Northwest Indiana Top-10

2005 Final High School Rankings

6-17-2005

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

MERRILLVILLE (6-17-2005) Lake Central and Andrean reached the state finals, but were stopped by McCutcheon and Gibson Southern in the state semifinal round in Indianapolis.

Neither loss should have been a bigger surprise than the Michael Jackson verdict. No. 10 McCutcheon beat No. 1 Lake Central 1-0 but McCutcheon was ranked No. 1 for much of the 2004 season and they returned the heart of that team this year. McCutcheon played seven games in 2005 without SS Alicia Garza, their best player. She played hurt in several other games. The Mavericks lost 10 times because they play the state's toughest schedule, non conference foes in Evansville and Lake County plus the difficult Hoosier Crossroads Conference. McCutcheon beating Lake Central can't shock anyone who knows McCutcheon's history. Andrean's 2-1 loss to Gibson Southern, the eventual 3A champion, was a bit of surprise but Southern has won two titles in five years. With that said, anybody who reaches the state finals had a great year and, for LC, that's four great years in a row.

The question is, will NW Indiana's annual appearances in the softball state finals continue in 2006? The answer is, of course they will. 16 teams reach the state finals EVERY year. NW Indiana should have three teams in the finals EVERY year because they are guaranteed two teams in each of the four-team 1A, 3A and 4A regionals. (There simply are not many 2A teams in NW Indiana).

State-wide, no one is going to dominate 4A at the finals level. There's just too many good pitchers. 3A is the most difficult northern bracket in 2006, as it stands now.

Lake Central returns two strong pitchers and a lot of offense. Andrean returns most of their team and a top pitcher in Katie Ivancich. Pioneer will be a problem for any NW Indiana 1A school and Bremen and Val Bollenbacher (21-8) will challenge any 2A hopeful. But it won't just be Hanover is 2006. There will be Bishop Noll and Boone Grove as well. If you want to look at two teams for 2006. Look at Lowell and Portage. And for a league, the PCC suddenly becomes very competitive with a few surprises.

1.) 3A Andrean (32-3)

29-5 (2004), 27-2 (2003), 30-3 (2002), 26-7 (2001), 28-3 (2000)

MERRILLVILLE – The 59ers peaked at the regional where they defeated powerful Culver Academy and West Lafayette, both by blowout shutouts. Truthfully, that's where you want to peak because that's where you have to beat two tough teams on the same day.

But this team overachieved. Let's tell it like it is. The 2005 Andrean team did not have the talent level of the 2003 59ers, for example, who included four D-1 players. But this squad, obviously, went much further in the state tourney than that 2003 squad, which was beaten by Hanover at the sectional.

In 2006 Andrean needs a little more offense overall however, and that may happen naturally as their returning players get stronger and more confident. The biggest graduation loss is not Lori Knopf (21-1) but catcher Samantha Markowski (22-84, .357, 5 HRs), who may be replaced by sophomore Christina Caldwell (14-37, .405).

Katie Ivancich (11-2, 0.33 ERA) returns to lead the pitchers and they'll find a No. 2 if they need one. Unlike Hanover Central, Andrean didn't get caught with two senior pitchers. I'm not at all convinced that teams aren't better off with one lead senior pitcher and a clear cut No. 2 who is an underclassman. That's what LC and HC rode to state titles in 2004 and that's what Andrean will have in 2006.

Bekki Rosenow (20-70, .400) and Stephanie Rister (22-69, .377) are strong but the 59ers got 25 shutouts from the pitching staff and there's no way they'll get level of dominance again.

Andrean was held to one or no runs seven times in 35 games and that's too many for a state contender. The 59ers may also face three meetings with Culver Academy (29-3) and at least two with West Lafayette (26-6). Both of those teams return most of their troops but so does Andrean. The 59ers will need more offense under pressure in 2006 and they've got the summer to work on their hitting.

You have to hit really good pitchers to win the state title. There's no way around that.

2.) 4A Lake Central (32-1-1)

29-3 (2004), 32-3-1 (2003), 28-1 (2002), 32-4 (2001), 23-6 (2000)

ST. JOHN – Lake Central lost 1-0 to Marie Badylak and McCutcheon and they did some of it to themselves, swinging very early in the count against a pitcher with 53 walks in 155 innings. LC didn't hit well under the pressure of the state tournament and they were fortunate, in retrospect, that Munster didn't start Lori Andjelich against them in the sectional title game.

