Northwest Indiana Class 3A and 4A

State Finals Preview

6-04-2009

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

25th Indiana State Softball Finals

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (6-12-2009) For the first time, four Northwest Indiana teams have reached the four-class state finals. It was inevitable. With the elimination of the semistate round in the early part of this decade, it simply isn't that tough for teams, especially in the 1A, 2A and 3A classes, to get to the state semifinals. The Indianapolis area has four teams in the finals every single year. To call Northwest Indiana the center of softball power is like calling Conan O'Brien the king of late night.

In fact there could be four 'Lake County-Indianapolis' showdowns to highlight the finals. Not all of these match-ups are guaranteed, but 1A Whiting battling Indianapolis Lutheran, 2A Wheeler challenging traditional Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, 3A Andrean taking on suburban powerhouse New Palestine and Lowell trying to take down suburban Indy based multiple state champ Center Grove.

The opening night highlight will certainly be the matchup of Whiting star Mel Dumezich (19-2, 0.11 ERA, 350 strikeouts in 131 innings) against downstate dominator Audra Sanders (20-4-1, 0.45 ERA, 350 strikeouts in 170 innings). It's hard to beat Whiting when Dumezich strikes out two out of every three batters, but Tecumseh's only losses are to Gibson Southern (28-2) Center Grove (31-3) and Carmel (twice). We're going to find out if coach Paul Laub's strategy of ducking good competition pays off as the Oilers, who bat just .279 as a team, have to go through Tecumseh (.335) and Lutheran (.336) to win a third state crown.

If the Whiting-Tecumseh game isn't scoreless after seven innings, that will be the biggest upset of the night. The Oilers will be the home team in both the semifinals and finals, a big advantage with Dumezich pitching. But they play the late game (8:30 p.m., EST) and it may go deep into the night. The 1A title game is a breakfast time (10:30 a.m. EST) start Saturday and that means that Lutheran (if they beat Cowan) will be home and in bed by the time Whiting and Tecumseh finally finish.

The secret threat to win it all might be 2A Wheeler and first year coach Marc Bruner. Nobody has hit Lanay Parks (20-1, 0.05 ERA) all year and that quick diving 'drop' she throws is something a lot of hitters haven't seen. Scecina has eight seniors and they have only lost to Avon (28-2), Center Grove (31-3), New Palestine (29-1) and Roncalli (23-2). But the Bearcats have survived 2As best, beating Bishop Noll (20-5), Hanover Central (22-5), Boone Grove (24-7) and Garrett (24-2). If only one Northwest Indiana team wins a state crown this weekend, that one will be Wheeler.

I hate this format, which has eight games played Friday night in front of Saturday state title contests. You need four fields to be playable and everybody has to scramble across Indianapolis to Ben Davis the next day. I'll suggest again that the semifinals be played Thursday night, allowing for a rain date and for everybody to be rested for the championship games, even if the semifinals go 18 innings. School is out by mid-June and you can travel all day if you need to.

Coaches need to push for this because everyone benefits from a Thursday-Saturday finals format. You could even have a big state finals luncheon for the eight finalists Friday, helping to publicize the sport. This needs to be considered.

The Region Sports Network is going to do all it can to air state softball, but understand, the format works against them with four separate sites Friday night. Look for Andrean vs. Gibson Southern at 5:30 p.m. Lake County time and you'll hear Lowell vs. Center Grove at 7:30 p.m. (CST) time on WWCA (1270) AM. The Whiting-Tecumseh game will air on-line at www.RegionSports.com.

Look for the 1A and 4A title games from Ben Davis (assuming Lake County teams area playing Saturday) to be aired live on 1270 AM with the South Bend baseball semistate airing from approximately 12 noon to 6 p.m.

