2012 "Final" Northwest Indiana Top-10 High School 'Renegade' Poll 6-19-2012
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

MERRILLVILLE (6-19-2012) It was a good year for NW Indiana softball and 2013 promises to be even better. Andrean's six game charge to the state title was led by graduating right-hander Nicole Steinbach (25-2) and there were star senior pitchers graduating at Bishop Noll and Hebron among others.

But this was still a season of underclassmen. Andrean graduated just four seniors. Crown Point (25-8) and Lowell lose just two graduates. Hanover Central graduates only catcher Katie Klopp.

Morton (21-2) may not be able to repeat that 20-win record, but it won't be because they didn't have the same players they had in 2012. Morton loses just two seniors. Chesterton returns possibly the two best players in the DAC in Sydney Cooley and Megan Tymorek and Lake Central brings back a dominant 1-2 pitching punch of now freshman Annabel Karberg (6-1) and sophomore Lily Del Toro (10-1).

What I'd like to see in 2013 is better defense. A half dozen teams were eliminated in the post-season with multiple error games. In Class 4A Sectional 2, all of the final three teams (Chesterton, CP and Portage) were really bad in the field. Andrean's defense got better as the season went on, but it helps when your pitcher strikes out 300 batters.

What I would also like to see in 2013 is more teams host their own tournament. A tournament can be four teams playing two games each or it can be 16 teams. But the chance to play three, four or five games in a weekend is what has boosted Andrean for years.

I think if Morton, for example, wanted to host a one day, four-team tourney with Hanover Central, Wheeler and Kankakee Valley (3 teams from 3 different leagues), they could make that happen. Andrean had played in four or five multiple team (4 or more) tournaments every year for at least 15 years and that's not an accident.

And other than the Chesterton student station, no radio station carried any girls softball games all year. That shouldn't be.

One final notice has to be given out to New Prairie (21-8), a team I didn't notice all year. The Cougars of LaPorte County won the Northern States Conference with a 14-0 record. Pitcher Brandee Pietrzak (13-4, 1.55 ERA) had a top year as did catcher Katie Buford (.398, 26 runs scored) and outfielder Lexi Buford (.391, 33 runs scored). If there was a team that was overlooked this season, it was New Prairie.

1. (3A) Andrean (28-4)
25-7 (2011), 24-5 (2010), 28-8 (2009), 18-10 (2008), 29-3 (2007)

MERRILLVILLE: Since LC and Andrean don't play each other and LC ended with a better record, I thought the 59ers had to win state to be No. 1 in this poll. So when the Niners rolled over Edgewood 9-2 in Indianapolis Saturday (6-9-2012), they became No. 1 in every way. Senior pitcher Nicole Steinbach pitched six complete games in a row to boost Andrean to their third state title (1998, 2007 and 2012). Shortstop Brenna Boyle (31-97, .319), catcher Morghyn Neal (35-93, .375), Madi Lesch (28-77, .372) and Savannah Kinsella (32-100, .320) all return in 2013. Andrean will have to find a new No. 1 pitcher, probably an incoming freshman. But with a coach who knows pitching like Brooke Baker, and the vast majority of the 59ers roster returning in 2013, another successful season is very possible.

2. (4A) LAKE CENTRAL (26-3)
29-6 (2011), 21-11 (2010), 25-2 (2009), 25-7 (2008), 21-6 (2007)

ST. JOHN: LC lost 10-8 at home making four errors. I cannot find the last time Lake Central allowed 10 runs at home in a softball game. I doubt if it has ever happened in the history of the program. We probably should not make too much of this one game because it was a product of the Duneland Conference. This was third meeting of LC and Chesterton and one of the great undisputed truths of sports is that if you keep playing the same team in the same season, they will eventually beat you. Lake Central graduates six seniors, but they return shortstop Lizzie Seymour (34-86, .395) and two dominant pitchers in Annabel Karberg (6-1, 0.82, 48Ks in 35 inn.) and Lily DelToro (8-1, 1.21 ERA, 64 Ks in 50 innings). I would not be surprised if LC began the 2013 season as the top-ranked team state wide.

