Northwest Indiana Top-10

Week-9, 2006 High School Rankings

5-31-2006

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

CHESTERTON (5-31-2006) - It's been an unorthodox post-season already. Many favorites in 3A are out and teams that played weak schedules have benefited (so far) and are still alive. Maybe I should tell the truth. It's been an embarrassing season. Hammond didn't show up to play Griffith. Lew Wallace canceled at the Andrean Sectional. Boone Grove forfeited the Porter County Conference (PCC) championship game to go to a party and Calumet suspended head coach Larry Vaznonis before the sectional championship game with Griffith for what the school publicly called 'bad behavior,' something that no one has clearly defined. Calumet lost 2-1.

That's not even the worst incident. No. 1 Pendleton Heights had their top pitcher quit two weeks before the sectional and they were bombed 11-3 by No. 2 New Palestine. Pendleton ended the season 26-1. The hints are that this season will not end so wonderfully that anybody will want to make a movie out of it. But Whiting (29-0) and Chesterton (27-1) are ranked No. 1 state wide and those two schools have high hopes.

It's just not a year for hitters. Riley (13-14) is in the regional with just 73 runs scored. Portage played 30 games and scored only 83 runs scored.

By contrast, Lakewood Park Christian (18-7), which plays Whiting in the 1A Caston semifinals Saturday (6-3-6) has scored 243 runs in 25 games. In prep softball, you don't blow out good teams. But if you don't blow anybody out, you are a dog without a bone about to be sent home.

When you get to the regional championship games, everybody has a good pitcher and you have to be able to produce two or three runs. That's going to decide your future.

1. (4A) Chesterton (27-1)
27-3-1 in 2005, 20-7 in 2004, 22-5 in 2003, 21-4 in 2002

CHESTERTON - Chesterton swept three games 3-2, 5-0 and 3-0 at the Portage Sectional to repeat as Sectional champs. The offense is down from the regular season, but that's to be expected with a lot of girls who are starting in the post-season for the first time.

RHP Dawn McClellan (18-0) had a scoreless inning streak of 14 including shutouts of Hobart and Crown Point. She should be able to continue that against surprise South Bend champion Riley (13-14) in the 4A Merrillville Regional semifinals.

McClellan, voted MVP of the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC), has 16 shutouts and the Trojans have outscored 28 foes 212-17. The regular season No. 1 team state wide, Chesterton has a 28-game winning streak, the longest in the state outside of Whiting. And Chesterton played the same schedule they did in 2005 while Whiting dropped virtually every quality non conference team from the 2005 schedule.

Anybody can lose, but Riley is not a formidable foe and the Trojans should reach the moment of truth at 6 p.m. Saturday. No Chesterton team has advanced beyond the regional level, but Chesterton will get that opportunity against either Penn or Lake Central. Are they ready? It's a largely new starting team from last season and they were not as strong in the sectional as they were during the regular season. You just don't know.

2. (3A) ANDREAN (26-4)
32-3 in 2005, 29-5 in 2004, 27-2 in 2003, 30-3 in 2002, 26-7 in 2001

MERRILLVILLE - Not being there, I cannot tell you how Andean was shut out for 10 innings by Kankakee Valley freshman Jessica Dobson (8-13) in a 1-0 season ending sectional semifinal loss.

I always praise Andrean for playing a top schedule. The 59ers played in five weekend tournaments (Dowagiac Michigan, LaVille, Valparaiso, Twin Lakes and Mishawaka) winning four of them, placing second at LaVille. I believe they played 21 of 29 regular season games on the road, making the record even more impressive. That's why they were No. 1 in this poll most of the year.

But it did them absolutely no good in the sectional opener. Senior pitcher Katie Ivancich (17-4) did give up the game-winning home run to KV's Krystal Higgerson in the top of the 10th inning. But she also pitched a no-hit game over the seven regulation innings. That should have been god enough.

Andrean scratched out a season-low three hits in 10 innings. Obviously they did not deserve to win if they could not score on their home field in 10 innings. But it's hard to say what happened here. Andrean will be fine next season behind undefeated 2006 freshman Kate Rone (6-0), but it seems almost too early to talk about that yet. The 59ers will be quietly watching KV's Dobson to see how she does at the Twin Lakes Regional this week. Maybe she's better than her record. For Andrean, which lost a Class 3A sectional game for the first time (remember there were three classes through 2003), that would be at least some small consolation.

