Northwest Indiana Top-10

2004 High School Rankings: Week 10

6-2-2004

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Lake Central showed they are a state finals worthy team, knocking out 20-game winners Munster 11-1 and Lowell 6-2. Andrean's path to the state finals was cleared as Culver Academy, Griffith and Benton Central all went down. In Class 1A, Whiting was boosted as South Central, a team that defeated the Oilers, was eliminated by Marquette. The drama could be in Class 2A as the state-rated teams that were expected to advance through sectional play all did... meaning Hanover Central will face two top-10 foes in Bremen and Rochester at the faraway LaVille Regional.

Weather did not disrupt the softball playoffs as it blew up the baseball playoffs in many parts of the state. As the biggest week of the season ends, don't let anybody tell you that there isn't a lot of pressure on 1A Whiting, 2A Hanover Central and 4A Lake Central. When you go to the state finals one year, not only are you a target the next season, but you can be a victim of your own high expectations. But those teams shouldn't whine about it. The pressure of being a winner is preferable to the non-pressure of always being a loser.

1. ANDREAN (27-4)

MERRILLVILLE - The 59ers rolled through the Class 3A Sectional at home beating Wirt 28-0 and Kankakee Valley 6-0. Right-hander Lori Knopf (14-2) struck out seven in a one-hit shutout against the Kougars (10-14). The trick for the 59ers will be to lift their game again to face South Bend Sectional champion (Mishawaka) Marian (20-10) in the Twin Lakes 3A semifinals Saturday morning. The 59ers' schedule, which has seen them play at Twin Lakes in May, as well as four other weekend road trips, has to pay off here. The 59ers' senior Carly Rossner (29-59, .492, 29 RBIs), Ashley Emmett (27-56, .482, 32 stolen bases) and Kristen Ivancich (21-49, 429) had great numbers as the season came to a close. But the success or failure of Andrean's season will be decided this Saturday. There's not much to choose from between Andrean and Lake Central but the DAC was a little down this year (5 losing teams). Andrean played No. 1 Eastern (30-2), Michigan power Dowagiac (29-11), West Lafayette (22-6), Culver Academy (22-6), Castle, Benton Central as well as Munster and Lowell. In fact, they played everybody except Lake Central.

2. Lake Central (25-3)

ST. JOHN - Munster (25-3-1) and Lowell (20-9) could not hit left-hander Beth Toyias (15-0) and they also could not retire the middle of the LC batting order, led by junior Katie Mitchell (31-78, .397), Stacy Adamski (28-74,.378) and Lisa Gulick (23-67, .343). The Indians now have to fight some complacency. Not that Portage (27-3-1) and Penn are not quality foes, but LC does not have to travel. They play at nearby Merrillville and sometimes familiarity can lead to a slow start. The regional level of the state tourney is no time to fall behind early. Toyias has been as good as any Lake Central pitcher ever up to this point. In over 100 innings, she has allowed less than 50 hits. LC has defeated semifinal foe Portage twice already, but the Indians are already hard at work trying to simulate the six foot tall left-handed Toyias in practice. LC can make some history Saturday. Admittedly, reaching the state finals is not as tough as it used to be before in the old one class tournament. But LC is trying to reach the state semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. I know LC has noted that top-ranked defending state champ Center Grove was a winner in regional play. CG beat LC in the state title game last year.

3. Portage (27-3-2)

PORTAGE - Portage did what they had to do in beating Chesterton 1-0, Valparaiso 3-0 and Merrillville 3-0 behind dominant freshman RHP Meagan Gutierrez (19-1), who allowed 15 base hits in 23 sectional innings with 17 strikeouts and only one walk. Northwest Indiana is a loosely defined term but the last freshman pitcher in Lake and Porter County to win 20 games was Beth Wendlinger (20-2, 0.24 in 1999), whose team was then in Class 1A. I do not believe there has ever been a freshman at a 2000-kid school in this part of the state who has won 20 games. But before we get carried away, Gutierrez faces the ultimate test against the only team to beat her, power-hitting Lake Central (25-3) Saturday at the 4A Merrillville Regional.

