Northwest Indiana 2004 Top-10 Final

High School Baseball Poll: Week 13

6-22-2004

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Bishop Noll became the first Lake County team to win a multiple state title, defeating Wapahani 2-0 in the 2A state finals. The Warriors completed a successful transition to Class 2A this season. they did not win a sectional championship in football but they lost to the state champion in boys basketball and softball.
They don't want to hear this but expect Bishop Noll to dominate the Class 2A bracket in true team sports. There is just no way that 400 and 500-kid schools can come up with the depth that a tradition rich school like Noll can attract. Andrean does not have nearly as much of that advantage as some pretty good small town schools (Plymouth, Griffith, Jasper and obviously, New Palestine) and a lot of the inner city schools (Gary Roosevelt, Lew Wallace, Fort Wayne's Elmhurst, Wayne) are 3A and most of the state's top athletic private schools (Cathedral, Brebuef, St. Joseph's, Bishop Luers, Concordia, Bishop Dwenger, Evansville Reitz, Marian Evansville's Memorial and Mater Dei.

1. Andrean (28-8)

MERRILLVILLE - Andrean lost the state championship game when New Palestine's Andrew Clark hit his 10th home run, a two-run shot beyond right field, and New Pal beat the 59ers 3-2. It is the second consecutive state finals loss for Andrean which, while disappointing, is also a sign that the program is peaking. Andrean is the only northwest Indiana school which has ever lost in consecutive state finals in both football (2002-2003) and baseball (2003-2004). The key for 2005 is pitching with Steve Augsburger (7-2, 1.70, 6 CGs in 56 innings), Brad King (4-1, 2.18 with 3 CGs in 35 innings), Anthony Cera (1-0, 0.00, 11 innings, 2 saves) and Tommy Finn (4-0, 2.63 in 21 innings). And that's just next year's senior class pitchers. Every day players returning include SS Finn (.445, 48-109), 3B Cera (.246, 18-67) and three outfielders who batted more than 25 times on the varsity. Andrean appears to have a position player ready for every graduating senior. In 3A in northwest Indiana, Griffith and Kankakee Valley are closing the gap on Andrean but there is still a gap.

2. LaPORTE (25-6)

LaPORTE - The tournament got to LaPorte's pitching staff. Junior left-hander Andy Weeks, pitching against a top team for the third time in nine days, got beat by Brownsburg, the preseason No.1 team, 6-5. Weeks gave up home runs to Lance Lynn and state HR leader Nick Shipley (18 homers) in the first three innings. Kyle McDonald, who appeared to be improving as the season ended, pitched four strong innings in relief as LaPorte's rally fell short. The Slicers return most of their squad again next year when they will be one of the favorites for the state title. Weeks (11-3) returns with potential all-state catcher Blake Hindsley, 2B Nick Overmeyer, RHP Nolan Weeks and SS Joel Matheney all are back. Center fielder Jared Mrozinske (21 stolen bases) will be difficult to replace but the 2005 Slicers have the potential to one of the strongest LaPorte teams in their storied history. The problem is, LaPorte is still going to have to beat Penn or Elkhart Memorial at the regional level and Brownsburg at the semistate level. Brownsburg graduated just two seniors from a 27-7 squad. 2005 looks like a very strong year in 4A in the northern part of the state.

3. Lake Central (24-6)

ST. JOHN - Lake Central had a 10-game winning streak broken in a 7-0 Lafayette Semistate semifinal loss to Carroll. Region homers considered it an upset but Carroll (26-7) was ranked No. 8 in the preseason. This game blew up late as LC trailed only 1-0 in the fifth inning. 6-5 RHP Brett Summers struck out eight but Tyler Shippy hit two home runs in the final two innings to end LC's quest for a boys-girls baseball-softball state title sweep. LC returns Summers (9-3) to lead the staff next season and they have a lot of players on the junior varsity who have not had a chance. As of next year, the Indians will have more than one excellent baseball class in school, including the freshman class which has Summers' younger brother. And that does not include the next dominant LC class, potentially, the 2003 Little League state finalists. But everybody in the state knows that Brownsburg loses just two seniors and LaPorte loses only six.

