Northwest Indiana Top-10 2004 High School Rankings: Week 3 4-14-2004
	A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

1.  ANDREAN (6-0)

Andrean turned on the light and smoked out Wheeler, Noll and Culver Military last week. After six games, the 59ers had oustcored the opposition 56-3. Junior Lori Knopf (3-0) and sophomore Katie Ivancich (3-0) have been very strong. The 59ers have transformed into more of a speed team with four left-handed hitters. They have just four errors in six games. The Culver team they swept 11-0 and 6-1 was seventh in the state and had a 20-game winner from last season in Jackie Lawrence. Andrean beat her twice and she may go on  to win 20 again.  Carly Rossner drove in eight runs against Bishop Noll and five more in game one against Culver.  LC is close but depth in pitching gives Andrean the edge.

2.  Lake Central (5-2)

A big week for the Indians, as well. LC went head-to-head with sectional rivals Highland and Munster and shot them down. Highland jumped to a 1-0 lead and got beat 4-1. Munster jumped to 3-0 lead Monday (April 12) in 38-degree weather and 21-MPH winds. They got beat 6-3. LC is using junior Brittany Gard to start and relieve. She pitched the final three scoreless innings at Munster Monday.  LC has outscored the opposition 40-18 in seven games and the losses were to Castle and Boonville, top-10 teams. LC slid up and down in some polls with those losses but players and teams know that Andean and LC are 1-2. And a very close 1-2.

3.  Chesterton (6-2)

Chesterton's six-game win streak was stopped 1-0 at Portage but there's no logic that says that Portage is a better team. The Trojans have allowed just 13 runs all year and five of those came in a 6-5 win over Hanover. Harrison won at Portage 4-2 on Saturday as the Trojans made three errors. Laura DeLeon (4-1) pitched a two-hitter (two infield hits) in the loss to Portage.  DeLeon pitched a five-inning perfect game in an 1-0 win over Michigan City on April 7.  The Trojans couldn't score on Portage pitcher Meghan Gutierrez. But this is not the last meeting between those two teams. If you ranked Chesterton above Portage before Portage beat them 1-0 on two infield hits, you obviously should still rank Chesterton above Portage.

4.  Portage (6-0-1)

Portage stopped the five-game win streak of Hobart with a 4-1 victory Monday (April 12). The Indians don't hit much but they have gotten good pitching from Meghan Gutierrez (4-0) and Tracy Markwell (2-0). Portage has won three games by shutout and has outscored the opposition 28-8. Good teams have got to average more that 3 1/2 runs a game but the hitters may get better as the weather warms up. Portage does have several senior starters. They should hit better than they do.

5.  Lowell (2-3)

Lowell lost 6-2 to Highland last week. No. 2 pitcher Vanessa Esenberg gave up three runs in the first inning after she had pitched a five-inning perfect game against Lake Station. This is a situation where you didn't want to wear out sophomore Cristin Just, who pitched 13 innings against Chesterton and seven long innings against Portage. The record s are irrelevant. Lowell has lost to Chesterton (6-1), Portage (7-0-1), and Highland (5-2-1) and the first two games were tied after regulation. Lowell and Andrean are the fastest teams in the region and they will thrive as the weather warms up.

6.  Munster (4-2)

Munster looked good in an 8-0 romp over Griffith but they let a three-run lead slip away against Lake Central. The Mustangs broke down with three errors in a game they should have won. This game will stay with the Lady Ponies until they meet LC in the sectional.  It could motivate. Munster has scored at least three in every game this season and that's a very positive sign. They cant fall in any realistic poll off a loss to a two-time state finalist. But an opportunity was missed.

7.  Highland (4-1-1)

Highland pitcher Stephanie Zimny walked eight against Lake Central in a 4-1 loss as the Trojans missed the same 'opportunity' Munster missed two days later.   The 6-2 win at Lowell was nice but the Trojans have not hit in the two key games (Portage and LC) so far. With offense, you always wait for warm weather.  It sounds like a wish but often the bats pick up as the temperature rises.

