Northwest Indiana 2004 Top-10

High School Baseball Poll: Week 11

6-10-2004

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

The top two Lake County teams in this poll, Andrean and Lake Central, dominated the field to win regional titles. LaPorte has the toughest tournament path of any northern school, but they took out 20-game winners Clay and Penn. Bishop Noll's state tourney success is a product of the division in which they play. The Warriors have the potential and the tradition to be to Class 2A, what Lafayette Catholic (24-8) is to Class 1A, a team that is a state finals contender EVERY year.

Some teams that look good may go through pitcher burnout this Saturday, though. Teams with one dominant pitcher like LaPorte and Marquette, could use some rain Saturday to push one or two of the semistate games back. Teams like Lake Central, with two ace pitchers, want to rock and roll. EVERYONE in the state completed regional play on Tuesday (a blessing that will not occur every year), so all pitchers on all semistate teams have 10 innings of eligibility Saturday.

1. Andrean (24-7)

MERRILLVILLE - A lot of Lake County partisans disguised as media people dropped Andrean down in polls during the season. But I'll say it again, if you change the poll every week, you didn't have much faith in what you were saying. Andrean completed a dominating season, crushing Kankakee Valley 11-0 and Griffith 14-2 to win 3A Sectional and regional titles. 25-year coach Dave Pishkur alertly pulled starter Mike Ryan (8-3) after some early struggles and used capable bullpen man Brad King to close a 14-2 win. Ryan has only pitched six playoff innings so far and he's well-rested in case they need him for 10 innings at Saturday's Plymouth Semistate. Senior Ryne Pishkur smacked out four hits against Griffith (19-13) while Ryan and Tommy Finn combined for five extra base hits against KV. The 59ers began the season with a nearly complete returning pitching staff and a half dozen strong position players. They deserved to get this far and they are in position to go to the finals.

2. LaPORTE (25-6)

LaPORTE - Over 1,000 fans watched LaPorte beat Penn (25-6) by one run for the second time this season and walk home with the regional title. On the Slicers' home field, left-hander Andy Weeks (11-2) was the beneficiary of a four-run, fourth inning rally and he won the biggest game of the year. Weeks struck out 11 and allowed just six hits. Joe Hannon's three-run double handed Penn's Blake Forray (8-1) his first loss of the season. The state's biggest showdown went to the wire as Penn scored twice in the sixth inning before going down in order in the seventh. Here's where LaPorte may come up short. The Slicers are going to have to beat Brownsburg and Lake Central, two superpowers on Saturday. Weeks, while he has pitched complete game championship victories on June 3 and June 8 is certainly good enough to beat either one on June 12 but not both. I would expect Kyle McDonald, who beat Washington 13-1 to open the playoffs, to start Saturday's Lafayette Semistate championship game, probably against Lake Central. Coach Scott Upp could use several pitchers to get to the fifth inning where Weeks, who has to be tired, would probably pitch relief. The ace left-hander would probably start the opener against Brownsburg because they have never seen him. LC has faced Weeks twice. It's a gamble, but LaPorte has no choice. The reason they are not No.1 in this poll is they never did find a consistent No.2 pitcher.

3. Lake Central (24-6)

ST. JOHN - Here's another team that was good from day one. Many clearly do not understand baseball slumps. They feel that if you lose four of six like LC did at midseason, that you just aren't that good. LC has won their last 10 games, including the last nine by three runs or more. The Indians have outscored four playoff foes 44-8. To defeat Munster left-hander Brian Bokowy (7-0) must have given them great confidence. The team has few flaws. LC smoked out seven home runs in their 12-2, 4A Regional victory over Chesterton on June 8. LC has not committed an error in the playoffs, but during the season, they occasionally had some defensive problems. Also, the Indians are not a speedy team that creates runs. But those are small flaws. With Brett Summers (9-2) and John Babinski (11-1) LC is as well suited for the return of the two-game semistate format as any team in this part of the state.