3. (4A) Lake Central (24-7)
32-1 in 2005, 29-3 in 2004, 32-3-1 in 2003, 28-1 in 2002, 30-4 in 2001

St. JOHN - Some things don't change. When the Indians were 3-4, the comment here was that everyone better get their talking in before the wind changes. LC stormed back to win the sectional again, rallying in all three games against Lowell, Munster and Highland to win them all by one run. Senior RHP Angie Funston (16-3) came through when she was needed and the defense was very solid in two extra inning games against Lowell and Munster (19 innings).

Here's the benefit of playing a wide-ranging schedule, even if you take some losses. A team that had played a lesser schedule probably loses the 19-inning game to Munster or the games against Lowell and Highland, where LC was down by two runs early. Two runs in softball is the equivalent of 4 or 5 in baseball.

The three-game playoff sweep hides the fact that the Indians are in a batting slump. It's been a down year for offense in NW Indiana. Other than Chesterton and Lowell in the second half, nobody really hit consistently. LC must get a half dozen hits in the Merrillville Regional semifinals Saturday (6-2-2006) or the season will come to an end against Penn star Rachel Zirille (16-4). LC has been luckier than the Pheonix Suns so far this spring. Now comes the time to earn their way to another state final.

4. (4A) Munster (22-7)
25-3-1 in 2005, 25-3-1 in 2004, 22-7 in 2003, 15-12 in 2002, 23-10 in 2001

MUNSTER - Munster went through a very difficult schedule and lost in a very difficult 19-inning game against Lake Central, but the result was the same. Munster lost to LC at the sectional. Munster went scoreless for 18 innings after a first inning home run by Hallie Gibbs. It's very difficult to say you should have won when you didn't score for 18 innings.

Munster pitcher Mary Ann Spolnik, the No. 2 pitcher at the start of the season and a 6-0 loser to Chesterton in the final week of the season, shut out LC for 17 innings in a row over two days to give her team a chance to win. There's a tendency to say that Munster didn't advance because of the early May injury to pitcher Jackie Yerga, which did not allow her to pitch the final four weeks. But again, Spolnik, in her final game for Munster, pitched 17 shutout innings in a row.

Munster faces a fork in the road now, as they graduate both senior pitchers Yerga and Spolnik. The Lady Ponies will continue to do well however, with Gibbs returning in the No. 3 slot in the batting order and center fielder Meghan Paradzinski (31-79, .392). The problem is that LC will probably be stronger in 2007 than they are in 2006.

5. (4A) LOWELL (23-7)
21-10 in 2005, 20-9 in 2004, 13-16 in 2003, 14-15 in 2002, 21-9 in 2001

LOWELL - Lowell made a great late charge during the regular season, defeating sectional champs Bishop Noll and Griffith, plus LAC powers Munster and Andrean in May. The Devils' season fell short however, when they could not hold a 2-0 lead against Lake Central in the sectional playoffs.

Unless and until there is some realignment of the state playoffs, Munster and Lowell will always have the same problem: how to get by LC at the sectional level. What they may not have understood is that it doesn't matter how many games they won during the regular season or how good they looked. Without knowing how they matched up against Lake Central, they knew nothing of how they were going to do. Five errors against LC was especially disappointing and they graduate 1/3 of the squad.

But Lowell should win 20 again in 2007 with pitchers Kaitlyn Bolanowski (8-1) and Alyssa Reed (7-1) in front of veteran center fielder Becca Nida, up and coming hitter Kristina Kuzma (21-52, .404), future catcher Katherine Allert and shortstop Kelly Johnson (39-86, .453) who has batted over .400 for three years. But they'll still have to get past Lake Central.

6. (4A) Portage (18-12)
2005 (20-9), 2004 (27-4-3), 2003 (19-9)

PORTAGE - Portage knows how Lowell and Munster feel trying to get past Lake Central. The Indians drew top-ranked Chesterton and lost 3-2, seeing a quick end to their season. Junior Portage pitcher Meghan Gutierrez (15-6) gave up three runs in the third inning, with the 'help' of two Portage errors and the Indians late rally fell short. Gutierrez ended the year with 11 shutouts and soph pitcher Olivia Leggett (5-2) proved to be a strong No. 2.

The Indians record should be judged in the context of three losses to No. 1 Chesterton, a 5-0 loss to defending 4A state champ Martinsville and a 2-0 loss to undefeated and 2A No. 1 Scecina. Portage is certainly a top-10 team in NW Indiana.