It was disappointing to an outsider that Brownsburg didn't meet Lake Central in the finals. That would have been an epic matchup, but it highlights that, unless you are far and away better than every body else, you must be lucky to get to the title game. Many were thrilled with the undefeated streak. But I did not think this was a great LC team, especially when you consider who graduated in the last two years. This was a fine LC team which had had a great season but they had better talent in 2003 and 1995 (Anyone who thinks Katie Mitchell is LC's best player ever simply never saw Kelly Komara play softball. It isn't that close.) and they will have better teams than this one in the future.

LC returns Katie Golden (12-0, 0.16 ERA) and Angie Funston (12-1, 0.25 ERA) in 2006 so the pitching staff will be fine. They lose an elite No. 3 hitter in Katie Mitchell, but Funston (31-108, .389) should step into that role. The DAC will be much tougher in 2006 than it was in 2005. Everybody but Chesterton (27-3-1) will improve.

Obviously , LC did not hit as well in the state tournament (9 runs in 5 games) as they could have against some of the same pitchers (Chesterton's DeLeon and McCutcheon's Badylak) they hit in April and May. Everybody chokes in the state tournament. Even winners.

It's only a matter of how much. LC gained a lot of experience and they'll be 50-50 to go to the finals again in 2006.

Lowell and Munster feel they can beat LC but it's all talk. Lowell and Munster must prove they can beat LC, not the other way around.

3.) 4A Munster (25-3-1)

25-3-1 (2004), 22-7 (2003), 15-12 (2002), 23-10 (2001), 22-8 (2000)

MUNSTER – If you want to understand how McCutcheon and Lake Central can be virtually equal teams (they were) even though LC was in the finals every year and McCutcheon never made it until 2005, the answer is presented to you in Lowell and Munster.

Munster sits with 50 wins in the last two seasons and four 20-win seasons in the last five. But the two state tournament losses to Lake Central have locked them up in 2004 and 2005.

The 3-2 loss to LC was a bitter one for Munster, which is 50-6-1 over the last two seasons. But the Mustangs will ride again next year with Yerga and virtually the entire 2005 starting lineup that never hit quite as well as had been expected this season.

Munster needs a top-of-the-order table setter that even the good teams can't stop. It is fair to speculate on whether Munster could have advanced to the state championship game had they defeated Lake Central. The problem for Munster in 2006 is that Lowell will be an equal and there could be two state ranked foes to beat at Sectional time.

4.) 4A Chesterton (27-3-1)

20-7 (2004), 22-5 (2003), 21-4 (2002), 14-14 (2001) 18-10 (2000)

CHESTERTON – Chesterton could not hold off Lake Central in a 2-1 defeat that ended their season one game short of the state finals. The Trojans could not get much offense going against Katie Golden (12-0) and LC overcame a 1-0 deficit. This team takes some serious graduation hits now with Laura DeLeon (18-2) moving on to college with Kayla Vargo and the heart of the Chesterton lineup.

Here's a team that take a big offensive hit from graduation, including the entire outfield and catcher Kayla Vargo. With others in the DAC on the rise, Chesterton will come back to the pack a little in 2006. There's no chance that the Trojans will equal their 2005 record but pitcher Ashley Thomas and senior-to-be Amber Paz. should play on a 20-game winner and a regional contender.

Softball basic require a pitcher and catcher and Chesterton graduates both. So, they are rebuilding, especially in the top-heavy DAC.

A lot of times, you get to the state finals with a team that's not your best one ever on paper. That certainly happened for Andrean in 2005 and Hanover Central in 2004. Maybe it could happen that way in 2006 for Chesterton.

5.) 4A Portage (19-10)

27-4-3 (2004), 19-9 (2003), 23-9 (2002),

26-4 (2001), 30-4 (2000), 30-2 (1999), 31-4 (1998)

PORTAGE – Of the Indians 10 losses, three were to Chesterton (27-3-1) and two were to Lake Central (32-1-1) and all five of those were shutouts.