There is also a hint that LC really hasn't faced a strong, experienced team (read: Brownsburg or LaPorte) yet in the state tournament. But Lake Central is also a strong, experienced team. There is a gap between the top three teams and everyone else. Like LaPorte and Andrean, this team was expected to be in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

4. Munster (23-6)

MUNSTER - You can't knock down Munster for a 7-3 loss to Lake Central (24-6). The Mustangs had as fine a season as they could have expected. The Mustangs did not play Lake Central during the regular season and that probably didn't help them. They could not help that. Munster must also deal with the Munster curse. The Mustangs are the largest and most affluent school in their league. They SHOULD dominate those teams. But in the sectional, they must beat a much larger school (LC) that plays a tougher schedule in a tougher league. The Mustangs beat North Newton, TF South, Portage, and Chesterton this season. That's nice but they need to drop those schools. Munster must play as many difficult road games as they can. Penn, McCutcheon, Brownsburg, Providence (New Lenox), Lafayette Catholic, Harrison, should all get a call. Stop bragging about how great the LAC is and schedule a lethal nonconference road schedule. Munster has some elite Little League classes coming up to high school. But LC does, too. The Mustangs can win 20 every year and lose to LC at the sectional every year. Or they can pay the cost to be the boss.

5. Chesterton (19-9)

CHESTERTON - A wonderful comeback year for Chesterton baseball was capped by a 2-1 win over rival Valparaiso for the 4A Sectional title. The Trojans were blown out 12-2 by Lake Central but LC is a better team. The Trojans were just 9-19 in 2003. Chesterton missed regular John Lambert in the playoffs due to injury and they'll return Matt Maple and Casey Martin to start the team next season. The Trojans will need pitchers to replace Tom Albano (7-2) and Josh Malone (5-5) and that will be very difficult. Still, the Trojans improved by 10 games and won a tough sectional, beating three rivals. They shouldn't worry about next year too quickly. Coach Jack Campbell manufactured a pitching staff out of very little in 2004 and it will be interesting to see if he can do it again.

6. Bishop Noll (18-11)

HAMMOND - At the start of the season, everybody thought that Bishop Noll had one of the top 5 teams in the area. Here's a team that isn't even honorable mention in the state 2A poll, but everybody in this part of the state feels this is a sure state finalist. And, for once, it isn't region 'homer' bias. Noll annihilated Lake Station 16-4, Hanover Central 10-0 and North Judson 10-0, all games ended by the slaughter rule. The foes were largely overmatched and honestly, the three teams with Noll at the South Bend Semistate Saturday (June 12) appear to be overmatched as well. It would appear from a distance that only highly regarded Heritage (25-4) could beat Noll at the semistate and only Lawrenceburg has a chance at the finals. But it is always difficult to win two playoff games in one day. Pitchers Ryan Bobos (7-1), Andy Loomis (4-4) and Danny Faulkner (5-3) appear to have what Noll needs. In addition, this is a team that has played 14 Class 4A teams not including five games against Griffith and Andrean. Barring a major defensive breakdown, this team is going to the 2A state championship game.

7. Crown Point (17-11)

CROWN POINT - CP's 9-3 loss to Chesterton ended a season that numerically was good, but in reality, was somewhat disappointing. CP was 4-0 at one point, 6-5 seven games later, 14-6 with a four run seventh inning lead against Lake Central (21-6) on May 23 and then 17-11. In retrospect, the 5-4 loss to Lake Central when CP had a four run lead and two out in the final inning, broke the confidence of the Bulldogs who lost four of their final seven. CP returns 75% of the playoff roster including four of the top five pitchers. Another winning season is assured but with the sophomore class CP has coming back, the Bulldogs have high hopes for 2005. While CP figures to be a potent DAC team next year, but they'll have to be, as Merrillville and Valparaiso will be significantly improved. LaPorte returns ace pitcher Andy Weeks (11-2) and Lake Central has a very deep program. CP needs offensive players to improve this summer. It's just that simple.

8. Merrillville (16-11)

MERRILLVILLE - It was surprising that Valparaiso shut out Merrillville 5-0 and eliminated the Pirates in the Merrillville 4A Sectional quarterfinals. Not only had the Pirates beaten Valpo twice during the regular season, Merrillville had a big time offense all year. But a young team sometimes chokes up during the playoffs. It doesn't mean they aren't good players. The only teams that don't choke are teams that don't make the playoffs. This was a team that was 7-20 last year. Coach Zac Wells graduates only hard-hitting SS Jason Plys. The Pirates need to develop pitching. No one pitched well consistently but a lot of young pitchers had moments like Kevin Marsh beating Andrean 4-2 and Caleb Douglas stopping Munster 11-4. Oddly, Merrillville's double-header win over Munster and a victory over 3A semistate qualifier Andrean during the final week of the season, meant nothing. The Pirates improved by nine games this year, second only to Chesterton's 10.

