29th Indiana State Softball Tournament Preview

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Before the season began we predicted Lake County could send three teams to the state finals. Well, five softball teams from Lake County have advanced from Sectional championship titles to the Regionals. So here is our USA-365.com preview of the Indiana State High School Athletic Association Regional Girls Softball tournaments involving teams from Northwest Indiana:

2003 SOFTBALL REGIONALS

Date: Saturday, June 7
Times: 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m.
Admission: $5 per session; $7 for all three games

Class 3A REGIONALS

Penn
No. 7 Mishawaka (26-6) vs. No. 2 Lake Central (28-2-1)
South Bend Riley (14-14) vs. Crown Point (16-15)
Championship = 7 p.m.

DeKalb
No. 5 Pendleton Heights vs. Bellmont (22-4)
No. 3 DeKalb (28-1) vs. Lafayette Jefferson (23-8)
Championship = 7 p.m.

Ben Davis
Columbus East vs. (Indianapolis) Bishop Cathedral (20-10)
Zionsville vs. Avon
Championship = 7 p.m.

Boonville
Center Grove (22-6) vs. Floyd Central (22-8)
Castle (26-6) vs. Terre Haute North (20-7)
Championship = 7 p.m.

Class 3A State Finals

June 13 at Carmel (Cherry Tree Complex)
6:30 p.m. – Winner at Ben Davis vs. Winner at Boonville
8:30 p.m. (approximate) – Winner at Penn vs. Winner at DeKalb
June 14 at Carmel (Cherry Tree Complex)
7 p.m. -- Championship game: Friday night winners.

OSCEOLA (6-4-2003) The teams here are coming from four different directions. (South Bend) LaSalle has a solid softball history but was below .500 all year. Mishawaka has lived in the softball shadow of Penn and is reemerging. Lake Central is a two-time state champion and probably the all-time dominant team in northwest Indiana.

Then there's Crown Point.

The Bulldogs came from at least three runs behind six times in May. They rallied three times last week at the sectional. Pitcher Lacy Holevis (10-12) can keep them in games and they have some good right-handed hitters.

Overlooked at the sectional was the fact that they allowed 15 runs to Lowell, Valparaiso and Hobart. Three teams that aren't great offensively.

LaSalle is not great on offense either.

Riley came into the sectional on their home field. They blasted Plymouth 12-0 but Plymouth finished at 4-22. Riley blanked LaPorte 3-0 but LaPorte ended up at 12-15. In the title game against Adams (12-18), Riley led 2-1 in the seventh before giving up two runs. Two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh gave the Wildcats (14-14) the win.

Sophomore right-hander Tori Campbell, who missed the final 10 days of the season with a thigh injury, pitched a two-hit shutout against Plymouth and a three-hit shutout against LaPorte.She struck out 20 in 19 innings. This was a down year in South Bend softball; Clay was 14-13. Washington was 6-20. The numbers would indicate that LaSallle isn't strong but the sophomore pitcher, coming back, was the foundation of their sectional title run.

Mishawaka vs. Lake Central is the matchup of Claire DeVreese (18-5) and Brooke Baker (18-2-1), two of the hardest throwing pitchers in the state. DeVreese beat Penn 3-1 and no-hit Elkhart Central and Elkhart Memorial in succession. She will enter Saturday's 11 a.m. game with a string of 15 consecutive no-hit innings.

DeVreese, a 17-year-old junior whose dad is a Mishawaka fireman, struck out a state-record 26 batters on May 17 in a 1-0, 11-inning victory over Memorial. The 5-11 right-hander, the MVP of the Northern Indiana Conference, struck out 64 batters in a three-game stretch in May. She pitched a one-hit 4-0 victory against Michigan state finalist Lakeshore (36-7) on May 23.

Lake Central is the most experienced team in this area but they do not have a lot of left-handed hitting and, unless they face Baker in practice (which they probably don't), they have not see this type of pitching. Two of the losses by DeVreese were 1-0 to Penn (23-7) and 2-1 to Concord (21-6).