When you graduate the top 2005 NW Indiana pitchers at a half dozen schools, Portage right-hander Meaghan Gutierrez (17-5) will be the top pitcher in NW Indiana in 2006 and the Indians have a lot of players returning. It may be time for the Indians to return to the top of the DAC with elite hitter Katie Mitchell leaving LC.

Portage was what Lake Central is now (and Merrillville was before Portage), the dominant team that intimidated and performed almost flawlessly. No one else in the state has ever put together three consecutive 30-win seasons. Portage appears to have some good younger players but the trick this summer will be to work on hitting the ball hard every time up. The Indians didn't have the offense to reach the state finals in 2005.

But there is a window of opportunity open for them in 2006 and 2007 with Gutierrez. Portage obviously has to find some big time offensive players but, in a program of their caliber, they can get that done. Even if their offense only improves slightly, here is a state contender in 2006.

6.) 2A HANOVER CENTRAL (26-4-3)

27-7 (2004), 25-8 (2003), 24-5 (2002)

28-3 (2001), 16-9-1 (2000), 23-2 (1999)

CEDAR LAKE – Hanover Central finally had a bad inning at the worst time. Three errors in the ninth inning gave Bremen a 1-0 win in the LaVille Class 2A Regional championship game and ended the 2005 season. Bremen got slammed 8-2 in the state semifinals. so Hanover was as good or better a team. With Scecina being upset, HC could have played eventual champ Eastern for the 2A title. But when you don't score, you can't win.

The Lady Cats struggled mightily on offense in the state tournament against everybody but Lake Station, scoring just seven runs in four other playoff games. If you have to lose (and everybody does) at least lose in character and Hanover did. Hanover Central was shut out seven times and they just didn't have the overall game to win the state title again, whether they'd reached the finals or not. HC defeated Bremen 1-0 at the regional in 2004 and Bremen simply reversed the score in 2005. The teams were pretty much even.

Still, 26 wins in 34 games was another very strong season. Amanda Wendlinger (16-5) and Kelly Lapota (10-0) gave HC the strongest pitching staff they'd had since the 2002 season when Beth and Amanda Wendlinger combined on a sectional title team.

HC is 51-12-3 over the last two years but they face an uncertain future. The Bulldogs return six position players including four .300 hitters including experienced catcher Jill Sjoerdsma and SS Andria Trock. The Lady Cats have averaged over 20 wins a season for seven years but it would appear, unless they get some key help from the eighth grade class (at one position), that period of success will be interrupted.

Along with pitching, HC needs some serious work on hitting. You cannot learn to hit in the spring. In small schools, sometimes multi-sports players don't work on softball during the summer so they don't improve at the plate. HC didn't have a lot of hunger to win in 2005, because they'd won it all in 2004. That's a problem because everybody was hungry to beat them. The thrill of beating HC won't go away in 2006 and the returning players need to understand that from day one.

Okay, lets talk out of school. Everyone who is involved with girls softball in NW Indiana knows that Hanover Central graduated two all-area pitchers and have no experienced pitching returning. Everyone also is aware that Lake Central has two top pitchers returning in 2006 and undefeated Katie Golden coming back in 2007 as well. Few question that LC also has a half dozen pitchers above the eighth grade level who could start 30 times (and win 15-20 of them) next season at Hanover. LC and HC both draw students from different sections of St. John, Indiana. Stay tuned.

7.) 4A Lowell (21-11)

20-7 (2004), 13-15 (2003), 14-15 (2002),

21-9 (2001), 24-10-1 (2000)

LOWELL – Lowell did as well as they could with what they had. Last year they lost Nicole Fletcher down the stretch to illness. This year it was RHP Cristin Just (mononucleosis) and outfielder Whitney Magley, who didn't play all year due to back surgery.

But Lowell will be back. They graduated just four seniors and the 2-3-4 hitters Carrie Shelhart (27-72, .375), Kelly Johnson (32-72, .444, 4 Hrs, 10 doubles, 30 RBIs), and Nicole Fletcher (24-59, .407, 2 HRs, 15 RBIs) will all be back. Johnson, who was the best position player in the 16-team Lake Athletic Conference, has two more seasons as does her twin sister Michelle, a fine center fielder and experienced catcher Courtney Austgen. Newcomer Rachel Nida (25-58, .431, 17 steals) was far too good to be a freshman. If Magley can return to play (still not definite), Lowell will have a set of position players better than most Duneland Athletic Conference schools.