MERRILLVILLE (4A) Regional
6-6-9 * LOWELL 3, Portage 2
6-6-9 * Elkhart Memorial 3, Penn 2
6-6-9 * LOWELL 1, Elkhart Memorial 0 (11 innings) title

Center Grove (4A) Regional
6-6-9 * Center Grove 1, Avon 0
6-6-9 * Carmel 8, Cathedral 0
6-6-9 * Center Grove 7, Carmel 5 (title)

2009 State (4A) Softball Semifinals
6-12-9 (F) (West Lafayette) Harrison (24-7) vs. Floyd Central (23-6-1)
6-12-9 (F) LOWELL (23-10) vs. Center Grove (31-3)

2009 State (4A) Softball Finals
6-13-9 (Sat) 1A state finals - 10:30 a.m. (EST)
6-13-9 (Sat) 2A state finals - 1:30 noon (EST)
6-13-9 (Sat) 3A state finals - 4:30 p.m. (EST)
6-13-9 (Sat) 4A state finals - 7:30 p.m. (EST)

Lowell pitcher Lauren Wells (12), who figures to start against Center Grove (31-3) Friday night at the state finals. (All photos by Mark Smith)

Pitcher Lauren Wells also wields a good bat (38-101, .376) from the left side of the plate.

Lowell's catcher Nina Ioakimidis and coach Pete Iussig will try to bring back Lowell's first sirls softball state crown.

INDIANAPOLIS (6-12-2009) I don't know if there's a good thing about playing Center Grove in the state softball tournament. If you go strictly by numbers and level of competition, there is no question that Center Grove, a four-time (1986, 95, 98 and 2003) state champion and an 11-time state finalist, is the top softball program in the state. The Trojans have always been strong and they've always played the larger Indianapolis area softball powers.

In 25 state tournaments, Center Grove has won 18 sectionals. They seek out the top competition and their suburban Indianapolis rivals, top-ranked Avon and third ranked Carmel, give them plenty of hard times.

You can see the story in the game-by-game graph. Center Grove has allowed only 17 runs all year. Until 4A No. 3 Carmel scored five on them last Saturday night, Center Grove had allowed just 12 runs.

Senior 5-foot-10 right-handers Emily Gwaltney (17-1, 0.55 ERA, 185 strikeouts, 19 walks in 116 innings) and Sarah Franklin (14-2, 0.13 ERA, 104 strikeouts, 13 walks, in 110 innings) have given CG all the pitching they've needed. Franklin has allowed just two earned runs all year. Gwaltney has given up nine earned runs. Trojans opponents have only 119 base hits in 34 games. It's hard to win with 3-1/2 hits.

If CG seems less than stellar in any capacity, it is on offense. No Trojan has more than three home runs and no one has more than five stolen bases. It's a team effort. Sarah Alberico (48-112, .429), Sydney Miller (33-97, .340, 3 HRs, 30 RBIs), Liz Prince (39-120, .382), Katherine Belsito (36-88, .409) and Emily Gwaltney (40-100, .400, 2 HRs, 36 RBIs) all have played 30 games. The Trojans have eight seniors and they reportedly are simply a very solid team, with 25 shutouts against a schedule which includes 4A No. 1 Avon, 3A No. 2 New Palestine, 2A No. 1 Scecina and 1A No. 1 Tecumseh.

The best comparison would be to Lake Central. Center Grove has 2300 students and a long tradition of state caliber success. Let's not kid anybody that Lowell is the favorite Friday. But I think they have an advantage that worked against them when the Devils played 2007 state champ Hamilton Southeastern in the playoffs two years ago. At that time, Lowell was in a disadvantage facing HSE star Morgan Melloh, a hard-throwing left-hander. Now, Lowell has the hard throwing lefty in junior Lauren Wells (14-6), who is 4-0 in the post-season. High school softball players face so few lefties, and with the abbreviated distance between the pitcher and the plate (the real distance is the one they use in college), I've seen speedy lefties zip through very tough lineups twice before the batters can adjust. Softball isn't the nine-inning game it should be. In some close games, you only get three at-bats.

Here's something many of you already know. By virtue of the IHSAA draw, Lowell will be the home team against Center Grove. That means the Devils have the last at-bat, something that puts pressure on the opposition as long as the game stays tied.

Of Lowell's left-handed hitting top of the lineup (Jacki Fletcher, Jessica Schiessle and Lauren Wells) two of the three (Fletcher and Wells) have been here before as regular players. I was surprised to find that seven of the present Lowell starters were on the playoff roster two years ago. Jacki Fletcher batted 100 times as a freshman on the varsity in 2007. Katherine Allert and Lauren Wells were regulars two season ago. Megan Bolanowski hit two homers as a freshman infielder in 2008.

