Northwest Indiana Top-10 2004 High School Rankings: Week 4 4-21-2004
	A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

1.  ANDREAN (10-1)

The 59ers drew the top three Michigan teams in the eight-team intrastate Dowagiac Invitational Saturday (April 17) and beat them all in low-scoring games. The 59ers have won 10 in a row, taking the last three titles in that annual tournament. Local pollsters have dogged them, ranking the 59ers as low as sixth in northwest Indiana in the Post-Tribune this week. That would indicate that the people making the poll have not seen them play and are not following box scores closely.  Andrean has outscored 11 foes 68-12 and there were extenuating circumstances in the 1-0 nine-inning loss to Class 1A No. 3 Whiting. The 59ers have four batters hitting over .400 and four left handed hitters in the lineup. The only weakness they have, a lack of in-game experience for some of their new starters, is disappearing every time they play. No. 6 in the area?  This team is good but they'll have to be. There are big scary monsters like 4A No. 5 McCutcheon, 4A No. 6 Castle, 4A No. 11 Munster, 3A No. 14 Benton Central (7-1) and possibly, old friend Hanover Central (6-4) still to play. You don't win anything in April.

2.  Lake Central (11-2)

There's very little difference between LC and Andrean. The Indians went down to Lafayette and smoked out Turkey Run 10-0, Western 9-0 and McCutcheon 2-1 in the McCutcheon Classic. Junior Beth Toyias pitched a three-hitter to stop the hosts, striking out five. Toyias and Brittany Gard combined to blank Merrillville 9-0 Monday. Since losing to 3A No. 2 Boonville (11-1) and 4A No. 6 Castle (11-3) in the first week of April, LC has won 11 in a row. The Indians have showed HR power unusual for softball. Three HRs against CP and two more in a 6-5 win over DAC leader Portage last week. Alyssa Duncan has 3 HRs and Katie Mitchell has two. Munster, Highland, Portage and Chesterton all want another shot at Lake Central and, in the DAC and the sectional, they'll get it. But the gap between Andrean and LC and everybody else still exists whether they want to admit it or not. And LC's offense is creating time for their inexperienced pitching to improve. The window of opportunity for beating the Indians may be closing.

3.  Chesterton (11-2)

Chesterton's ahead of Portage based on experienced pitching as junior Laura DeLeon (8-2) struck out 14 in a 5-0 shutout of Valparaiso Monday (April 19) extending the Trojan win streak to five. The Trojans have had some error problems lately with three in a 7-3 win over Merrillville and two in Monday's victory. But only one team (Hanover) has scored more than three runs on Trojan pitching all year. Soph Ashley Thomas (3-0) is breaking in. She fanned nine in an 8-0 win over Morton on April 14. It'll be interesting to see if the pitching holds up against superpower Lake Central on Friday.

4.  Portage (9-2-1)

Portage lost 6-5 to Lake Central and 2-1 to Harrison last Saturday. Harrison is 3-3 with wins over Chesterton and Portage. What's up with that? The Indians dropped the big one on Michigan City 8-0 Monday night. Kelly Higgins pitched her first complete game. Lake Central got nine hits off undefeated Portage freshman Meghan Guiterrez (4-1). Portage has just the two one-run losses and the tie to Highland. They could easily be 12-0. This team has hit well and, again, they need to while Guiterrez and junior Tracy Markwell (3-1) get experience pitching. With five shutouts, the pitching may be well on the way. 20 wins is a sure thing here. Portage and Chesterton should not be insulted by the 'gap' I say exists between them and the LC-Andrean duo. There is also another gap AFTER the top four and it may be somewhat larger.

5.  Lowell (5-3)

Lowell ran a win streak to four Monday (April 19) with a 21-0 romp over Gavit.  Few have seen them and that explains their low ranking else where. They have not been shut out all season and the fact that they took Portage and Chesterton into extra innings indicates that this is the coming team. The LAC schedule is dragging them down. Beating Gavit 21-0, Calumet 16-0 and Lake Station 23-0 is a waste of time and they know it. Lowell needs to take it to Andrean on April 29. I'm not sure the players believe they have a top team. There is a true Judgment Day for the Devil girls and it comes at the 16-team Twin Lakes Invitational on May 7-8. You don't get lucky there.

6.  Munster (6-2)

Munster and Lowell are in the same boat. They haven't played badly but they haven't done enough to rate with the top four. These high ranking are based of what I THINK they can do. They haven't won much of anything yet. Munster and Lowell have both had fun against the weak sisters of the LAC. Munster romped 11-0 over Gavit and 19-1 over Hammond. Jackie Yerga (3-0) and Stephanie Andjelich combined on a five-hitter against Noll. The Lady Ponies use two pitchers in almost every game which should help them in tournament play. Lori and Stephanie Andjelich have combined on three victories so far. Some games may have not been reported here but I can't find more than eight Munster matchups so far. That would indicate a lot to come, possibly starting with a tournament in Carmel this weekend (April 23-24).

