Top-10 High School Baseball Teams in

Northwest Indiana - Week 4: 4/20/2003

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

1. Valparaiso (8-0)

Valpo appears to be very solid in all areas of the game. Leadoff man Tim Kucharski was 4-for-4 against Portage. Valpo had rallied from 3 or more runs behind to win three times in eight games. The Vikings have come from behind to win six times already. To be honest though, a team this good shouldn't be behind six times in eight games.

2. ANDREAN (6-0)

The 10-9 win over Mount Carmel (13-4) on April 15 was the biggest win of the year so far. No one in Indiana has challenged them after six games. The 59ers, who graduated a lot of their offense from 2002, scored 10 or more runs in five games in a row this month. They lack the pro prospect pitcher that Valpo has.

3. LAKE CENTRAL (6-3)

Lake Central knocked off two ranked teams (3A No. 4 Clark and 4A No. 4 Penn) last week. Brothers Adam and Brett Summers pitched back-to-back victories as the Indians ran a winning streak to four. Jose Mendez and Gary Ruvoli already have 12 stolen bases each. LC has already played Penn (6-1), Lowell (6-3), Clark (6-2), (Valparaiso (8-0) and Highland (6-1) and was 6-1 on the road at the end of last week.

4. CROWN POINT (6-0)

Crown Point faced their first test last Saturday in the 3-2 win over Griffith at Railcats Stadium in Gary. The three starter-rotation of Brian Sparks, Adam Vetter and Chad Pruzin is unmatched in this area and senior Dave Guenther made a successful debut as a late inning relief pitcher against the Panthers, pitching two scoreless innings. The Bulldogs' major weakness, infield defense, appears to have improved with just six errors in six games. Despite 61 runs in six games, CP hitting again is still a question mark. Griffith's Brian Miles shut them down Saturday and the Bulldogs will see better pitchers than him. CP needs a tougher nonconference schedule.

5. LaPorte (6-2)

The most intriguing team in northwest Indiana, LaPorte has no seniors in the baseball program, but that is very deceptive. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Andy Weeks (2-0) struck out 12 against Hobart and soph right-hander Jeff DeMass (2-0) pitched shutouts against South Central and Knox. Freshman Nick Overmeyer is batting .430.

6. Highland (6-1)

Highland won four in a row after an inexplicable 19-1 loss to Crown Point. Joel Schmaal is 3-0 but the pitching, beyond him, is still in doubt. Eric Chappel had three hits against Griffith in an 8-2 win last week and added three more hits against Hammond. They've only beaten two winning teams so far, though. Highland also needs a tougher nonconference schedule.

7. Lowell (6-3)

Lowell is very similar to Clark except that Lowell has a little better hitting and Clark has better starting pitching. Matt Roberts has two wins, two losses and two complete games as a pitcher and he hit two home runs last week at South Newton. But 15 errors in nine games is too many.

8. Clark (5-1)

Clark had only played six games before this week so it's hard to tell much about them. The Pioneers had 49 runs in six games but they also had 14 errors. Six errors against Lake Central was a nightmare. Last week, senior Russ Gould pitched a two-hit, 16 strikeout shutout against Hanover on Tuesday and then pitched a three-hit 10-1 victory over KV with 12 strikeouts on Friday. Senior Joe Anderson was used as a relief pitcher Monday and Thursday. I'm not sure what's going on with the Pioneer pitching staff.

9. Renssealer (5-3)

The Bombers have beaten Lowell and their losses are to state-rated Lafayette powers Benton Central and McCutcheon. Jeremy Rodibaugh, who was 9-1 last year, pitched a three hit, 3-1 win over Boone Grove last week and senior Nate Amsler is 3-0, including a 7-hit shutout of Lowell. Bomber pitching has allowed just 47 hits in eight games. This team has seven returning starters from last season (19-8 in 2002) and it shows.

10. Hobart (5-4)

The Brickies lost the DAC opener 10-5 to LaPorte, but they out-slugged Merrillville 14-9, the first significant Brickie win of the season. They have the ability to be a Top-10 team and they should finish in the top half of the DAC. The loss to Gary Roosevelt (3-1) doesn't look as bad as it did earlier. Roosevelt has one of their better teams.

Others to watch

Griffith (2-6)

I still have not given up on Griffith, despite a poor start. At the start of this week, they have only played three errorless games in eight starts but one was the 3-2 loss to undefeated Crown Point last Saturday. Brian Miles has four complete games but only one win. They'll be .500 by the end of the year.

Munster (5-1)

Munster needs a challenge. They have no wins over anyone with a winning record and they had to out hit North Newton 9-5, allowing 11 hits to a 1-4 Class 2A team. That offense (57 runs in 6 games) covers up a lot of weaknesses. When they start playing four times a week, where are the pitchers?

Bishop Noll (3-2)

What's happened to Noll? How come they've only played five games? The Warriors scored 40 runs in five games but, just like Munster, when they start playing four times a week, where does the pitching come from?

BALL NOTES: Lake Central's 5-3 win Saturday stopped Penn's six-game season opening winning streak. Kankakee Valley is officially a member of the Lake Athletic Conference for baseball this spring even though the school does not join the league until next year. That is not unprecedented. Crown Point's girls basketball team played a Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) schedule before they joined the DAC in 1992.

Gavit (3-3) has either scored 10 runs or allowed 10 runs in all six games this season.

Lake Station had lost six games in a row before they beat North Newton 8-5 Saturday in the first game of a double-header. The Eagles' Nate McClaren struck out 11 in the victory.

State-ranked John Glenn (10-1) lost their first game Saturday, giving up three runs in the seventh inning and losing the second game of a double-header 5-4 to Mishawaka (6-3). Glenn, with all-state pitcher (a Purdue University recruit) Andy Groves (4-0), is rated third in Class 2A. The Falcons eliminated then top-ranked Boone Grove at the regional level last year and they figure to confront whoever survives the Class 2A Lake Station Sectional in June. Groves, who beat Boone 4-3 at the 2002 Jimtown Regional, has not allowed an earned run in 28 innings this year.

Garrett Stemmons had six hits for Boone Grove as the Wolves beat (Chicago) Harlan 9-3 and Portage 13-11 to win the Portage Invitational Saturday. Boone is 4-4 but they've committed 24 errors in six games.

RAILCATS PREP BASEBALL INVITATIONAL

All games: $3 at Southshore RailCats Stadium - 5th Ave. Gary

APRIL 25 (F) Griffith vs. ANDREAN    -   5 p.m.
APRIL 26 (S) Portage vs. Gavit -    12 noon
APRIL 26 (S) Kankakee Valley vs. Hobart   - 3 p.m.
APRIL 28 (M) Gary Roosevelt vs. Valparaiso - 5 p.m.
APRIL 30 (W) Kankakee Valley vs. Bishop Noll -   5 p.m.