Baseball Preview: Porter County

Conference (PCC) Baseball Championship

Tournament

5-12-2004

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Porter County Conference (PCC)
Baseball Championship Tournament
8-teams - single-elimination - at Boone Grove high May 22-24-26, 2004
Enrollment: LaCrosse (86), Morgan Township (191), Washington Township (210), Kouts (222), South Central (273), HEBRON (336), BOONE GROVE (502) and HANOVER CENTRAL (527).

DEFENDING PCC Baseball CHAMPIONS
2003: BOONE GROVE
2002: BOONE GROVE
2001: Washington Township
2000: BOONE GROVE
1999: Washington Township
1998: BOONE GROVE
1997: Kouts
1996: BOONE GROVE
1995: BOONE GROVE
1994:Wheeler
1993: Wheeler
1992: Kouts
1991: HEBRON
1990: Wheeler
1989: Wheeler
1988: Wheeler

PCC NOTES: This is a tournament where it helps you to play first. It is a big advantage pitching wise to play at 9 a.m., be done by noon and get home on Saturday. It is harder than you might think to wait around and play at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon, not knowing how far the first three games (the 2-hour gap between start times is unrealistic) or inclement weather will push back your starting time. Obviously Boone Grove has an advantage on their home field, but Washington Township also can play a semifinal at home. Now that South Central is in the league, consideration should be given to play part of this tournament there. Since media darlings Munster and Highland are not here, there will be no radio stations airing this game. No taped highlights on Thursday night. You've got to come to Boone to see what happens. But the first round Saturday where all eight PCC teams walk the same field is annually one of the most unpredictable days in region prep sports.

May 22, 2004 --- Saturday - quarterfinals - at Boone Grove
South Central (5-15) at BOONE GROVE (11-10) 9 a.m.
HANOVER CENTRAL (13-7) vs. Kouts (12-3-1) 11 a.m.
LaCrosse (6-12) vs. Washington Township (12-8)   1 p.m.
HEBRON (6-15) vs. Morgan Township (11-9) 3 p.m.

May 24, 2004   -   Monday -      Semifinals
BOONE or SC vs. HC or Kouts (4:30 p.m.) at Boone Grove
LaCrosse or WT vs. MT or HEBRON (4:30 p.m.) at Washington Township

May 26, 2004    -   Wednesday - Championship
PCC Championship (4:30 p.m.) at Boone Grove

VALPARAISO - The Senators split their first four games and then took off, winning six in a row in April. Sophomore pitcher Danny Giangiulio (8-1) is having an MVP year. At the plate, Giangiulio (23-49, .469, 2 HRs, 19 RBIs) has 13 extra base hits. Clearly, he will be the focus of the one p.m. opener against LaCrosse (6-12), especially when he faces LaCrosse's Bryan Poort (27-51, .529, 18 stolen bases). The Senators No. 2 pitcher Sam Curry (2-2), comes into the spotlight if WT wins Saturday. But the big deal here might be how many pitches Gianguilio throws Saturday and how many he might have left for the Wednesday title game. Understand that WT got the best draw. The other three teams with winning records are in the opposite side of the tournament bracket.

HEBRON - The Hawks underwent a revival last week beating Hanover 12-0 and Lowell 11-4. Pitching is short outside of Kevin Hetrich (4-0) but the Hawks have firepower with Sean Brummett (25-51, .490, 22 stolen bases) and Andrew Stalbaum (20-52, .385, 4 HRs, 19 RBIs). It's a longshot they can win the title if only because they haven't won three in a row all year. Morgan beat Hebron 15-4 in April but indications are that Saturday's rematch won't be like that.

KOUTS - The Mustangs have been in the Class 1A top-10 all season with RHP Joel Oezer (6-0, 2.29, 33Ks, in 37 innings) and Matt Morris (3-2) ready to go. The Mustangs' tie was 11-11 with Rensselaer hinting they have a big-time offense. Kouts has scored 10 or more runs eight times in 16 games with junior Johnny Selman (22-43, .512, 2 HRs, 18 RBIs, 10 stolen bases) and senior Drew Kincius (24-46, .,522, 13 RBIs). But Kouts got a bad draw. They'll have to beat the other three winning teams in the league to win the title but somebody's got to hit the Mustangs' pitching to beat them.

PORTER TOWNSHIP - The defending champions have won seven of their last nine games to overcome an early start. The Wolves bombed South Central 11-1 last week. Boone's numbers are irrelevant in a comparison with the other PCC schools because 2A Boone has played six Class 4A schools. The Wolves are 4-2 in those games and that's why they're the favorite here. Senior pitcher Elliott Schultz (3-3, 4.51 ERA) is batting .371 (23-62) with 17 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He shuts down base stealing because his pickoff move is top flight. Senior Sean Bishop (3-3) might get the call Saturday so Schultz can face either Hanover or Kouts in the semifinals. Boone's record doesn't matter. This title has been Boone's property and they'd have to lose it on their home field. Don't bet against them.

CEDAR LAKE - Here's the wild card. Hanover is surprisingly talented and, after a 2-6 start, won 11 of 12 games including a 4-0 shutout of South Central Saturday (May 15). Larry Pempek (5-0) has five home runs and throws in the mid-80s. Senior Luke Besse (3-2) tossed a complete game win over LaCrosse last week. Hanover has had spectacular wins this year... 9-3 over arch-rival Boone, 5-3 over Gary West Side in the Railcat Stadium on a four-run rally....6-2 over Calumet in 12 innings and 11-9 at Hammond after trailing 6-0. Kouts is the most difficult opening for they could draw but Hanover beat Kouts 7-6 on May 7.
Can Hanover beat Kouts, Boone and Washington Township to win their first PCC crown in 28 years? They probably think they can.

PORTER TOWNSHIP - This is a wildly unpredictable tournament and most of the top teams could be eliminated on opening day. The only sure thing in the quarterfinals appears to be Boone, at home, over South Central. I think Kouts won't be able to overcome Hanover's Pempek, who should be pitching on seven days rest.

Washington Township is playing too well for LaCrosse, which doesn't have a strong No. 1 pitcher, to upset them. But Hebron does, and I like them to upset Morgan. Neither Washington nor Hebron has a strong No. 2 pitcher so the bats of Washington should take that semifinal.

I don't see the No. 2 pitcher for Hanover that can control Boone on their home field. The Wolves remember that 9-3 loss at Hanover vividly and they should even the score next Monday.

In a Washington-Boone final, I like the Senators' sophomore Gianguilio to win a close one against the Wolves.

It's a shame this tournament does not have higher profile because it's almost always very entertaining. Boone won the final game 21-10 a couple of years ago. Warm, windy weather would give the teams with a little home run power (Morgan, HC, Hebron) a big edge. Rain would be a major favor for the teams with the one ace (HC, WT, Kouts). This tournament has been the springboard for post-season success. Bishop Noll may have something to say about that this year. But usually, a couple of sectional champions come out of this eight-team single-elimination battle