2005 - Week-2, Top-10

High School Baseball Teams in

Northwest Indiana: 4-13-2005

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

(4-13-2005) There were not many surprises in the first week of the season and LaPorte, Lake Central, Andean and Griffith got off to fast starts. At the Joe Heath Classic at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette, Harrison's John Lindblom, one of the nation's Top-100 players, struck out four in a two inning save against Terre Haute North. Lindblom was clocked at 96-miles-per-hour by a Houston Astro scout. West Central (6-0-1) moved into the 1A Top-10 against a weak early schedule and Elkhart Memorial, 47-13 in the last two seasons, began the year 6-0.

After some very warm days, rain and cold slowed play this week. Here's our week-2, top-10 teams:

1. LaPORTE (7-1)

25-7 (2004), 22-10-1 (2003), 20-9 (2002) 28-2 (2001)

LaPORTE - The Slicers smoked out 1A neighbor South Central 20-2 Monday (4-11-5) to stay No. 4 in the state and No. 1 in this poll. The Slicers are still looking for a No. 2 pitcher. No. 1 Andy Weeks struck out 10 in a 6-3 win over Jefferson at the Joe Heath Classic in Lafayette.

The Slicers have scored 10 runs or more five times in eight games which is the way to start the season. LaPorte, with eight state titles and 38 consecutive 20-win seasons and 46 consecutive winning seasons, is well on their way to keeping those unprecedented streaks alive.

The Slicers hold the No.1 spot because they are NW Indiana's most experienced team.

2. Andrean (6-0)

27-8 (2004), 26-8 (2003), 27-7 (2002), 25-5 (2001)

MERRILLVILLE - Andrean laid the wood to Penn 5-2 on Saturday after bombing Portage 9-1. Senior Steve Augsburger (2-0) stayed undefeated against Penn and submarine-style righty Anthony Cera posted his second save.

Andrean also smoked short-handed Highland 8-0 on Monday behind an 11-hit attack and good pitching from first-year varsity newcomer Nick Murphy.

The 59ers play Bishop Noll, Lowell (4-15-2005) and Chesterton (4-16-2005) this week. Andrean needs a big No. 2 starter and Brad King (1-0) could answer the bell there. There's a lot of offense here and offense wins in short season baseball. You can get hot for two months and it's over for your rivals.

3. Lake Central (5-0)

24-7 (2004), 23-6-1 (2003), 21-9 (2002) 21-10 (2001)

ST. JOHN - Lake Central went down state and rolled over North Posey 7-6 , Mt. Vernon 3-0 and 19-1 over southern Illinois' Mt. Carmel. Steve Apostol pitched a three-hitter against Mt. Carmel while Ranko Ivetic had two doubles and pitched five shutout innings against Mt. Vernon.

6-5 right-hander Brett Summers closed out for his first save. LC begins DAC play this week after a pre-season that went about as well as it could have. One of the positives about starting the season with the Southern Indiana tournament is that you know the conditions will be better than they are in Lake County in April.

4. Griffith (6-0)

19-14 (2004), 17-12 (2003), 17-15 (2002), 27-7 (2001)

GRIFFITH - Griffith got the sticks out against Whiting for a 10-3 win last Friday (4-8-2005). Danny Lewis overcame a 3-0 deficit and pitched the victory for the Panthers, for whom pitching is a key.

The Griffith boys then kept the lumber coming in a 14-8 win over Hobart (5-3), a game where Mark Hill, Ryan Bridges and Drew Rogowski all had two hits. The pitching hasn't been great, but it doesn't have to be yet.

The Panthers did not face a tough early schedule, but that comes to an end in the next 10 days when they face Crown Point (2-1) and Andrean (5-0). There's not a lot of difference between Griffith and Andrean. LaPorte and LC have the big gun No. 1 pitcher but they might not have all the offense that the Panthers and 59ers can bring to the plate.

5. Kankakee Valley (7-0)

19-14 (2004), 14-17 (2003), 21-10 (2002), 17-11 (2001)

DeMOTTE - KV may be better than first indicated. No. 2 pitcher Shane Byers broke his left hand but he's a right-hander so he'll be back before the season ends. Without Byers (7-2, 4.82 ERA last year), KV still has 11 seniors. But lefty Todd Jepworth (1-0) was strong in a complete-game 6-2 win over Crown Point last (4-9-2005) Saturday.

Lefty Gentry Brown (3-0) struck out 11 in an 11-1 romp over Lowell Monday. But the word is going around that left-handed hitting Matt Dobin, who hit four home runs in three games last weekend, is someone you pitch around if you can. The Hebron native and former Crown Point Babe Ruth and Little League all-star, Dobin was 3-for-4 at Lowell Monday.

Sometimes big numbers are easy to create in KV's small home park (only 345 to dead centerfield) but Dobin is clearly one of those gifted left-handed hitters than comes to a school once in a generation.

It says something that on a team loaded with seniors, Dobin, a sophomore bats third. Rainouts are bad news here because they stress a short handed pitching staff.

6. Crown Point (3-1)

17-11 (2004), 23-10 (2003), 13-12 (2002), 15-12-1 (2001)

CROWN POINT - The really 'Big-3' of 6-3 Jimmy Wilson (1-0), 6-3 left-hander Matt Jansen (2-0) and 6-8 Adam Quinn (0-1) all pitched well in their season debuts although Quinn lost 6-2 Saturday at KV.

CP drops in the poll, not just because they lost to KV, but one pre-season perception has been confirmed.