But the entire Indians' season can be summed up in one statistic. In 29 games, Portage scored only 83 (2.8) runs. There's just no way to make that work. The Indians' defense also needs work. But if you can't average three runs a game, all the defense and pitching in the world isn't going to save you. The time to improve you're hitting is over the summer. It can't be done during the regular season. Portage has great potential for 2007, but they also have the potential to do exactly what they did this year. It's all about the offense. Get to work.

7. (4A) LaPorte (16-11-1)
2005 (13-16), 2004 (3-21)

LaPORTE - Portage lost 2-0 to South Bend Riley in the South Bend semifinals and it took them out of a chance for a third meeting with Chesterton at the Merrillville Regional. Tara Buchanan (33-61, .541), a 5-7 shortstop, may not have played at the sectional. Her numbers did not change in the finals two weeks of the season. Junior Bre Smith (9-8, 2.15 ERA) pitched the big games, but sophomore Lauren Marhanka (7-4, 0.98 ERA) was also effective. LaPorte's defense was terrible all year and they made three errors in the big loss to Riley, a team they defeated 5-3 at mid-season.

The Slicers are young and should get better defensively, but the offense needs special attention. Why can't anybody hit? The numbers for a couple of dozen northwest Indiana teams are borderline pathetic. The Slicers scored just 19 runs in their final 10 games and that's almost a guarantee that you will lose more than win. Please do something.

8. (2A) Bishop Noll (14-15)
17-12 in 2005, 17-14 in 2004, 18-13 in 2003

HAMMOND - Here's another product of their schedule. The Warriors will have to reach the state finals to avoid a losing season, but they faced 25 Class 3A and 4A squads. Noll blanked Hanover Central 3-0 and Boone Grove 1-0 to win their first 2A sectional championship. I've had them rated above undefeated Whiting (29-0) all season and they justified that position. The worry is that here's another bad offensive team. Noll has been shut out 10 times in 29 games, so they can get blanked any day. The Warriors have scored just 79 runs (2.7 per game) all season and that's very much like the ineptitude Portage has suffered through. It is very difficult to predict what Noll will do at the regional, but the season goal was to win the sectional and break Hanover's four-year sectional streak. They have to fight the feeling that their mission is accomplished.

9. (3A) Griffith (13-18)
19-15 in 2005, 16-15 in 2004, 18-14 in 2003

GRIFFITH - The Panthers edged Calumet 2-1 for the sectional title which, like Noll, justifies their season. Lisa Worley (7-7) struck out 15 Calumet batters in the title game won when Griffith scored twice in the seventh inning. Here's another team with serious offensive problems. After a 4-0 start, the Panthers lost 18 of their next 24, and they were shut out six times. But, with just three outs left in the season, the Panthers scored two to win. Any accolades you want to send them should be delivered this week, however, before they take the field against 3A No. 3 West Lafayette (29-3) in the Twin Lakes Regional semifinals Saturday. The Panthers can't be intimidated by a big, hard-hitting squad. They have faced all the good teams in NW Indiana and West Lafayette is very much like Munster. But the reality is, Griffith has also lost to most of the good teams in NW Indiana.

10. (1A) Whiting (29-0)
11-16 in 2005, 28-6 in 2004, 21-10 in 2003

WHITING - The Oilers got past Morgan Township 3-0 and Hebron 3-1 to win the Whiting Sectional and run their school-record win streak to 29 in a row. In the biggest game so far, the Oilers got an RBI-triple from senior Lee Ann Martinez in the first inning to key a 3-run rally against Hebron star Maggie Riggs (16-3). That was all Whiting scored, but RHP Melanie Dumezich (28-0) held Hebron to just three hits. It was crucial that Whiting got the lead before Hebron ever came to bat, but the Oilers need to be the home team Saturday against Lake Park Christian Academy (18-7), which is a speedy team with 80 stolen bases. Whiting has to set up their top four hitters, Liz Curosh (30-74, .405), Kelly Jansky (28-84, .333), Lee Ann Martinez (30-85, .353) and Mel Dumezich (46-93, .495, 9 HRs, 31 RBIs).

Batting Dumezich first in the order means she will frequently come up with no one on base (later in the game she'll follow the weak bottom of Whiting's batting order). But it also means the opposition can't walk her four times. She will get that one full shot in the first inning at least. The problem for Whiting comes once they fall behind. Whiting has not trailed by more than one run in any game all season. The Oilers have gotten more hype than Katie Couric leaving her day job. How will they react if the score is 2-0 against them? There's just no way to know.

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