Lowell returns Just and pitcher Ryssa Nord (10-2), who shut out 2A state contender Hanover Central and pitched 10 shutout innings in the 1-0, 11-inning playoff loss to Munster. Add her to Just and there's enough pitching to reach the state finals. McCutcheon reached the finals with Marie Badylak (17-8) and she's no better that Nord and Just are.

As girls softball improves it will become tougher and tougher to stand in and hit the ball. You've got to go to the left-handed slap and slice hitters to reach base consistently. That's how teams like Gibson Southern and Clinton Prairie won state titles in 2005.

That's Lowell's specialty. Lefties Nida and Shelhart, followed by right-handed top of the order tappers Johnson and Fletcher is as good a top-four as you're going to get in this area.

The window of opportunity is wide open for Lowell in 2006, but they've got to be hungry to win now.

8.) 3A New Prairie (24-6)

26-4 (2004), 22-8 (2003)

NEW CARLISLE – New Prairie saw their season come to an end in a 2-0, eight-inning loss to Jackie Lawrence (29-3) and powerful Culver Academy. New Prairie was unlikely to get beyond Andrean anyway.

Of the Cougars' six losses, two were to Culver and if you can't beat somebody twice in softball, you probably can't beat them.

This is the end of the line for New Prairie, which graduates three-time 20-game winner Shaina Smith (17-3), who allowed two unearned runs against Culver. No question this will be a much different team in 2006 and the future is uncertain. Culver Academy (29-3), Northridge (29-2) and Andrean (32-3) are absolute monsters with state possibilities for 2006. Even if New Prairie acquires or develops a top pitcher, the Cougars couldn't beat those three teams THIS year.

Of the top-10, New Prairie and Hanover Central have the most uncertain immediate future and potential for downward flight.

Translated, that means they could go from 24-6 to 6-24.

9.) 2A Bishop Noll (17-12)

17-14 (2004), 18-13 (2003), 13-15 (2002),

18-12 (2001), 17-15 (2000)

HAMMOND - Noll was shut out again by Hanover Central in the 2A sectional championship game, this time 2-0 on 5-26-2005. The Warriors bombed Wheeler 8-3 to reach the title game, but could not hit Amanda Wendlinger (16-5).

RHP Kristen Chico (15-6) was let down by shaky defense in a good playoff performance. Noll points to 2006 with Chico and lefty hitter Allison Rokosz (42-84, .500). The Warriors started three freshmen against Hanover and if the team can stick together in the off-season, this could be the team that breaks Hanover's four-year run as sectional champions. But it's got to be 2006 before Rokosz and Chico graduate. Hanover is a big question mark for 2006 but long range prospects are on the way, so the future for Noll and Boone Grove in 2A is now.

2006 is the year for them to break through in Class 2A. But the reality of it is, Noll could be 1A in a couple of years and then who beats them?

10.) 4A Crown Point (12-14)

8-20 (2004), 22-8 (2003), 21-6 (2002),

17-12 (2001), 14-14 (2000), 17-14 (1999)

CROWN POINT – The Bulldogs lost 8-1 in the Class 4A Chesterton Sectional to end their season after an 8-0 win over Valparaiso. That was CP's third loss to Chesterton and that figures because Chesterton had a much better team.

RHP Shelley Kurcz (9-5) returns to lead the pitching staff and catcher Alicia Rock is now experienced.

Other talent is on the way and there is a desire here to not get beat so consistently anymore. Also, all of CP's programs are on the rise and softball wants to keep up. Two regular players (Lauren Mishevich and Melissa Ferrara) graduate but seven position players return including RBI leader Kendra Rather and second baseman Lauren Stovall. CP has good (no superstar) pitching coming and the trick will be to replace Mishevich, the No. 3 hitter and starting shortstop. But CP kept their winning JV team together rather than pick it apart to help the varsity in 2005.

The Bulldogs, like Portage, need to find top of the order hitters and you have to develop bats over the summer. If they have a dominating No. 3 hitter coming up through their program, I don't know who it is.

And this was a down year in the DAC. Valparaiso, Merrillville, LaPorte and Portage are all on the rise. CP could win 20 next year and still not get out of the sectional.

But this program is building some depth and their day is coming.

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