There's not a lot of offense in the Bulldogs' lineup. Coach Steve Strayer will have to go to the running game led by above average underclassmen (speed wise) Nick Ullman, Jon Sertich, Nick Sarhoff and Matt Ernest, who appears ready to step up as a hitter in his sophomore year and deliver some much needed bat ability.

Sertich was 3-for-4 against Kouts with three RBIs. Adam Quinn had a game-winning single in the 5th inning that started a 5-run rally that was enough to wrap up the win for Jansen over Valparaiso on a windy day in the DAC opener.

The Bulldogs saw sunny skies the first week but there are storm clouds on the horizon as the Bulldogs face No. 2 LC twice, No. 3 Elkhart Memorial and No. 4 LaPorte twice.

CP also faces 3A No. 1 Andrean on April 23 and 3A No. 3 Griffith (5-0) this Saturday.

7. Merrillville (2-4)

16-11 (2004), 7-20 (2003), 21-7(2002), 19-12 (2001)

MERRILLVILLE - Safe to say that the pitching has not kicked in here yet, either. A late grand slam homer gave Boone Grove a 9-8 win over the Pirates last week. On Saturday (4-9-2005), the Pirates split a double-header with Morton losing 9-8 and winning 6-3.

First baseman Alex Ponce was 3-for-6 in the double-header. Highly regarded outfielder Daryl Evans hit his first homer of the year against Boone and drove in four runs. If the Pirates can just hold people to five or six runs a game, the wins will pile up. But the pitchers are going to have to get people out.

8. Bishop Noll (2-3)

21-11 (2004), 16-10 (2003), 20-10 (2002), 14-15 (2001)

HAMMOND - To be honest, Noll gave away a victory over Munster Monday (4-11-2005) when the Warriors led 3-2 with three outs left. I still suggest that Noll has a better team.

The Warriors are almost a mirror image of last year's team when 2004 Noll started 3-8, played horrible defense in April, got straight before it was too late and won state and it was great. (Sorry about all the rhymes. I got carried away.) This is not the same team especially with ace pitcher Ryan Bobos (10-1 in 2004) out until late May. But here could be a team that finishes the regular season with a losing record and challenges for the state title. Don't judge baseball teams in April.

9. Chesterton (3-2)

19-9 (2004), 8-20 (2003), 9-18 (2002), 16-15 (2001)

CHESTERTON - The Trojans survived the Joe Heath Classic in Lafayette with a win over Harrison 8-5 against two losses, 13-9 to Huntington North and 14-4 loss to powerful Jefferson. there are nothing but big schools and tough teams in that 8-team tourney.

Justin Roberts was 3-for-3 against Harrison and Nick Chase was 2-for-4. Basketball star Zack Novak was 3-for-3 against Jefferson, but the Trojans made nine errors in 3 games. It's better to lose to a good team than beat a bad one, especially early in the season.

10. Clark (5-2)

24-5 (2004), 21-8 (2003), 20-5 (2002), 16-9-1 (2001)

HAMMOND - The Pioneers beat Chicago's Washington high 17-5 last week with a 15-hit attack.

The Pioneers dropped Gavit 8-5 Monday in a cross-town matchup with Trent Howard (2-0) pitching a complete game. Clark over Gavit (6-2) is a good win but its hard to judge the Pioneers only against Lake County teams.

the OUTSIDERS...

1.) Valparaiso (0-5)

16-13 (2004), 25-5 (2003), 27-5 (2002), 26-4 (2001)

VALPARAISO - Here's where you have to look at the schedule. Valpo has lost 4-3 to 4A No. 3 Elkhart Memorial 13-12 to Munster, 10-0 to New Castle, 13-4 to Pike AND 5-0 to Crown Point. The Vikings are short on experienced pitching and they just didn't hit in the last three games. VHS was saving No.1 starter Clint Krysa and didn't pitch him against Pike or New Castle, but four errors on defense hurt him in the 5-0 shutout loss to CP. Keep watching here. This will turn around.

2.) Hobart (5-3)

2004 (19-12), 2003 (12-17), 2002 (11-16)

HOBART - What's happened here? After a 5-0 start, the Brickies lost a double-header to Hebron Saturday and were bombed 14-8 by Griffith Monday (4-11-2005).

Josh Fuller had three hits and four RBIs against Griffith, but I don't have a good reason why the Brickies lost a pair of 7-4 games Saturday, except that maybe Hebron (5-3) has improved. The Brickies have a core of veteran players who should hit all year but there's not much pitching here that I know of.

3.) HANOVER CENTRAL (2-1)

2004 (18-12), 2003 (17-11-1), 2002 (9-18-1), 2001 (11-14)

CEDAR LAKE - A good start for the Cats losing only 4-2 to Gavit (6-2). Hanover will have trouble defensively in Crown Point's very large Teagle Field, which will strain the inexperienced HC outfielders. That became obvious very quickly last weekend.

But Zack Wajvoda and Jake Kint did well in their starting pitching debuts. After three games, HC had three complete games.

They need that. There's not much bullpen here. HC will hit more than they did (only 19 runs against Lowell, Roosevelt and Gavit) in the first three games. Brent DeMateo, a transfer from Lake Central who can play several positions, will be a major player this season. The infield of twins Jake and Jon Kint at first and third, Mark Myszkowski and Todd Sheehy at second and short, will be above average.

4.) Kouts (2-4)

2004 (17-5-1), 2003 (16-9), 2002 (8-14)

KOUTS - Lord knows what's going on here. This team has 14 errors in their last three games and one of those was a 6-1 win over undefeated North Judson (3-1-1). Senior Johnny Selman has a hit in every game, but ace pitcher Matt Morris has not won yet.

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