What you don't read about the Cavemen (don't ask me about the nickname) is great offensive prowess. Think about it. They won an 11-inning game 1-0. The sectional championship game was a 1-0 game. DeVreese led the team with a .409 batting average during the regular season.

Mishawaka was shut out 2-0 in 13 innings by Culver Academy and freshman Jackie Lawrence (22-1). If Lake Central gets to the lead, Mishawaka's batters will feel pressure. Lake Central's Baker has five no-hitters and 300 strikeouts. They were not seriously challenged at the sectional. The Munster game was 2-0 but the earlier meeting was 4-0. Munster never beat Baker and probably didn't believe they could. Mishawaka has never faced the two-time LC all-stater and doesn't have that fear.

Watch Katie Mitchell, LC's No. 3 hitter. If she hits the ball solidly the first couple of times up, LC will win. Mishawaka will bring a large crowd and they must score early. Obviously, the possibility of an extra inning game is there (LC went 16 innings with Andrean) but it probably won't be a scoreless tie.

LC lost to Castle and McCutcheon with late inning rallies. The Indians have to concede something to DeVreese. Elkhart Memorial didn't bunt on DeVreese and they didn't score. The Indians have to understand that this is not Munster. The Cavemen have won seven sectionals and they feel they can win this game.

I like Crown Point to win another high-scoring game over Riley, something like 6-4.

Lake Central will beat Mishawaka 2-1 and Crown Point 4-0 for the regional title. They will play Pendleton Heights in the state semifinals.

Class 2A REGIONALS

Twin Lakes
No. 2 Culver Academy (22-1) vs. West Lafayette (22-7)
Hanover Central (23-6) vs. Griffith (19-12)
Championship = 7 p.m.

Garrett
No. 4 Blackford (25-6) vs. Leo (15-13)
Angola (16-10) vs. Norwell (17-10)
Championship = 7 p.m.

Mount Vernon (Fortville)
Brownstown Central (14-12) vs. New Palestine (22-8)
Crawfordsville (20-10) vs. Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (10-14)
Championship = 7 p.m.

South Spencer
No. 5 Evansville Memorial (23-8) vs. West Vigo
Corydon Central vs. No. 3 Gibson Southern (25-4)
Championship = 7 p.m.

Class 2A State Finals

June 13 at North Central (Indianapolis)
6:30 p.m. – Winner at Garrett vs. Winner at South Spencer
8:30 p.m. (approximate) – Winner at Mount Vernon (Fortville) vs. Winner at Twin Lakes
June 14 at Carmel
4 p.m. -- Championship game: Friday night winners.

MONTICELLO (6-4-2003) There were supposed to be three ranked teams here but Hanover and West Lafayette weren't told. If you go back to the start of the season, Griffith is supposed to be here. Apparently, people at Culver knew Culver would be here as soon as they checked out the freshman class.

The state's most impressive newcomer is Jackie Lawrence (22-1), who has pitched every game this season for the Eagles (22-1). Lawrence and freshman catcher Alexia Clay are members of an elite summer team who are more experienced than many seniors in this area. Think about it. If dad is paying $18,000 a year for her to go to Culver Academy, how much cash did pop dish out so she could join traveling teams and play in national tournaments? The word is, Culver has five players off that team.

Culver lost only 2-1 to St. Joseph's. Lawrence struck out 23 batters in last week's 3-1, 13-inning win over New Prairie. The 5-8 right-hander had 19 strikeouts in the 2-0, 13-inning May 10 win over Mishawaka. She is described as having a good fastball but even better control. Her biggest edge is experience. Like Hanover's Amanda Wendlinger, even if Lawrence gets to the state championship game, she will not be in a situation she has not faced during the summer.

Culver appears to be very shaky defensively. They survived four errors in 13 innings against New Prairie which is far too many when you consider the 23 strikeouts. The 21 regular season games indicates that Culver is not a big time program. They did not play the 30 games that Griffith played so they did not do everything they could to get to the state finals.

