NW Indiana HS Baseball Preview: Lake Central & Andrean at Crown Point

Weekend Preview:

4A No. 2 LAKE CENTRAL (16-1) at

4A No. 10 CROWN POINT (11-3)

3A No. 2 ANDREAN (18-1) at

4A No. 10 CROWN POINT (11-3)

May 6 & 7 – 7 p.m. (both nights)

at Crown Point High School

CROWN POINT, IN (5-5-2005) - They didn't intend to do this. Friday and Saturday night events in the spring are not something athletic directors, supervisors and concession stand attendants enjoy, largely because spring evenings at home are priceless to folks who work Fridays from August to March.

But Andrean's Saturday rainout on April 23 sent a message. If you want this game this year, you're going to have to do something creative to get it in. Crown Point did.

The Bulldogs placed the rainout game with a rival they had not played since the late 90s one night after a matchup with the second-ranked 4A team in the state.

Who wins and loses is really irrelevant here. Crown Point needs to beat Lake Central and LaPorte (16-2) on May 19 to win the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) championship but it's much more important for CP to beat DAC teams in the Chesterton Sectional in June. LC and CP are not in the same sectional and cannot meet before the regional level, something that is so far off it's a minor possibility.

There is a natural rivalry between Andrean and CP (a guess would be that 20% of Andrean students live in CP) but the 59ers are a Class 3A team while CP is Class 4A. They will not met in the state tournament at all.

What this may be is a test of a popular baseball program as a revenue source. Football draws thousands every Friday night in the fall and basketball attendance also creeps into four figures. Baseball has far more modest goals.

But the new CPHS seats about 750 fans and if the Bulldogs, Indians and Niners can draw 500 paying customers each night, that's a couple of thousands dollars for the CP athletics department that they probably did not plan on. That will open some eyes and redo future schedules.

The big numbers will be in the box office, not on the scoreboard. CP has enough rivals that they could play three or four Friday night games in late April and May. I believe that parents and teenagers would enjoy Friday night baseball between rival teams in good weather.

Let's tell the truth. Kids don't come to football because they love football. Teens come because a few of their friends are playing and a lot of their friends are in the stands. Girls follow boys teams more than boys follow girls teams. LC and CP meet in softball at 4:30 p.m. Friday and with no school Saturday (obviously) all those girls may come to CP for the baseball game. Parents who cannot get to 4:30 p.m. games might show up at 7 p.m., especially on Friday. Football players from both schools tend to act out, wave signs and chant slogans. On a warm night at the baseball game, that's all good. I can guarantee that CP's new 'left field bleacher creatures' will show up both nights to back the home team against arch-rivals.

With CP, Andrean and LC all in the top-10, local media will give maximum coverage. Radio stations WJOB (1230) AM, HSSP Internet radio and WYCA (1270) AM, the Region Sports Network will all be on hand. Friday's game is a major event. Not everybody knows that CP is playing Andrean on Saturday.

Long range weather predicts game time temperatures in the low 60s both nights. Boys playing the game of summer in the setting sun on the wide-ranging Bulldog 'Ponderosa' behind the new high school can become a new popular tradition.

But the Bulldogs aren't going to get a lot of chances to try it because Friday and (especially) Saturday night baseball requires an extended effort by the host school. Let there be no confusion here. If there are not at least 250 people in the stands Saturday evening, I can virtually guarantee that cows will jump over the moon and get Olympic medals before you see another Saturday night regular season high school baseball game in Crown Point.

CROWN POINT (5-6-2005) One of the biggest Crown Point weekends in recent history begins with a rematch of a bitter defeat.

In April, left-hander Matt Jansen (2-1) led Lake Central 2-1 with two out in the seventh and final inning. A passed ball, a wild pitch and two base hits scored two runs and gave the Indians a 3-2 victory in what may eventually be the pivotal game of the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) season.

One year ago, CP's Mike Schultz led at Lake Central 4-0 with two out in the seventh inning before five LC hits gave the Indians a 5-4 lead. Crown Point needs to beat LC for confidence purposes but that won't be easy. Since the Indians lost 14-5 at LaPorte on April 26, LC has won three in a row including a 9-1 win over Chesterton Monday.

In that game, 6-5 right-hander Brett Summer (4-1) pitched four innings and picked up the win. Summers could come back Friday night against CP but I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't. LC's Brandon Peters (5-0) and especially senior Steve Apostol (5-0) have been strong all year and manager Todd Iwema might not want to want to show Summers to CP a second time with a possible third meeting ahead in June.

If CP coach Steve Strayer sticks to the rotation, senior Jimmy Wilson, who defeated Portage 8-3 last Saturday (4-30-2005) in Gary, will go against LC and the logic there would be strong. Lake Central did not handle Jansen in the first meeting and was lucky to win. There's no value in CP showing the hard-throwing left-hander to Lake Central again in case there is a regional matchup.