7.  Highland (6-1-1)

Highland pitcher Stephanie Zimny struck out 10 against Griffith in a 4-1 win on April 14, which I have as their last game played. The Trojans' 2-2 eight-inning tie with Portage is the most significant game so far. But throw them in the same boat as Lowell and Munster and, frankly, put them at the front of the boat. Time is running out. They either come to play in May or give it up for a couple of years to come. Zimny is a senior. Lowell is loaded with youth. LC will be a superpower again in 2005 and Munster is on the rise.  Highland will rebuild after this season. They need to take it to Andrean and Munster now.

8.  Hanover Central (5-3)

Hanover Central has played shorthanded all season and now they are coming to the front. Junior Amanda Wendlinger (3-1), coming back from double knee-surgery, pitched complete game victories over Hebron 9-0 and Wheeler 2-1 in eight innings. In her last three games, the junior RHP has 34 strikeouts in 20 innings. Senior Bess Copak had a double and two singles off Hebron star Maggie Riggs (7-2) to lead that key PCC win. Junior Christie Wick had three hits in two games including the game-winning eighth-inning single against rival Hebron. Defense improved with just three errors in the four-game win streak. Hanover has to turn it up now. They face Illinois Class A No. 1 Beecher (13-2) Thursday at 4:15 p.m. and will travel to Morton (8-3) on Wednesday, April 29.

9.  Merrillville  (6-5)

The Pirates got swamped by Chesterton 9-2 and Lake Central 9-2 but they aren't at that level yet. The other five teams in the DAC could ALL take six losses against LC, Chesterton and Portage and they would still be good teams. The Pirates have lost to Penn, Jefferson, Portage, Chesterton and Hebron. Five winning teams and four 4A giants. This team plays one of the elite schedules in the state and their 6-5 is significantly better than Whiting's 8-0 and South Central's 7-2.

10.  Griffith (6-5)

The Panthers shut down undefeated South Bend Riley 3-1 Saturday in a big step forward as new pitcher Lisa Worley allowed just two hits and struck out seven. Riley won the second game of that double header 4-2 but Riley was in the regional title game last year.  The Panthers have been very inconsistent and they have been shut out three times so they do have offensive problems. But, as always, it's not who you beat in the regular season, it's who you play.

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

South Central (6-2)

The Satellites took a surprising 13-3 beating by John Glenn early on but there's still a chance they could upset Hanover Central in Porter County Conference (PCC) regular season play or the PCC tournament. Few have seen them play. The new PCC member has only one win (1A  Hebron) over a winning team and the 10 errors against New Prairie is not a good sign. Good teams don't make 10 errors in a game... EVER. South Central coach Bill Fryar was 20-9 last year, 26-7 two years ago and 24-5 three years ago. Will Hanover Central put an end to South Central's 20-win seasons? Stay tuned.

On the rise........

Morton (8-3)

After a 5-0 loss to Crown Point dropped them to 1-2, Morton has won 7 of 8. They got smoked 8-0 by Chesterton but the Governors have flagged down every team they should have beaten. Senior Cathy Einsele almost never strikes out and Katie Phelps is an athletic shortstop. They sank Hobart 4-0 on a no-hit game by Krissy Dugan (5-2), who walks very few. When do they play Whiting? Thursday (April 22) at 4:30 p.m.



What's wrong with........

Whiting  (8-0)

The schedule. Yes, they won at top-ranked Andrean 1-0 in nine innings but, let's just say there was great good fortune in that game.  In a 1-0 win over a mediocre Marquette team, Whiting hitters struck out an incredible 19 times. All credit to senior pitcher Maria Martinez (7-0). The Oilers have outscored the opposition 56-8 but Andrean is the only good team they played and frankly, they should have lost that game.

You can be No. 3 in Class 1A and not be in the top-10 in northwest Indiana's top-10. That's the way Whiting should want it. To be judged against the DAC, you'd have to play them and Whiting should not do that UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Enjoy the 13-2 wins over Whiting, the 10-2 romps over Gavit and the 16-0 fun times against East Chicago.

Whiting has ALL sectional and regional games at home and there is only one ranked team in their regional bracket (No. 7 1A Pioneer). Whiting has only 70 base hits all season and 42 of them came in games against Gavit, EC and Hammond. They have been lucky. They simply MUST become a better offensive team.


NOTES:  No. 5 McCutcheon led No. 1 Noblesville 4-0 when rain cause a delay Monday night (April 19) in West Lafayette. When the rain stopped, Noblesville rallied for a 5-4 win.

In the Dowagiac, Michigan Tournament, Andrean won for the third consecutive year with a 3-1 win over Dowagiac. Portage Northern from Kalamazoo finished third and Kalamazoo Christian placed fifth. Andrean beat Portage Northern 3-2 and Kalamazoo Christian 5-3.

Kelly Harloiw hit the first home field home run in the history of the new CPHS softball field in a 7-1 win over Michigan City Monday.  CP never played a home game at their school before this year.

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