Lowell is a far more experienced team than it would seem when you look at a dugout full of juniors facing the senior-dominated Center Grove team. They bat just .279 as a team, so they're going to have to win a low-scoring game. The key player lately has been Indiana University recruit Katherine Allert (26-96, .276, 4 HRs, 14 RBIs) and Wells (38-101, .376), batting third, will be pivotal.

The sleeper is Megan Bolanowski (31-96, .323, 1 HR, 18 RBIs), who bats sixth. CG coach Russ Milligan certainly knows that Bolanowski hit nine home runs in 2008 and has a lot of power. But he also knows that Allert, who bats fifth, had four base hits in the 1-0 win over Elkhart Memorial in the Regional final. I think you pitch around Allert because of her power and experience and that leaves Bolanowski batting with runners on base, something Lowell may like.

Another super-sleeper is freshman Kaitlin Wells, who is so unknown that even her own sister didn't know how many home runs she hit on the JV. CG's never heard of her and if she bats ninth like she did in the regional, Kaitlin Wells, who has a smooth, powerful swing, may get a chance to shake up the finals.

The only losses that Center Grove has have been shutouts. Can Lowell shut out Center Grove? It's a possibility. Wells (14-6, 0.76 ERA, 169 strikeouts, 120 innings) has 18 consecutive scoreless innings in the post-season and neither she or right-hander Jacki Fletcher (9-4, 1.12 ERA) have given up over four runs in any game all year. Teams rarely hit better in night playoff games than they do in daytime regular season contests so this figures to be a 2-1 or 1-0 game.

Under the present IHSAA format, I think you always want to play the first semifinal game because that starting time is a definite 6:30 p.m. The Lowell-Center Grove game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Friday, but there is absolutely no guarantee of that. If Harrison and Floyd Central play 18 innings or if it rains (the long range forecast does not call for rain Friday or Saturday in Indianapolis), Lowell and Center Grove sit and wait.

If Lowell, with 13 juniors on the playoff roster, advances to the Saturday night (7:00 p.m. EST) championship game, they would again be the home team. The Red Devils would not seem to be likely to play Floyd Central, which is in suburban Louisville.

The Highlanders (23-6-1) are led by sophomore pitchers Samantha McClure (12-4-1, 0.76 ERA, 140 strikeouts in 119 innings) and Jordan Batliner (11-2, 0.80, 89 strikeouts in 96 innings ). To be honest, I discount them. Floyd Central has played just four playoff games. They hosted the regional and they haven't faced anyone with less than eight losses in the playoffs. Floyd Central does not have strikeout pitchers and they have losses to Clay City and Meade County, Kentucky that I wouldn't want to have to explain. I think Harrison, which appears to have played a more difficult schedule, is going to the finals.

Harrison's tall power pitchers 5-foot-9 Morgan Stephens (13-5, 0.90 ERA, 210 strikeouts in 140 innings) is the kind of hard-thrower you need here. 5-foot-9 Brooke Jordan (11-2, 0.70 ERA, 117 strikeouts in 85 innings) could easily take over if the Raiders need her. The Raiders are vulnerable because they bat just .250 as a team. That's like the Chicago White Sox on a bad day.

It's going to be tough for Lowell to get back under the Saturday night lights to face Harrison or the Floyd County girls. Center Grove has a lot of tradition. Ben Davis is a regular season opponent so the state finals' field is nothing new to them. They have senior pitchers who have only given up a total of 17 runs all year and they have scored over 200 runs against an elite schedule.

It comes down to Lowell's Wells and I'm not sure she can hold the Trojans until Lowell can put up a couple of runs. Center Grove, a school twice Lowell's size, may play some foes who are a cut above anybody Lowell has seen. The Devils 'noisy boys' cheering section will know quickly if the home team has a chance.

If Lowell can get an early lead, an upset is very possible here because the Devils have been here before. But when 25 teams have not even scored one run on Center Grove, I don't have to tell you who the favorite in the big school state finals is.

