Bulldogs beat #1-ranked Valparaiso in classic DAC early season showdown, 2-1

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Valparaiso (11-2)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	2
CROWN POINT (10-2)	0	0	0	1	1	0	-	2	5	1

4-29-2003 at CROWN POINT, cloudy, 54 degrees
WP - Adam Vetter (4-0) CG No. 4, 4K, 6 walks
LP - Jeff Samardzija (3-2) CG No. 2, 3K, 1 walk

Valparaiso (2 singles, 6 walks)
Doug Lang (VHS) Bunt, RBI
Mike Gildien (VHS) Single, walk

CROWN POINT (Triple, 4 singles, stolen base)
Chad Pierce (CP) 2 singles, stolen base
Kevin Vandas (CP) Triple, single
Craig Horvat (CP) Sac. Fly, RBI, single

CROWN POINT (4-29-2003) - This felt like a championship game. Two tall fireballing pitchers throwing 100 miles an hour. The big, strong intimidating defending champions from a far away land showing up on a cold, gray day to take on the high-flying home team in front of a big crowd.

Okay, the truth is, there are no baseball championship games in April. The big strong team was from Valparaiso, only about 15 miles away. Everybody on the Crown Point side was familiar with them. 6-foot-4 Jeff Samardzija and 6-foot-3 Adam Vetter both only occasionally approach 90 miles an hour. And the big 'crowd' only sounded big. It was about 150 people wrapped up in winter jackets and blankets.

But it 'felt' like a championship game. Years from now, we can all lie about the details. The classic confrontation included a classic final score, Crown Point winning 2-1 in a Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) feature game last Tuesday out west of the old Crown Point high school.

"This was definitely a big game," Crown Point's Vetter would say later. "I was definitely looking forward to pitching against him (Samardzija). Most of us knew about the state rankings (Valpo was number one). "

Those of us watching certainly did. Though the DAC showdown lacked offensive fireworks, the home crowd spared no voice rooting the home team on to as significant a victory as you can have before the state tournament.

With Chad Pierce, scoring on a wild pitch and a wild throw in the third inning and Kevin Vandas scoring on a triple and Craig Horvat's sacrifice fly in the fourth, the Bulldogs (10-2, 4-1 DAC) nipped the defending DAC champion Vikings (11-2, 3-2), who were the state's number one Class 4A team for the second week in a row.

"I was very impressed with our guys," said first year CP coach Steve Strayer. "I was very impressed with our guys. We had to make some big plays at the end and we made them. Adam lost his head a little in the sixth inning but he came back strong in the seventh. He had a swagger out there and he finished strong."

With CP ahead 2-0, Vetter, who had won every start this season, walked Viking seniors Mike Gildein and Nick Windsor. After a balk moved runners to second and third, Doug Lang bunted home the run to make it 2-1. But Vetter was able to retire the final five Valpo hitters to end the game.

"That's the first time we've seen Vetter," said VHS coach Todd Coffin. "He did a good job. He throws the ball very well. But we just did not execute offensively. We left too many men on base. We have got to be better than that. We had some backward Ks (baseball scoring symbol for called third strike out) today. You just cannot have backward Ks with runners in scoring position."

Mixing a change-up with his 85-90 MPH fastball, Vetter got a called third strike to end the second and sixth inning against Cole Robinson, who took a third strike with runners at second and third and one out in the fifth.

"We had chances to score several runs," said Coffin. "Against a good team and a good pitcher, you have to cash those in. Vetter did a great job. This is the first time I've seen him live. But it was our own ineptitude, failure to execute the bunt. Failure to know what to do when you're on base. Getting picked off. That's inexcusable."

"Crown Point did what they had to do. They tried to steal third and they scored when we threw the ball away. They got a triple and they got the fly ball to get the run in. That's the kind of hitting you have to have in close games."

