitational. The Niners don't score a lot of runs but they are a tough team to strike out and that's crucial in the playoffs. Andrean is the sectional and regional favorite in Class 3A but they have to meet up with St. Joseph's (19-2) eventually.

3. Wheeler (24-2)
2009 (27-3), 2008 (20-7), 2007 (25-4), 2006 (14-16)

UNION TOWNSHIP: Wheeler swept the eight-team LaVille Tournament with the title game being a 1-0 win over 1A No. 4 Lakewood Park Christian. I'm hoping Lanay Parks (13-1) is 100% healthy heading into the post-season and she'll benefit from a favorable draw and a first round bye. They have lost only to Lowell (18-9) and Hanover (17-6) so they should be the favorite in the 2A Sectional 33. The Bearcats have had some trouble scoring runs lately but its going to be a struggle for them. You have to make them the regional favorite because Hanover (17-6) will have to play Bishop Noll (18-9) before either can meet Wheeler. The experience of winning the sectional and regional last year comes into play here, but there will be serious challengers from the east at the regional level.

4. LOWELL (17-8)
23-11 (2009), 20-10 (2008), 30-7 (2007), 23-7 (2006), 21-10 (2005), 20-9 (2004)

LOWELL: Lowell won three in a row last week including a 4-2, 10-inning win at Wheeler (23-2). Here's the most dangerous team in the playoffs. Nobody hits left-hander Lauren Wells (13-3) very well and Lowell now has four left-handed hitters in the lineup, which traditionally is their strength and the equalizer against hard throwers. Lowell drew East Chicago and then Lake Central in the LC sectional. LC, Highland and Munster are all teams Lowell has lost to this season, but I don't think those teams are better than Lowell. Drawing EC in the first game, I would make Lowell a slight sectional favorite to host CP June 1 in the school-night regional.

5. HANOVER CENTRAL (17-6)
22-5 (2009), 20-10 (2008), 20-10 (2007), 16-4 (2006), 26-5-3 (2005)

CEDAR LAKE: Why isn't HC above Lowell? HC defeated Lowell. They have less losses than Lowell. They defeated Wheeler just like Lowell did. The Lady Cats beat Wheeler (24-2), Chesterton (17-6) and Lowell (17-8), but lost to Highland (16-7), Boone Grove (12-7) and Beecher (21-9). Nobody has a top four in the batting order like Morgan Austgen, Kelsey Jankowski, Jessica Toth and Tiffany Gibson. But there's a decision to be made here. Toth (8-2) will have some physical difficulty pitching two days in a row. Can Jankowski shut down Bishop Noll in the 2A Sectional 33 semifinals so Toth can get a full shot against Wheeler in the finals? Hanover is significantly improved from the start of the year, but they didn't get a good draw at all.

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

CHESTERTON: The Trojans had at least 10 days off after they lost to Crown Point 9-1 on May 6 and it showed in a 7-1 loss to Lake Central on May 18. The weather killed them. Here's a team that certainly won't be worn down heading into the post-season. The Trojans are a little young to win three playoff games in five days, but they are on their home field, an edge that is underestimated. Chesterton should get to the final game and if they have Taylor Harlow ready they have a chance in the Friday, May 28 championship game. But there's no positive to having 10 days off late in the season. Softball doesn't work that way.

7. LAKE CENTRAL (16-10)
25-2 (2009), 25-7 (2008), 21-6 (2007), 25-8 (2006) 32-1 (2005), 29-3 (2004)

ST. JOHN: You have to look away from the record here. LC stopped Chesterton 7-1 Tuesday (May 18) with Abby Rouch pitching a two-hitter. The Indians have lost twice to CP (23-1) and once to Penn (20-1). But they do have wins over Lowell, Harrison and Munster. The Indians score a lot of runs, but they have to win a rematch with Lowell next week at the LC Sectional and I didn't know if they can hit Lowell's left-hander Lauren Wells now. You have to give them a sectional championship chance on their home field, but they'd have to defeat Lowell and Highland or Munster in the finals for the right to beat Crown Point at the regional. I can't see it.

8. (4A) Highland (16-8)
2009 (16-14), 2008 (11-15), 2007 (17-13), 2006 (0-0), 2005 (20-9)

HIGHLAND: The Trojans lost 2-0 to Andrean and 6-1 to Munster last week, breaking a four-game win streak. They've split with Lowell, lost twice to Penn (20-1), beat Highland 7-4 and Hanover 6-2 but they have one pitcher in Megan O'Day (12-7) and the draw will let them save her for the Munster rematch. Munster (17-8) topped Highland 6-1, but O'Day did not pitch that day. I think they win a rematch with the Lady Ponies, but they'd then have to win a third matchup with Lowell. The draw (the Munster/Highland winner plays weak West Side) gives them a chance, but not a 50-50 chance.

9. (4A) LaPorte (17-9)
2009 (19-9), 2008 (20-14), 2007 (17-11), 2006 (16-11-1)

LaPORTE: The Slicers, as always, sit ignored by locals. But they do have the wins over Andrean (16-3) and Noll (16-9). The Slicers are 0-6 against LC, CP and Chesterton but those three teams are above them in this poll. The games with Chesterton were interesting: 8-4 and 5-3. Some very un-softball-like scores. The Slicers got a good draw: Merrillville (4-22). LaPorte's Meghan Bunch pitched a three-hit shutout against Merrillville Tuesday (5-18-2010). Then it would be Chesterton and that's the first hurdle. But they know they'll be in the semifinals and a lot of teams don't know that.

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

HAMMOND: The Warriors are like the Chicago White Sox. Good pitching, but they can't hit a lick. Noll lost 8-1 to Highland last week. They did get 10 hits in a 7-0 win over Calumet. Sophomore right-hander Vanessa Hartzell (11-6) has to defeat Hanover and Wheeler on consecutive days and that's a tall order even for a tall girl. In the post-season pitchers matter more than they do in the regular season. Hartzell has pitched against both HC and Boone and they are worried about her. But nobody's worried about Noll's offense. They are going to have to win 2-1 or 3-2 and they're going to have to do it twice.

On the outside looking in...

(2A) BOONE GROVE (12-7)
24-8 (2009) 22-6 (2008), 16-11 (2007), 14-16 (2006), 9-19 (2005)

PORTER TOWNSHIP: Boone lost 6-1 to eventual champion Hanover (17-6) at the PCC Tournament. Senior Roxanne Miniuk (1-1), who had quit the team, returned with the health problems of Taylor Johnson and she pitched reasonably well against HC. Three runs against her were unearned. After seeing Miniuk, I would still make Boone a sectional favorite over Hebron. I think Boone would welcome a regional rematch against Hanover Central (in the regional) and not Wheeler. But, on the road on a Tuesday night, they would not be favored.

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