4A Center Grove (31-3)
3-24 (W) 4-0 Whiteland
3-25 (W) 4-0 Plainfield
3-26 (W) 3-0 Greenwood
4-8 (W) 5-0 Southport
4-11 (W) 9-0 Bloomington North
4-14 (W) 8-0 Ben Davis
4-16 (W) 6-2 Brownsburg
4-17 (W) 2-1 Tecumseh (27-4-1)
4-18 (W) 3-1 Boonville (24-4)
4-18 (W) 17-0 (Evansville) Harrison
4-18 (W) 6-0 Wood Memorial
4-20 (W) 11-1 Martinsville
4-22 (W) 16-0 Lawrence North
4-23 (L) 1-3 Avon (28-3)
4-25 (W) 4-1 Mishawaka
4-25 (W) 5-0 Mt. Vernon
4-29 (L) 0-1 New Palestine (29-1)
5-4 (W) 3-0 Perry Meridian
5-5 (W) 10-0 Warren Central
5-8 (W) 7-0 Terre Haute North
5-8 (W) 5-0 Terre Haute South
5-11 (W) 10-0 Decatur Central
5-12 (L) 0-2 Carmel (28-3)
5-14 (W) 6-0 North Central
5-16 (W) 16-0 Indian Creek
5-16 (W) 5-0 Edinburgh
5-18 (W) 4-0 Mooresville
5-20 (W) 14-0 Bloomington South
5-21 (W) 1-0 Scecina Memorial (27-4)

Franklin Central 4A Sectional
5-26 (W) 2-0 Southport
5-28 (W) 12-0 Perry Meridian
5-30 (W) 4-0 Franklin Central

Center Grove (4A) Regional
6-6 (W) 1-0 Avon (28-3)
6-6 (W) 7-5 Carmel (26-4)

Twin Lakes Regional
6-6-9 * ANDREAN 3, St,. Joseph's 0
6-6-9 * Western 8, Gavit 0
6-6-9 * ANDREAN 5, Western 0 title

Center Grove Regional
6-6-9 * Edgewood 7, Vincennes Lincoln 1
6-6-9 * Gibson Southern 3, Corydon Central 0
6-6-9 * Gibson Southern 4, Edgewood 0 (title)

2009 State (3A) Softball Semifinals at Pike High School, Indianapolis
6-12-9 (F) #3 Gibson Southern (28-2) vs. #10 ANDREAN (27-7) 6:30 (EST)
6-12-9 (F) Bellmont (21-6) vs. # 1 New Palestine (29-1)

2009 State (4A) Softball Finals
6-13-9 (Sat) 1A state finals - 10:30 a.m. (EST)
6-13-9 (Sat) 2A state finals - 1:30 noon (EST)
6-13-9 (Sat) 3A state finals - 4:30 p.m. (EST)
6-13-9 (Sat) 4A state finals - 7:30 p.m. (EST)

Andrean shortstop Audrey Bickel throwing to first base.

Andrean is going for a third state championship.

Andrean shortstop Audrey Bickel (taking off her helmet) leads the state in home runs. The 59ers take on Gibson Southern Friday night in the 3A semifinals at Pike high school. (All photos by Mark Smith)

INDIANAPOLIS (6-12-9) Gibson Southern represents an end to the 'yellow brick road' for streaking Andrean in the state softball playoffs. No one has challenged the powerful 59ers so far, but they know that ends Friday night. The 59ers, in front of junior pitcher Alyssa Moseley (19-6, 0.23 ERA, 196 strikeouts, 23 walks in 153 innings), have outscored five out-manned foes by a combined score of 35-1. But that means less than nothing to two of the teams they could see at the state finals.

Gibson Southern (Gibson County is the county immediately north of Evansville) is one of Indiana's softball powerhouses. They are the 2003 and 2005 Class 2A state champions and they lost the 2001 state title game to Roncalli. GSHS feels they are supposed to be here as much as Andrean, the 1998 and 2007 state champ does. This may be an unusually high-scoring game. Gibson Southern bats .346 as a team, including threats like junior first baseman Alec Dickerson (32-83, ,386 3 HRs, 24 RBIs) and outfielder Lexie Holmeyer (33-72, .458).

Pitcher Lauren Edwards (21-2, 0.40 ERA) has 222 strikeouts and 29 walks in 156 innings. GS has outscored five foes 31-1 in five games which suggest their path has been similar to the 59ers. Facing decent teams, but no state contenders. Yet. Certainly Edwards has faced no one like Andrean's Audrey Bickel (27-89, .472, 13 HRs, 46 RBIs), the most dominant offensive player in the Northwest corner of the state this year.

