Northwest Indiana Top-5 for 2012 High School 'Renegade' Poll 6-26-2011
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

ST. JOHN (6-26-2011) I could rank the final Top-10 softball teams for 2011, but let's forget 2011 quickly. Some teams did well, but the quality of play was not as high as it was in 2010. It was a season of transition with new players making their debuts. But 2012, that's a different story. I do not recall a year when so many teams return their top starting pitchers.

In 2A, Hebron, Bishop Noll and Wheeler.

In 3A, Hanover Central, Andrean and KV.

In 4A, Munster, Lake Central, Crown Point and others all return their top one or top two pitchers.

A lot will converge in Class 3A Sectional 18 where KV, with all-stater Ashley Dobson, Andrean with all-stater Nicole Steinbach, will be joined by Hanover with all-Porter County Conference pitcher Ashley Yoways, who won 13 games in her freshman season.

The Duneland Conference will see the return of top freshman pitcher Lily Del Toro of Lake Central and home run hitter Sydney Cooley of Chesterton. Add to that, Crown Point, which moved in Rachel Centanni and twins Ally and Amanda Rock, all starting players as freshmen in 2011. There should be local state contenders in 2A, 3A and 4A in 2012.

1. (4A) LAKE CENTRAL (29-6)
21-11 (2010), 25-2 (2009), 25-7 (2008), 21-6 (2007), 25-8 (2006), 32-1 (2005)

ST. JOHN: Anybody who saw Lake Central would at least consider the fact that Lily Del Toro, a freshman, was their best pitcher. While all-state catcher Samantha Terry graduates, most of the rest of the team does not. The Indians return most of the rest of a two-time regional championship team, including pitcher Bridget Boyle (12-2, 1.67 ERA) and infielder Nikki Adams (.367, 4 HRs, 29 RBIs) and outfielders Taylor Michalski (.376, 25 runs scored) and Kayla Bishton (.411, 33 runs scored). Lake Central has won at least 20 games for 24 years in a row and 2012 will be the 25th. But if we're nit-picking, which we must do at the top of the 4A food chain, LC is not a great defensive team and they are a little slow. Carmel shut them out twice and you've got to be able to create one run against ANY pitcher. But a team that has won two regionals in a row and returns its top two pitchers has a significant edge on everybody else.

2. (3A) ANDREAN (25-7)
24-5 (2010), 28-8 (2009), 18-10 (2008), 29-3 (2007), 26-4 (2006)

MERRILLVILLE: Andrean returns Nicole Steinbach, NW Indiana's top pitcher. The Niners were not a good offensive team at the end of the year, winning several one-run playoff games and losing 9-0 to Brebuef in the state final. Four playoff games were won by scores of 1-0, 2-0, 2-1 and 1-0 with Steinbach, the junior right-hander, striking out 61 batters. Steinbach was 22-4 with an 0.56 ERA and 298 strikeouts. The Niners also return Kaitlin Barajas (.400, 26 RBIs) and Savannah Kinsella (.366, 18 RBIs) with Brenna Boyle at short. They need a catcher to replace all-stater Kelly Ryan (.419) but they'll start 2012 in the state Top-10.

3. (4A) CHESTERTON (19-8)
19-7 (2010) 14-15 (2009), 17-10 (2008), 20-6 (2007), 30-2 (2006)

CHESTERTON: Chesterton lost 2-0 at Crown Point in the Class 4A Sectional 2 playoffs, but I could not say that CP is the better team. The Trojans were a team on the brink. Sophomore Megan Tymorek pitched two strong sectional victories and freshman Sydney Cooley finished with a NW Indiana-leading seven home runs. Tymorek (.407, 16 RBIs) and Cooley (.455, 7 HRs, 43 RBIs) anchor the batting order and Tymorek (11-3, 1.72 ERA) is a solid pitcher. Here's a team that started two freshmen and a sophomore. The Trojans are probably a better team than Andrean except for Steinbach and that's irrelevant in the DAC and 4A Sectional 2.

4. (4A) CROWN POINT (18-9)
27-2 (2010), 24-5 (2009), 18-11 (2008), 16-14 (2007), 13-14 (2006)

CROWN POINT: There's a big problem with how to rate Crown Point at the end of regional play. CP was 3-0 against LaPorte (20-9) and 0-3 against Lake Central (28-5). There's more. The Lady Bulldogs were 2-0 against Michigan City and 0-2 against Portage. When you lose to Penn, McCutcheon and Lewis Cass, that's no big deal and CP was 2-1 against Chesterton, which I believe is a better team. They'll return. My bottom line is: There's not a bad loss there. Sophomore Siena Gyure (9-3) and freshman Rachel Centanni (8-4) were as good a 1-2 pitching rotation as could be expected and they both have two more seasons. Freshmen sisters Ally Rock and Amanda Rock have three more seasons and should anchor the defense catching and at third base. If we're looking for flaws (and we are), the Bulldogs are going to have to score more runs than they did in DAC play this season, especially in the match ups with Chesterton. They'll be back to challenge LC and Chesterton next season.

5. (4A) LaPORTE (20-9)
22-11 (2010), 17-11 (2009), 20-14 (2008), 17-11 (2007)

LaPORTE: When I see LaPorte and Crown Point, I think LaPorte is the better team. But the Slicers were 0-3 against CP and 0-6 against Andrean, CP and Lake Central. Senior Jessica Craft (.424) was named co-MVP of the Duneland Conference, but LaPorte didn't have many seniors. They return both pitchers (Meghan Bunch (11-3) and Hannah Fuller (9-4) next season plus little Alexis Botsford, who was batting almost .500 most of the year. The DAC was tough in 2011 and it will be tougher in 2012 as almost all of the starting pitching reruns. Being back next year better than ever might not be good enough. But this is an unusually good hitting team.

ON THE MOVE...

HANOVER CENTRAL (13-13)
2010 (17-7), 22-5 (2009), 20-10 (2008), 20-10 (2007)

CEDAR LAKE: Hanover Central pulled the surprise of the season when they upset Vanessa Hartzell (15-5, 1.03 ERA. 264 strikeouts) 4-3 in the sectional championship game. But now Hanover moves up to Class 3A and they seem overmatched for 2012. Come sectional time, HC faces Kankakee Valley with senior Ashley Dobson (15-4, 0.96 ERA, 118 strikeouts) and Andrean with senior Nicole Steinbach (22-4, 0.56 ERA, 298 strikeouts) in 3A Sectional 18. But HC will look to regain the Porter County Conference (PCC) title as sophomore Ashley Yoways (13-12) returns in tandem with senior catcher Katie Klopp. HC has graduated all-area star Tiffany Gibson, but they'll have speed in juniors Blayr Poston and Tiffany Ward plus a good shortstop in sophomore Ivy Dawson. Post-season surprise pitcher Abby Stewart can be a solid No. 2 pitcher and there is talk of immediate help from the incoming freshman class. The Lady Cats need some left-handed hitters. They have an entire right-handed roster and it's hard to win that way.