Wilson is a breaking ball pitcher who could cause major problems for LC's potent order. Apostol struck out six batters in three innings against Chesterton Monday. He also tossed a one-hit shutout against Thornwood in Gary on April 15 and the right-hander struck out six Saturday (4-30-2005) in five innings of a 9-3 win over Munster.

The Indians are without shortstop Troy Russell (injury) and that limits some of what they can do. Ben Stepanian isn't limited as he hit home runs against Munster and Chesterton. The key LC man is the No. 3 hitter Matt Dodaro who had the game winning hit against Crown Point in April. Dodaro also had three hits in the 14-5 loss at LaPorte on April 26. A .350 hitter for two years, Dodaro is the key man that Wilson or Jansen has to get out.

The Indians will try to run on CP catcher Adam Kennedy after the problems Kennedy had in the final inning of the previous meeting. But Wilson picked off three batters against Portage and has an intimidating pickoff move. The Bulldogs are not a strong hitting team, but with the wind blowing out of the south, both teams will have home run heroes on this night.

Against Summers or Apostol, the key will be the left-handed hitting leadoff man Nick Ullman and No. 3 hitter Matt Jansen. CP's infield defense led by sophomore shortstop Matt Ernest, has fumbled and stumbled lately with eight errors in a four game span.

This game should be worth the price of admission. It probably will be high scoring due to warmer, windy conditions. Crown Point is undefeated at home this season and they will be especially motivated on this night.

CROWN POINT (5-7-2005) Andrean routed Munster Wednesday night 13-6 to stay undefeated in the Lake Athletic Conference (LAC), but they are not facing an LAC team on this night.

The 59ers take the short ride south down Broadway and head for the south end of Crown Point to renew an old rivalry late Saturday, facing Crown Point for the first time since the late 90s.

Andrean will probably use left-hander Nick Murphy (4-0), a little left-hander who struck out six and walked five in five innings of a 17-7 win over Lowell on May 2. But the 59ers do not have a dominant starting pitcher. The big man coming out of the bullpen is senior Anthony Cera (3-0), a submarine right-handed relief pitcher who is a major problem for hitters who have never seen him. No matter who starts the game, expect Cera to finish it.

I doubt that Crown Point will use left-handed junior Matt Jansen in this game. If Jansen does not pitch against Lake Central, coach Steve Strayer will probably hold him back for the May 10 game against Michigan City. With two days off after this game, Jansen could pitch relief for the Bulldogs against BOTH Lake Central and Andrean which might be a test. Jansen will certainly be asked to pitch relief if the Bulldogs go any distance in the state tournament. If it is not Jansen or Jimmy Wilson, it will be Chris Saroff (1-0), who made a strong debut in last week's 11-3 win (April 30) over Gavit. Saroff, a 5-8 sophomore right-hander, struck out nine and walked none. Strayer has seemed to like using SS Matt Ernest as a relief pitcher.

Saroff has excellent control and, in a nonconference game of some note, he might be the choice here. He'll face a lineup that is second to none in Lake and Porter County. Shortstop Tommy Finn, first baseman Joe Mack and catcher Greg Yersich are as good a middle of the order as you will find in this area. The 59ers have scored seven or more runs 12 times in 18 games. No one has shut them out and only Chesterton's 9-2 win mars a perfect record.

Yersich, a transfer from St. Rita high in Chicago, will be taken in June's pro baseball draft. He has home run power and a very strong arm. The 59er catcher, who was 2-for-4 with three RBIs against Lowell (5-2-2005), will throw the ball around on pickoff attempts all night. Mack is a slow footed left handed line drive hitter with a good swing. He was 2-for-3 against Lowell and had two triples in a 16-3 win over Roosevelt in the Steelyard last Saturday (4-30-2005).

Finn is a future Division I line drive hitter with plus speed. Finn has at least two hits in at least eight games this season.

500-win coach Dave Pishkur has long wanted to play Crown Point and new coach Steve Strayer has finally gotten the Okay. This will be a spirited game between boys who grew up playing together or as arch rivals from Dyer, St. John or Schererville. These schools have never been in the same baseball conference, but coach Dave Pishkur lives in Crown Point. His son Ryne played for CP Post 20's American legion team last summer. I would like it if CPHS recognized Dave Pishkur prior to the game in some way as a CP resident who has given a quarter of a century to local baseball.

It's impossible to pick one baseball game. But all things being equal, Andrean's going to win because they have a far more experienced team, having reached the state finals in each of the last two seasons. But beyond that, I hope the game is high-scoring, competitive and witnessed by at least 500 friends of the programs. If that occurs, the annual Saturday Andrean-Crown Point baseball game may again become the tradition it should always have been.

23-10 in 2003, 17-11 in 2004
DUNELAND ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (DAC) GAMES IN CAPS