4. Bishop Noll (21-11)

HAMMOND - Noll completed a run through Class 2A by stopping the 20-game wining streak of Wapahani 2-0 in the 2A state championship game. Noll becomes the only Lake County school to win a second (1968) state baseball title. Senior left-hander Andy Loomis (6-5) pitched five shutout innings for the win and RHP Ryan Bobos (9-1) blanked Wapahani over the final two innings for the save. Noll pinned the first year of the season on left-hander Eric Van Matre (15-1). The key again was that Noll has played 13 Class 4A teams not including five games against Griffith and Andrean. As long as they play that schedule, they will be a power in the 2A playoffs. Noll graduates just six seniors with the key one being catcher Brian Clark (.285, 3 HR, 16 RBIs). But Twins Jake and Josh Pelletier, a catcher and a shortstop, will be a factor in 2005 as will 6-foot-4 RHP Danny Faulkner (5-3, 2.33, 51 innings). 2B Chris Kopp (.364, 31-102) and Bobos (.347, 32-108) an infielder return. Noll, which has lost 75% of its enrollment in the last quarter century, is getting so small as a school that their eventual survival is becoming a scary proposition. But oddly, as the overall strength of the school declines, the athletic programs prospects soar.

5. Munster (23-6)

MUNSTER - While they may not have the pitching to be a 20-game winner next season, Munster has some very strong baseball classes coming. Watch the Hammond American Legion Post 168 this summer. They play at Munster high school and use a lot of Munster players including Scott Starewicz. But Munster must also deal with the Munster curse. The Mustangs are the largest and most affluent school in their league, the LAC. They SHOULD dominate those teams. But in the sectional, unlike other LAC teams, 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, New Palestine, Lafayette Catholic, Harrison, should all get a call. Stop bragging about how great the LAC is and schedule road games against the caliber of teams you need to beat. Andrean is very good. But Andrean would lose to Brownsburg, more often than not. Home games do not help you. Munster has some elite Little League classes coming up to high school. But Crown Point, Valpo and LC do, too. The Mustangs can win 20 every year and lose to LC at the sectional every year. It has happened two years in a row. Or the ponies can pay the cost to be the boss.

6. 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. To be honest, it will be very difficult for this team to stay near the top of the DAC in 2005. LaPorte and LC return core players while CP, Valpo and Merrillville will be improved over winning seasons in 2004. 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.

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 (24-7) 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. But 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 (11-3) and Lake Central has a very deep program. CP scored a lot of runs against soft teams but they didn't do much against heavy duty foes. The Bulldogs need offensive players to improve this summer. They are in a league which returns Division I college pitchers next year in Brett Summers (9-3) and Andy Weeks (11-3) and an emerging star in Valpo's Clint Krysa (7-4). Let's tell it like it is, Bishop Noll can get to the state finals by beating Hanover Central and Churubusco. CP probably can never get out of the sectional without beating Merrillville or Valparaiso. Here's an oddity. One of 4A state champion Lawrence Central's seven losses was 11-5 to Crown Point. The Bears won six playoff games while Crown Point lost the sectional quarterfinal.

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. Offensive stars Jose Ponce, Daryl Evans and Bo McLendon went straight for the Hammond Seminoles 17-and-under traveling team and the Pirates offensive prowess will improve. Those are top of the order power and speed players. Oddly, Merrillville's double-header win over Munster and a victory over 3A state finalist Andrean during the final week of the season, meant nothing but good feelings for 2005. The Pirates improved by nine games this year, second only to Chesterton's 10. Here is the power of the DAC in evidence. This team is juiced up with offensive heat and should contend for the sectional title. But the Pirates might not even end up in the top half of the 2005 DAC.