8.  Hobart (5-1)

Hobart lost 4-1 at Portage (7-0-1) but it wasn't a crushing defeat. Junior pitcher Sarah Bodhaine (4-1) allowed just three Portage hits but she walked six in five innings.  Freshman Kattie Kiel allowed five hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-3 win over Boone Grove. Brickie pitching allowed just 12 runs in Hobart's first six games. Ashley Loden's three-run double beat KV 6-3 on April 8. We'll see if the Brickies pitching can hold up Thursday (April 15) against Lowell.

9.  Merrillville  (5-3)

The Pirates looked doomed but they scored five runs in the sixth to win at Crown Point 5-2 and go 2-0 in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC). Over the weekend, Merrillville beat Division 3 (Indiana's Class 3A) No. 3 (Niles, Michigan) Brandywine 1-0 on a combined shutout from junior Michelle Paskash (5 innings) and freshman Amy Vargas.
The Pirates lost on 3-2 Saturday (April 10) to Lafayette Jefferson and 3-0 to Penn but those are softball powers.   Committing 12 errors in the last five games is worrisome but Merrillville outscored their first eight foes 35-10 and they held their own against three softball powers last week.

10.  Hanover Central (1-3)

Hanover Central got eight walks, three errors and five hits but still lost at Noll 3-1. Hanover is getting all the pitching they could ask for but 12 errors in four games is way over the top. Senior Bess Copak is still working off a spring break suspension and Amanda Wendlinger, who batted .275 last year, will not bat or play the field until the weather warms up as she is coming off knee surgery. Two of the losses are to Munster (4-2) and Chesterton (6-1). Wendlinger appears to be healthy enough to pitch and Kelly Lapota is doing a strong job as a pitcher. This team just needs to play regularly.

What's going on..........

Griffith (5-3)

I don't' know how good Griffith is. They have five nice wins and three glaring losses 5-0 to Merrillville, 4-0 to Chesterton and 8-0 to Munster.  18 errors in eight games is a concern. Also, senior pitcher Jessica Banke has a back problem which affects her late in games.

On the rise........

Hebron (5-1)

A second division PCC team during the victory runs of Morgan Township and Hanover Central, Hebron has been on the rise as sophomore pitcher Maggie Riggs gets bigger and stronger. Riggs struck out eight in a 5-3 win over KV on Monday (April 12). Riggs pitched a four-hit 1-0 shut out over River Forest and a 2-1 victory over Merrillville. I know they should be beating some of these teams by larger margins and that 13 errors in the last four games is scary but this team batted .224 last year. They play a big game Saturday at Hanover Central.


NOTES:  Mishawaka's Claire DeVreese struck out 16 in a 1-0 eight-inning win over arch rival Penn on Monday (April 12). DeVreese, who threw 126 pitches, is 4-0 for the undefeated Cavemen. the right-hander was 18-6 last year with 306 strikeouts and an 0.44 ERA.
In the Penn tournament that Merrillville played, Jefferson beat Merrillville 3-2 and Penn 6-4 before losing 3-2 in nine innings to (Niles, Mich.) Brandywine. Penn beat Brandywine 3-1 and Merrillville 3-0 but lost 6-4 to Jeff. 

Andrean and Crown Point play in the Chieftain Invitational this weekend in Dowagiac Michigan.

On four fields at Dowagiac, which is about 25 miles north of South Bend, Dowagiac takes on Mishawaka Marian, four-time state champ Portage Northern battles Elkhart Memorial, Crown Point (1-3) takes on Division I No. 13 Grandville, an 1800-kid Grand Rapids school; and Andrean takes on two-time Div. III champion Kalamazoo Christian. This is an eight-team tournament. Everybody plays three games and there will be a final game. Andrean is the two-time defending champion. Portage Northern won in 2001 and went on to the Michigan Division I (Indiana's Class 4A) state title.  Play begins at 10:30 (9:30 a.m. - Lake County time)

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