9. Griffith (19-14)

GRIFFITH - The Panthers were blown out by Andrean 14-2 in the regional championship game. Griffith was 0-3 against Andrean and was outscored 40-4 in those games. But the 59ers were the only 3A team better than Griffith in this area. The future here is very bright with pitcher Matt Kuna (7-5) and 3B Ryan Bridges back for three more years and top-hitting Jimmy Swienconek back for another season. Todd Polgar really hasn't played much yet. Here is the coming team in northwest Indiana. Merrillville has better offense coming back. Crown Point has better pitching coming back. But Griffith has the whole package returning in 3A and the window of opportunity is open for them to knock off Andrean next year.

10. Valparaiso (16-13)

VALPARAISO - Clint Krysa (7-4) had a streak of three consecutive complete-game victories stopped with a 2-1 loss to Chesterton in the Merrillville 4A sectional championship game. Krysa is a sophomore. The Vikings improved dramatically as the season went on, going from 8-12 to 16-13. The core of senior players like Brain McMillan, Doug Lang, Tim Kucharski and Ryan Nuppnau was responsible for much of Valpo's 2004 success. McMillan especially had a memorable year. But I know what's coming for Valpo and two boys, Nate Windsor and Chooch Sizemore, are definite all-DAC caliber players in the making. There is more coming out of Valpo's youth baseball and Valpo begins an American Legion team this summer to cook up more green power.

Judgment Day is coming for ...............

(Michigan City) Marquette (21-6)

MICHIGAN CITY - The Blazers needed a miracle rally to beat Morgan Township (19-14) for the regional title last Tuesday. Freshman Zach Osman got a two-run single in the seventh inning to give Marquette a 6-5 regional championship victory. Here's a team that lost only 4-3 to Andrean. But they appear to be in trouble Saturday facing No. 9 Blackhawk Christian in the semifinals and probably superpower Lafayette Catholic (24-6) in the semistate finals at Kokomo's Highland Park.

The first problem is three-time regional champ Lafayette Catholic, a team that's batting .329 and is 18-2 against Class A schools. The other problem is, Marquette needs to beat Catholic with their No. 2 pitcher. Give the Blazers credit for a fine season. 20 wins is the bench mark for prep baseball quality. But does anybody see a way they can beat Lafayette Catholic?

Out of town...................

4A No. 10 Brownsburg (25-6)

BROWNSBURG - Here is the reason LaPorte and Lake Central could both be on summer vacation this Saturday night. The Bulldogs have equal players to LC and more playoff experience than LaPorte. Junior Lance Lynn had a fine year (8-2, 1.17 ERA, 125 strikeouts) before he pitched a four-hitter in the Bulldogs' 7-2 win over Lafayette Jefferson Tuesday. The 6-foot-6 right hander led a squad that is 14-0 against nonconference teams. Lynn (.511, 12 HRs, 38 RBIs) gets major help from Nick Shipley (.429. 16 HRs, 52 RBIs) and TJ Baumet (.412, 8 HRs, 25 RBIs). You can't count on home runs but Brownsburg does have 62 homers in 31 games. Corey Dragstrem has 10 home runs and 38 RBIs.

'Back-up' pitchers include Matt Fair (6-0, 3.98) and Matt Snyder (5-4, 3.13, 45 Ks, 12 walks). How did they get all this talent? Brownsburg won an unprecedented four consecutive Little League (12-and-under) state titles from 1999 to 2002. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, but Brownsburg has the most talent-laden team in the state. No one can dispute that. At least until this Saturday.

BASE NOTES: The preseason 4A No. 1 team, Brownsburg, defeated Lafayette Jefferson 7-2 for the Lafayette Regional title. The pre-season 3A No. 1 was Andrean, which will play Western in the Plymouth 3A Semistate semifinals. Plymouth faced Western in the basketball regional semifinals in Plymouth.

The preseason 2A No. 1 Northeastern, lost 4-2 to Wapahani last Tuesday. The preseason No. 1, Lafayette Catholic, dominated South Newton 10-0 in the regional Tuesday and is the favorite in the 1A bracket.

Brownsburg vs. Jefferson drew 827 fans at Lafayette's Loeb Stadium. Penn and LaPorte drew 1,067 in LaPorte.

Many Lake Central and Andrean players were teammates in the Dyer Little League, but LC and Andrean do not meet during the regular season. If LC and Andrean reach the semistate championship game, they both will have equaled their advance in the 2003 state tournament. In the old format, which allowed for four team state finals, Andrean lost 9-3 to Norwell in the state semifinals while Lake Central lost 4-1 to Brownsburg.

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