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Northwest Indiana Top-102004 High School Rankings: Week 7 |
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A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith |
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Northwest Indiana Top-102004 High School Rankings: Week 7 |
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A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith |
Andrean
and Lake Central rolled along. LC dominated powerful but injury-depleted
Portage. Andrean went 6-1 last week, losing only to top-ranked 1A Eastern
(20-2). Hobart justified their spot in the poll with three wins. South Central
and Hanover Central made strong moves. In 4A, it still appears that McCutcheon
(22-5) is the top team in the northern part of the state but 2A Eastern is not
the product of a weak schedule. This poll comes out before the IHSAA draw, which
will put everything into focus.
The
59ers have the most wins and most road wins against the toughest schedule. The
right-handed tag team of junior Lori Knopf (13-2) and sophomore Katie Ivancich
(9-1) is all the pitching the 59ers need. Wins over Jefferson 6-0, Wheeler 13-1
and West Lafayette 4-2 made it a strong trip to the Twin Lakes Invitational.
Andrean was shut out for just the second time all season in a six-inning time
limit loss to Eastern. Knopf has an unofficial 81 strikeouts in 86 innings,
mostly against top foes. Ivancich has 86 strikeouts in 70 innings. There is no
better duo in the five county northwest Indiana area. Notice how Andrean rarely
plays nonconference games at home. They have only nine home games on the entire
schedule. Playing home games does nothing for you. The 59ers ride the big yellow
bus to Benton Central (16-5) on May 19 and to Castle on May 22.
2. Lake Central (19-3)
Very little difference between LC and Andrean. LC plays (and is 12-0 against) a superior league schedule while Andrean now plays a deeper nonconference schedule. The home run power (9 HRs) is stunning and no region team can match it. For a team playing the caliber schedule LC has (16 Class 4A teams) to have hit nine home runs is exceptional. Junior pitcher Beth Toyias (11-0) is good but she gets a lot of support. LC has scored nine or more runs 10 times. In the state tournament, they don't need a good draw to beat anybody. Everybody needs as good a draw to beat them.
3. Chesterton (18-4)
The Trojans crushed Merrillville 9-0, LaPorte 14-2 and turned back Valparaiso 4-1. Junior Laura DeLeon (13-4) struck out nine against Merrillville and eight against LaPorte. The Trojans' early nonconference wins over Lowell (12-6) and Hanover Central (16-6) are looking better all the time. The Trojans play at Lake Central (19-3), host Munster (17-2) on May 20, but they will win 20 for the third consecutive season.
4. Portage (18-3-1)
Portage has exceeded expectations for the
regular season despite two losses to Lake Central (19-3). Injured freshman
pitcher Meaghan Gutierrez (13-1) got the win in a 3-1 triumph over Penn (13-7).
Senior Amy Samplawski had a two-run homer during a 9-1 win over Crown Point and
three RBIs in a 14-0 romp over Michigan City. What may eventually hurt
Chesterton and Portage is that the DAC only has three winning teams this year
and that means 10 games (in the double round-robin) against teams with losing
records. The two Indian wins over Chesterton are indicative of how good they are,
but the bottom of the DAC may have prevented them from being as good as they can
be.
5. Munster (17-2)
Munster won three more games by shutout: 1-0 over Wheeler, 8-0 over Kankakee Valley and 6-0 over Crown Point. They have only played seven 4A teams all season, but the Mustangs have allowed a region-low 18 total runs all year in 19 games. That is an incredibly low total. The trio of pitchers Jackie Yerga, Lori and Stephanie Andjelich have combined for 11 shutouts. The Mustangs' offense is a little suspect for the 4A playoffs, especially considering the schedule. But the three-pitcher (every game) concept is clearly working and other schools may want to take note.
Despite giving up just seven runs in three games, Lowell lost two out of three at the Twin Lakes Invitational including a 2-1 loss to Merrillville where Lowell pitcher Cristin Just pitched a complete-game one hitter. Lowell came back Monday and beat Merrillville 3-1 with Just pitching a four-hitter. The pitching is holding up. Only two teams (Highland and Andrean) have scored more than 5 runs on Lowell in any game. The Devils lost infielder Nicole Fletcher to mononucleosis and will be shorthanded this week for the games with Munster and Whiting. The Red Devils are at the crossroads in their schedule. Lowell faces Munster (17-2), Whiting (15-3), LC (19-3) Penn (13-7), Benton Central and Pendleton Heights this month.
The Lady Cats ran their winning
streak to 11 before losing 4-3 to McCutcheon in the Twin Lakes Invitational.
RHP Amanda Wendlinger (11-3) was a complete-game winner over Lewis Cass and
Pioneer, but she lost to McCutcheon when the Mavericks (22-5) scored three times
in the seventh inning. Soph DH Heather Rebeneck had four extra base hits in the
last five games last week. Hanover went 6-1 for the week, including four
shutouts. HC has outscored the opposition 120-40 in 22 games and four of the
losses are to 4A schools. HC still is not effective enough with runners on base,
simply putting the ball in play. There is a major rematch coming in the PCC
title game. HC beat South Central 1-0 a week ago and the Satellites want another
chance.
8. Highland (14-5-1)
This is about how good Highland is, which means
they'll need a draw that doesn't require them to play BOTH Munster and LC in the
playoffs in two weeks. Senior right-hander Stephanie Zimny (9-3) struck out 10
in a 2-1 loss to Andrean (22-3) on May 6. The Trojans only struck out six times
in the game and made no errors. The Trojans must 'stay the course'. What is a
failed strategy in Iraq might work for the Trojans who probably have a better
chance to beat two-time defending 4A region champion LC than Munster does.