Portage, which has 14 shutouts as a pitching staff, must score early in this game. The Indians only have 11 runs in the last five games and two of those were rained out against Munster in a 0-0 eight-inning tie. (Portage scored two in the top of the 8th before it rained). No one has built a squad out of question marks this year better than coach Jeff Smith here. After seasons of 30-4 (2000), 26-4 (2001), 23-9 (2002), the Indians 'slumped' to 19-9 last year. This year, they have beaten Lowell (20-9), Highland (19-5-1), Penn (20-10), tied Munster (23-3-1) and Highland (19-5-1) and beaten Chesterton (20-6) three times. A very good year becomes a great year with two wins Saturday.

4. Chesterton (20-6)

CHESTERTON - The Trojans may take some solace in the fact that Portage, the team that defeated them, also won the sectional. Chesterton ended up 0-5 against Lake Central and Portage and 20-1 against everybody else. They never did hit Portage freshman right-hander Maria Martinez (15-1), who beat them three times. Junior Laura DeLeon (14-5, 0.59 ERA, 149Ks in 126 innings) pitched a three-hitter and retired 21 batters in a row against Portage, but ended up losing 1-0 in nine innings. That fact speaks to Portage's future prospects. You still can't convince me that Portage is a better team than Chesterton. The Trojans are well set for 2005 with pitchers DeLeon and Ashley Thomas (6-0, 62 Ks) both returning.

5. Lowell (20-9)

LOWELL - Lowell had a four-game winning streak broken by Lake Central 6-2 in the Lake Central sectional championship game. The challenge has been thrown down for the Red Devils, who return the core of their lineup for the next two seasons. Lowell must lift their game to break the sectional dominance of LC, a very tall order. Cristin Just (9-5) returns for two more seasons and gifted CF-SS Kelly Johnson has three more years. Top hitter Nicole Fletcher missed the final four weeks and she also returns. No team in the five county northwest Indiana area has more potential, but potential won't pay the bills. The clock begins to tick now. The Devils, who have great speed, need to add physical strength to become the kind of line drive hitting team LC has. Lowell also needs a No. 2 power pitcher so Just doesn't have to pitch all the big games. Munster showed what a three pitcher rotation can do. On paper, this is the region's top team in 2005.

6. Munster (25-3-1)

MUNSTER - If you're looking for an explanation of how Munster, which had allowed less than 30 runs all year, lost the sectional semifinals 10-1, you won't find it here. LC won going away and blasted Munster's three-pitcher rotation, which collected 15 shutouts. They got smoked like a Christmas ham and it shouldn't have happened. LC's not quite that good. I will say again, Lake Central plays 23 Class 4A schools while Munster played only 14. Munster is locked into 11 LAC games (7 league games and four crossovers) and that will always make their schedule inferior to LC's. What the Fillies found out last week was that they weren't as good as they thought they were and that was a product of their schedule.

Lowell is locked into the LAC schedule but they played Pendleton Heights (22-7) and Penn (20-10) on the road on that last day of the season. If the goal is to go to the state finals (and it doesn't have to be), Munster needs to schedule every good team they can find. Penn, Culver Academy, Marian Catholic (24-6), Beecher (32-3), Lincoln-Way East (23-8), Lincoln Way Central (27-7). All possibilities. Also, they should drop the Munster Invitational. You do not need more nonconference games at home. You want to travel. The Mustangs might want to enter the 16-team Twin Lakes Invitational. The travel and elite competition helped Hanover Central rise to the level of state contender. Lowell signed up this year. Munster loses just two seniors for 2005 although one of them is closer Stephanie Andjelich (4-1, 0.42, 10 saves).

7. Hanover Central (23-7)

CEDAR LAKE - Hanover seemed on life support against Boone Grove last week, scoring four in the seventh to win 5-3. The Lady Cats' 5-3 win over Bishop Noll was gratifying, giving them the 2A Wheeler Sectional title. No Hanover athletic team has ever won three consecutive sectionals in any sport. With that said, Hanover has not played well offensively since the Twin Lakes Invitational on May 7-8. The Lady Cats have won 18 of their last 20, but they need much more patience and precision (read: put the ball in play on the ground) offensively this week against top-10 teams Bremen (24-5) and Rochester (21-6). Hanover cannot hope for dominant RHP Amanda Wendlinger (18-4) to pitch two 1-0 shutouts.