West Lafayette upset Benton Central to get to the regional and they are paced by pitcher Shaina Loveless (15-6), who struck out 14 against Winamac and then tossed a three-hitter against two-time defending state finalist Lewis Cass in a 3-0 shutout. Here's the surprise. In the title game, West Lafayette coach Gary Woods turned to sophomore Brittany Stanley (8-1) who pitched another shutout, 2-0 over Benton Central (22-5). WL pitching has not allowed a run for 28 innings going into the regional.

WL has only two starters who are not freshmen or sophomores although that may change if Alicia Spack can return. Spack, WL's leading hitter, missed the entire sectional with a thumb injury. She reportedly will try to play this week.

Griffith and Hanover were rained out this season and did not play. The Panthers eliminated HC from the state tournament at the sectional level two years ago and the two teams played a 15-inning scoreless tie three years ago.

Griffith has played three errorless games in a row leading into the regional and that's a reversal of fortune. The Panthers have been awful defensively, making five errors against Munster, nine against Bishop Noll and six against Morton.

But since a 3-2 loss to Lake Central on May 16, Griffith has won six in a row and played a bit better. Wins by scores of 7-4 and 7-5 at the sectional aren't comforting but the Panthers are in regional play for the third time in five years. They were a state finalist in 2000, led by the same catcher they have now, all-area senior Nikki Clarkson. Coach Michelle (Castillo) Powers was also a state finalist in the late 80s.

Griffith will put the ball in play and that will test Hanover's new found prowess defensively. The Lady Cats, especially second baseman Jacklyn Kienzle were spectacular on defense against top-ranked Andrean in a 1-0, eight-inning shutout in the Andrean Sectional title game.

No one is pitching better than Amanda Wendlinger (21-5). Wendlinger has pitched five consecutive shutouts. The 5-7 sophomore right-hander, like Lawrence, has far more experience than older pitchers. In 2003, Amanda had 25 complete games, 17 shutouts and 272 strikeouts in 160 innings. The only time Wendlinger did not pitch a shutout in her last eight games was when HC lost 3-0 to 3A state champ Lake Central and Brooke Baker.

Bess Copak had two base hits off Andrean star Katie Sheaks (20-2-1) and if HC can get runners on base for her and Wendlinger, they could score the few runs they need to win.

HC has the advantage of familiarity. The Lady Cats are making their fourth trip to play in Monticello in the last two seasons and they beat Morton 2-0 in the regional semifinals last year. There is no home team for the first game as two Lake County teams will meet in White County. The winner of this game will win the regional title.

I like Culver to beat West Lafayette 1-0 and Griffith to stop Hanover 3-2.

The Panthers will then beat Culver 4-2 to win their third regional championship. They could see upset winner Bishop Chatard in the state semifinals on June 13.

Class A REGIONALS

Whiting
South Central (Union Mills) (20-8) vs. Pioneer
Winner at Whiting (Hebron faces Whiting Wednesday night) vs. Eastside (29-2)
Championship = 7 p.m.

Eastern (Greentown)
Clinton Prairie (25-6) vs. Southern Wells
Eastern (Greentown) (27-4) vs. Shenandoah (22-6)
Championship = 7 p.m.

Riverton Parke
No. 9 Riverton Parke (26-6) vs. Winner at Monrovia
No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran vs. North Central (Farmersburg) (21-5)
Championship = 7 p.m.

Forest Park
Milan (12-10) vs. No. 3 Tecumseh (22-4)
South Knox vs. No. 10 Clarksville (25-6)
Championship = 7 p.m.

Class A State Finals

June 13 at Hamilton Southeastern
6:30 p.m. – Winner at Forest Park vs. Winner at Riverton Parke
8:30 p.m. (approximate) – Winner at Whiting vs. Winner at Eastern (Greentown)
June 14 at Carmel
1 p.m. -- Championship game: Friday night winners.