Gibson Southern may simply walk her every time up, but that will depend on what senior Sammy Serrato (51-97, .526, 28 runs scored) does in front of Bickel. Catcher Kelly Ryan (41-101, .406, 5 HRs, 27 RBIs) bats behind Bickel as does freshman Morgan Moseley (35-93, .448) and they will be asked to win the game because GS can read the stat sheet and they won't challenge Bickel in the small Pike softball field.

The Titans have given up just 24 runs all year, but I don't think they play the competition that Andrean or, for that matter, New Palestine does. I've always thought that Gibson Southern comes out of southern Indiana late in the softball playoffs a lot because Indiana softball is not that strong in the 3A bracket down south. To be fair, they probably feel that's why Andrean always comes out of the north as well.

The power in 3A is in the Indianapolis area and the new age Godfather is clearly New Palestine (29-1), from Hancock County in east suburban Indianapolis. New Pal is the 2004 and 2008 Class 3A champion and they finished this season ranked No. 1. New Pal won a wild 7-6 eight-inning showdown with Roncalli (23-2) in the title game of the Mount Vernon Regional.

To deal with New Palestine is to deal with senior right-hander Sara Evans (25-1, 0.54 ERA, 251 strikeouts, 7 walks in 168 innings) who has allowed only 80 base hits all season against big school competition. Junior Michelle Marcum (3-0, 0.66 ERA) is the backup pitcher, but she won't pitch this weekend and that's not why you have to worry about her. Marcum (40-87, .460, 6 HRs, 12 doubles, 41 RBIs) has also walked 19 times, which means that New Palestine's foes are more tired of seeing her than we all are of Brett Farve.

The strength of New Pal is their schedule. Like most state class teams, they seek the best competition they can find. The Dragons have defeated 1A state finalist Indianapolis Lutheran, 3A state finalist Bellmont, 4A state finalist Center Grove (31-3) and Roncalli (23-2). I'm going to shorthand this. Let's put New Palestine and Andrean in the finals, a matchup of the No. 1 team against a team that's only two years removed from the 2007 state title. In Saturday's late afternoon sunshine, New Palestine would be the home team and, playing less than a half hour from home, you have to favor them. New Pal is the defending state champion and Sara Evans pitched four shutouts in the playoffs in 2008 including a 5-0 shutout over Jasper in the 2008 state title game.

Obviously, they've won 12 playoff games in a row and this is probably the game where Andrean faces one of the few teams in the state with more tournament experience than they have.

3A Gibson Southern 28-2
3-23 (W) 2-1 Carmi (White County, Illinois)
4-7 (W) 27-0 Evansville Bosse
4-13 (W) 2-0 Evansville North
4-15 (L) 0-1 Castle
4-16 (W) 2-0 Forest Park
4-20 (W) 9-1 Henderson County (Kentucky)
4-21 (W) 4-0 Southridge
4-23 (W) 3-0 South Spencer
4-24 (W) 4-2 (Evansville) Harrison
4-27 (W) 1-0 Tecumseh (29-1)
4-29 (W) 6-2 Evansville Central
5-4 (W) 5-4 Decatur Central
5-2 (W) 5-0 North Posey
5-2 (W) 10-0 Northview
5-5 (W) 10-0 (Oakland City) Wood Memorial
5-7 (W) 3-2 Tell City
5-9 (W) 8-0 Bloomfield
5-9 (W) 10-2 Bloomfield
5-11 (L) 0-5 Owensboro (Kentucky) Catholic
5-12 (W) 11-1 Princeton
5-13 (W) 10-0 Mount Carmel (Ill.)
5-14 (W) 7-0 North Posey
5-15 (W) 8-0 Pike Central
5-18 (W) 7-0 Vincennes Lincoln
5-20 (W) 4-2 Heritage Hills 4-2 (11 innings)

Boonville (3A) Sectional
5-26 (W) 10-0 Princeton
5-28 (W) 4-1 Boonville
5-29 (W) 10-0 Mt. Vernon

Boonville (3A) regional
6-6 (W) 3-0 Corydon
6-6 (W) 4-0 Edgewood

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