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 and with Andrean in the state finals, those losses don't look so bad. 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. Swienconek moved on to the 19-and-under Hammond Chiefs for the summer while Bridges and Kuna went straight to the Hammond Seminoles. Only Merrillville will have more offense coming back in 2005. Crown Point and LaPorte probably have better pitching coming back than the Panthers do. But Griffith has the whole package returning in 3A and the window of opportunity is opening for them to knock off Andrean in 2005 and 2006.

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 a little bit about what's coming for Valpo and two boys, Nate Windsor and Chooch Sizemore, are definite all-DAC caliber players in the making. And 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. But the Vikings have to understand how good they need to be. Valpo is another team that could win 20 and still be in the second division of the DAC next season.

38th Indiana State BASEBALL FINALS

CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS
Saturday, June 19, 2004 at Victory Field - 67 degrees, sunny

CLASS A       Lafayette Catholic (27-8) 11, Shakamak (27-3) 3
CLASS 2A     BISHOP NOLL (21-11) 2, Wapahani (27-6) 0

CLASS 3A     New Palestine (30-4) 3, ANDREAN (27-8) 2,
CLASS 4A    Lawrence Central (28-8) 3,   Brownsburg (27-7) 1

STATE NOTES: Lafayette Catholic has now won state titles in baseball, basketball and football in the Class Sports era (since 97). This is the sixth state baseball title for the Lafayette area in 10 seasons. Bishop Noll is the first team in the Lake, Porter, Jasper, Newton County area to win a second state title. Only eight teams in the state have won more than one state baseball crown. LaPorte in LaPorte County has won a state best eight titles.

New Palestine, which outscored seven state tourney foes 47-5, to win the title, is the first Indiana school in the 20 years of softball and 38 years of baseball playoffs to win a state title in both sports in the same season. Brownsburg is the first Indiana school to lose the baseball state championship game in successive seasons since Blackford (1977-1978) . Brownsburg lost the title game 7-1 to McCutcheon in 2003. The last team to win back-to-back state titles was Jasper (1996-1997) in the final two years of the old, one class tournament. The only preseason No. 1 to win the state title was Lafayette Catholic, which ran away from Shakamak 11-3 in the title game.

The largest crowd of any state finals team supported New Palestine, which beat Andrean 3-2. The presence of three private schools probably hurt the attendance. Private schools, almost inherently, have less of a fan base than town based teams like Wapahani, New Palestine and Brownsburg. Victory Field confirmed its status as the best state finals site. The location, the quality and the atmosphere make the site of the baseball finals superior to the site of any of the other finals, even basketball (which has seats too far from the floor) and football, which, for some reason, is often too warm for football.

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

4A Brownsburg (27-7)

BROWNSBURG - It would not be a surprise if Brownsburg starts a second consecutive season as the No. 1 big school team in Indiana. The Bulldogs return an unprecedented amount of experienced players for 2005 led by state home run champ 3B Nick Shipley (.417, 17 HRs, 54 RBIs) and powerhouse 2B Cory Dragstrem (.355, 10 HRs, 38 RBIs). Another elite player, TJ Baumet (.436, 8HRs, 25 RBIs), a 6-foot-2 shortstop, isn't a Division I college player only because he has three more years of high school yet. Freshman Drew Storen (3-0, 1.17, 33 strikeouts, 6 walks, 24 innings) has three more years and outfielders Gary King (.404, 39-109, 5 HRs, 24 RBIs) and Kyle Hammontree (.433, 26-60, 5 HRs, 23 RBI) are already experienced outfielders with two seasons remaining. Catcher Austin Nickol (.281) also returns as does OF Sean Veza (.297, 4 HRs, 23 RBIs). There are no holes in this team. Especially when you consider the state's best player, 6-6 RHP Lance Lynn (10-3), who batted .514 with 14 HRs and 46 RBIs as a junior in 2004.

The 2004 team batted .370, hit 66 home runs and scored 303 runs against big school competition. In the 20 years I have watched Indiana baseball, I have never seen a team with more talent returning. And I believe there is another state champion Little League class (they won four in a row from 1999-2002) from 2002 that has not yet entered Brownsburg high.

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