HC is at the point where their season is not a success unless they reach the state finals. The schedule, for a 2A team, has been more than good enough. HC's losses are to Munster (23-3), Whiting (25-5), McCutcheon (28-6), Chesterton (20-6), Lowell (20-9), Beecher Ill. (32-3) and Bishop Noll (17-14). Even on the road, against top-10 teams, the Lady Cats are an experienced senior-laden team that has gone through 24-5 (2002), 25-8 (2003) and now 23-7. Other than LC and Portage, HC has the best six-year record of any team in northwest Indiana. Hanover also has no excuses this weekend.

8. Highland (19-5-1)

HIGHLAND - Highland got smoked out by Lowell 7-2 in the state tournament and they didn't get another shot at Munster or Lake Central. The Trojans were not a good defensive team and they paid for it here. Dominant RHP Stephanie Zimny graduates, but Highland figures to be able to replace her with a multiple girl rotation led by Beth Haley. Highland's problem is that their window of opportunity has closed. The other teams in their sectional, Lowell, Munster and Lake Central, are looking at big years next season and so is LAC rival Andrean.

9. South Central (22-7)

UNION MILLS - The Satellites got shut out by Sarah Grams (18-4) and Marquette in the South Central Sectional 1A championship game. Marquette had lost to South Central 4-0 earlier in the season. Four of SC's losses were shutouts (Glenn, Culver Academy and Hanover twice), so their problem is obvious. The Satellites should not be too discouraged. They return every varsity player on the roster including RHP Chantal Gross (18-7) and leadoff batter and region base steal leader Angela Ward (51-105, .486, 34 stolen bases). The problem is, four-time PCC champion Hanover Central returns the core of their team next year as well.

10. Merrillville (15-16)

MERRILLVILLE - They lost 3-0 to Portage in the sectional championship game but the year was a success as they found a pitcher in Amy Vargas (7-10), who pitched a perfect game 2-0 victory over Crown Point in the sectional semifinals. Vargas is better than her record and coach Amy Govert's task is to improve the defense and offense around her for the next three seasons. But that won't be hard. When you have a solid pitcher, players tend to come out of the woodwork. Pay no attention to won-loss records. There is no way Whiting or Morton are better teams than Merrillville.

It's Judgment Day for.........

Whiting (26-5)

WHITING - The Oilers have had a yellow-brick road to the state finals with every game at home. This is not unprecedented. Merrillville used to have every game at home in the state tourney when they were a power in the 90s. It's all about the facility. Have you seen the softball field at Hebron? Still, Whiting breezed through the Whiting 1A Sectional beating River Forest 6-0, Kouts 3-0 and Morgan Township 5-0. None of those teams finished over .500. Senior RHP Maria Martinez (20-5) nailed down the Oilers' 12th consecutive win with a one-hit shutout of Morgan. In three games, Martinez, who was 16-4 last year, struck out 18 and walked five in 21 shutout innings.

Whiting is a lot like Hanover Central in that they will go as far as the pitcher can go. But, other than their strong right-hander, Whiting was unimpressive over the weekend with just 18 base hits off weak pitching. And with No. 15 Pioneer (20-10) and possibly No. 6 Marquette (22-5), the Oilers have got to score first. Whiting can't fall behind Marquette freshman pitcher Sarah Grams (18-6) or the victory train ends this weekend. But the home field is the 'yellow brick road' and Whiting should be off to see the wizard in Indianapolis next week.

WEEK (9) NOTES - What went unnoticed was that Lake Central played in their first-ever sectional, almost unheard of for a program of their success (2 state title, 7 state finals) and consistency (18 consecutive 20-win seasons). LC truthfully had not had the facilities to host a sectional. They still do not have lights for games but that will wait for the inevitable LC school renovation, which is not on the drawing board as of now.

In the biggest upset of the state tournament so far, Harrison, which has also beaten Lake Central (25-3), Portage (25-3-2) and Highland (19-7-1), eliminated rival McCutcheon (27-6) 3-2 with a two-out two-run sixth inning rally. McCutcheon, possibly northern Indiana's best team, lost by one run in the sectional championship game for the fourth year in a row.

Downstate, defending state champion Center Grove beat Decatur Central 2-1 behind Darcy Wood (19-1), who had 334 strikeouts before the sectional. The top-ranked Class A team Indianapolis Lutheran is led by Nikki Naffziger (18-0, 0.06 ERA) who also was batting (37-67) .552 after 24 games. The Merrillville Regional begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with Portage and LC followed by Riley and Penn. The championship at Merrillville is set for 6 p.m.

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