Highland isn't that good an offensive team, but other than Whiting and Hanover
Central, no one has a more experienced playoff pitcher.
9. Hobart (12-6)
The region's surprise team has run the winning streak to six games with wins over Calumet 6-3 and Bishop Noll 5-1. Senior pitcher Aubrey Polak (4-0) allowed just four hits against Lowell and Kattie Keil (5-1) gave up only three hits against Calumet. The defense is still shaky, but six wins in a row speaks for itself. The Brickies have not played a state class schedule, but most LAC teams haven't. Hobart was 5-0, then 6-6, now 12-6. What a ride!
10. South Central (15-3)
This team is very well coached and sound defensively. SC beat River Forest 13-9, stopped Whiting 1-0 and turned back LaPorte 5-1. Chantal Gross (12-3) is a solid RHP and the Satellites have significant speed at the top of the order. The key to this team is that they are solid defensively. The losses are to New Prairie, John Glenn and Hanover Central (16-6). The win over LaPorte was the 13th in 14 games for SC, a team that has won 61 games in the last 78 tries. Could they beat Merrillville (12-13)? Yes. Hebron (15-4) did and SC bombed Hebron. Could they beat Whiting (15-3)? They already did. Just last week, 1-0. Could they beat Morton (11-8), honestly? Not sure.
What's
going on..........?
Hebron (15-3)
There's
very little difference between Whiting (15-3) ranked high in Class 1A and
Hebron, which is not ranked at all, except for the schedule they play. The Hawks
won four in a row last week... 3-2 over Washington Township, 4-3 over LaCrosse,
14-1 over Washington Township and an 8-1 rout of Boone Grove. Maggie Riggs
(15-3) pitches every inning of every game and she had four complete game wins
allowing a total of 17 base hits. Judgment Day is coming... Hebron at Whiting in
sectional play.
What's wrong with........?
Whiting (14-5)
Nothing.
True, they are just 4-3 in the last seven games but they need to keep their eyes
on the prize. Forget about the Lake Conference and Andrean, who they beat 1-0.
Concentrate on South Central, who they lost to 1-0. The Oilers have the 'yellow
brick road' to the state finals. Every game at home. The 7-3 loss to Morton was
poorly played but to fall 3-2 to Griffith in 15 innings and 1-0 at South Central
are not bad defeats. The Oilers are a poor offensive team, with just 145 hits
(7.6) in 19 games. But they batted only .247 as a team last year and went to the
state finals. Maria Martinez (11-5) has started 16 of 19 games.
On the rise........
MERRILLVILLE (12-13)
The
Pirates became just the second northwest Indiana (Lake, LaPorte and Porter
County) team to reach the semifinals at the 12-year-old Twin Lakes Invitational.
They were so happy they posed for 'championship style' photos before the
tournament had ended. Merrillville did not embarrass themselves against
superpower McCutcheon (22-5), losing just 4-0. A future pitching star is
freshman Amy Vargas (5-9), a small right-hander who runs the ball in on the
hands of everyone. The Pirates are improving defensively but they simply do not
have a prolific offense. They are not a championship team against the field they
will face in two weeks. But the group is spirited and young.
Coming
Up........
2004
PCC Softball Tournament
Defending
champion - Hanover Central (2001, 2002, 2003)
Quarterfinals
- May 14, 2004
Washington Township (5-12) at LaCrosse (6-12)
HANOVER CENTRAL (16-6) at BOONE GROVE (6-17)
South Central (15-2) at Morgan Township (8-11)
Kouts (5-10) at HEBRON (15-3)
Semifinals - May 15, 2004
WT or LaCrosse vs. HANOVER or BOONE - 10 a.m.
SC or MT vs.Kouts or Hebron - 12 noon
PCC Championship - 3 p.m.
Recapping........
12th
Twin Lakes Invitational
May 7-8, 2004 at Monticello
POOL
1 (ONE) Twin Lakes 4, Frontier 3
MERRILLVILLE 2, LOWELL 1
MERRILLVILLE 5, Frontier 1
Twin Lakes 3, LOWELL 0 (6)
LOWELL 9, Frontier 2 (6)
MERRILLVILLE 3, Twin Lakes 1
POOL 2 (TWO) McCutcheon 5, Lewis Cass 1
HANOVER CENTRAL 4, Pioneer 0
McCutcheon 11, Pioneer 0
HANOVER CENTRAL 4, Lewis Cass 1
Pioneer 4, Lewis Cass 3
McCutcheon 4, HANOVER CENTRAL 3
POOL 3 (THREE) Benton Central 9, BOONE GROVE 2
Eastern 2, Culver Academy 1
Eastern 1, Benton Central 1 (6)
Culver Academy 3, BOONE GROVE 0
Eastern 9, BOONE GROVE 1
Culver Academy 2, Benton Central 0
POOL 4 (FOUR) West Lafayette 5, Wheeler 0
Andrean 5, Jefferson 0
ANDREAN 12, Wheeler 1
West Lafayette 2, Jefferson 0
Jefferson 9, Wheeler 1
ANDREAN 4, West Lafayette 2
SEMIFINALS
Eastern 2, ANDREAN 0 (6)
McCutcheon 4, MERRILLVILLE 0
CHAMPIONSHIP
McCutcheon 3, (Howard Co.) Eastern 0
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Revised: July 10, 2004.