3. (4A) CROWN POINT (25-8)
18-9 (2011), 27-2 (2010), 24-5 (2009), 18-11 (2008), 16-14 (2007)

CROWN POINT: The Lady Bulldogs had the sectional title and gave it away with wild pitches, errors and missed fly balls. They led Chesterton 3-1, 5-1 and 6-4 and ended up losing 7-6. CP let it get away. But let's step back. This was a team with only two seniors and had its coach removed at mid-season and they still rolled up 24 regular season wins. CP returns all three pitchers (rumors are there are more coming) and both sets of sisters, outfielders Bailey and Kendall Mores plus infielders Ally and Amanda Rock all return for the 2013 season.

4. (4A) CHESTERTON (21-11)
19-8 (2011), 19-7 (2010), 14-15 (2009), 17-10 (2008), 20-6 (2007)

CHESTERTON: Chesterton's 10-8 victory over Lake Central had to be the highlight of the season. The Trojans were 0-4 against LC in the last two seasons, but they dominated the pitching of LC to become regional champs. It almost didn't matter that they lost the semistate 3-1 to Huntington North. Chesterton returns two dominant players in Megan Tymorek (.454, 9 HRs, 41 RBIs) and Sydney Cooley (.360, 6 HRs, 28 RBIs) and catcher Megan Matheney (.371, 23 RBIs) is expected to be a senior leader. Tymorek (17-9, 1.64 ERA) is not a dominant pitcher but she had 175 strikeouts in 171 innings and just 22 walks. The Trojans, who lifted 21 home runs in 32 games in 2012, hit very well in their own ballpark. Chesterton is in very good shape for 2013, but in the DAC, they are not alone.

5. (4A) Portage (18-8)
19-7 (2011), 12-10 (2010), 14-14 (2009), 19-9 (2008), 2007 (23-7)

PORTAGE: Portage lost a 3-2 lead in the late going in the 4A Sectional 2 semifinals against Crown Point. The Indians are a year away with freshman pitcher Kiley Jones (9-1), freshman shortstop Kaitlin Doud and power hitting catcher Haley Hodges. Portage returns every varsity player from the 2012 season. But again, Chesterton returns most everyone. CP returns all but two players. There were just not that many senior softball players in the DAC in 2012. And while Portage will have a winning season again in 2013, it will again be very difficult for them at playoff time.

6. (3A) Kankakee Valley (20-10)
24-4 (2011), 14-15 (2010)

8. (4A) Munster (18-13)
2011 (20-9), 2010 (20-10), 2009 (17-14), 2008 (27-7), 2007 (24-7)

MUNSTER: Munster lost 5-0 to Lake Central in the 4A Sectional 1 championship game to end the year, but not before they turned back Morton (21-2) in the semifinals. This is a great record for a team that played LC (26-2) and South Bend Riley (31-2) plus several other top teams largely without top pitcher Carly Murphy, who returns in 2013. The Lady Ponies never did score runs the way I thought they would. But with hitters like Taylor Michalski returning, the best may be yet to come here. This was an awfully good 18-13 season.

9. (4A) Morton (21-2)
13-5 (2011)

HAMMOND: Morton ended up with a school-record 21 wins, and while the 11-0 playoff loss to Munster proved they might not be able to handle the bigger schools, the Governors did pile up a school-record win total including wins over Wheeler, Noll and sectional champ Lake Station. The loss was to South Central, just 1A but also a sectional champ. Junior pitcher Angelica Justiniano (17-2) has a difficult style to handle and the core of this team returns in 2013. But they need to heed the warning of the 11-0 loss to the Mustangs. Morton is always going to be in the same sectional as Munster and Lake Central. They have to add some athleticism and play a much more challenging schedule or the same thing will happen to them in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 playoffs. Keep watching here.

10. (4A) Michigan City (16-13)
11-11 (2011), 17-9 (2010), 8-16 (2009)

MUNSTER: MC split with LaPorte (16-12) and CP (25-8) after starting the year going 3-8 after 11 games. This was the Wolves last run with senior (one of four MC seniors) right-hander Peyton Webb (13-7), but shortstop Jameka Collins (.481, 6 HRs, 29 RBIs) made a lot of big defensive plays late in the year and she returns. Michigan City is a good team, but they are in the wrong league. Unless the next big thing (read: pitcher) is in eighth grade.