The biggest run of the game came in the third inning. CP shortstop Chad Pierce bounced a two-out single to deep short and stole second on a 2-1 pitch to the next batter Matt Cowan. On the 2-2 pitch to Cowan, the ball bounced in front of Valpo catcher Doug Lang and jumped a few feet away from him. Pierce alertly broke for third base and scored when Lang's throw sailed over the head of VHS third baseman Nick Windsor.

"That's what we said," recalled Strayer. "That if we go down tonight, we're going to be aggressive. There's borderline being too aggressive. Chad may have gotten thrown out if the throw is on the dime but we tell the kids, if they think they can make it, then go. It ended up being great for us."

Strayer liked Horvat's at-bat after Vetter's triple. The CP catcher swung at all three pitches from Samardzija, driving a flyball to right.

"His mentality there, that's what we need to do. You want to go up there and go after them. We hit some balls hard but so did they. Both teams were making the plays."

Both tams had a runner picked off base, Valpo's Lang was picked off first on a throw by Horvat in the third inning and CP's Eric Gulbrandsen was picked off on a bunt attempt in the sixth.

You went away thinking you didn't really see the capabilities of the two squads, who had scored 10 runs in a game this year a combined 11 times. The pitching matchup could have been the reason.

The infield looked small with Vetter and Samardzija throwing hard in the descending darkness.

"Whether it was Samardzija against Vetter or (Chad) Pruzin against (Mike) Gildein," said Strayer, "you knew it was going to be a heckuva ballgame. I thought both pitchers did a wonderful job and threw strikes."

"I hope we don't lose our heads after this. Last week we had a chance to take advantage of Michigan City beating Valpo and we lost at Michigan City. It's nice to know we can beat the big dogs. But we have to come back and get focused. You can go down hill real quick."

DOG NOTES: Valparaiso beat Crown Point 12-11 and 5-2 last season. The last Bulldog win over Valpo was a 5-1 victory on May 16, 2000. Chad Pruzin's older brother TJ Pruzin, now at DePauw University, was the winning pitcher that day.

Last week's win marks the first time in recent history that CP has defeated a team ranked number one. It should be noted that this latest 'big April' for Crown Point baseball means absolutely nothing.

CP was 10-4 in 1999 but they ended at 18-11 losing the sectional championship game 12-2 to Highland. Crown Point was 11-2 in 2000 but they finished at 22-6, losing the sectional title game 11-6 to Lake Central. The Bulldogs were 7-3 in 2001 but they finished at 15-12-1 after a 6-4 loss to Merrillville in the sectional title game.

Last season, the Bulldogs were 6-3 and had a 6-0 lead on Chesterton in their 10th game. CP made five errors that day, lost 7-6 and finished 13-12, losing in the sectional quarterfinals. The Crown Point - Valparaiso rematch is Tuesday, May 20.

Vetter, still an underdeveloped prospect at 6-3, 170, is almost a certainty to be drafted in the pro baseball draft in June but he sounds like he wants to go to college. At this late date, he does not know where.

"I'm still totally undecided," he admitted last week. "I'm waiting to see what kind of season I have. It's getting down to it, though. I'm pretty open on where I go. I just want to play."

Crown Point (10-4, 4-2 DAC)
Head Coach Steve Strayer - 2002: 13-12-1 - DAC Games in CAPS

4-7: (Snow) Hammond
4-8: (Cold) at Gavit (4-6)
4-10: 19-1 (5 innings) at Highland (9-3)
4-11: 8-0 Morton (4-6)
4-15: 13-2 (6 innings) MERRILLVILLE (6-5)
4-16: 8-1 Hebron (4-3)
4-17: 10-1 LaPORTE (9-4)
4-19: 3-2 Griffith (4-9)
4-21: 5-7 at MICHIGAN CITY (7-4)
4-23: 16-3 at PORTAGE (7-6)
4-25: 11-0 (6 innings) at HOBART (6-7)

Munster Invitational
4-26: 2-4 at Munster (8-3)
4-26: 13-0 (5 innings) Merrillville (6-6) 3rd place

4-29: 2-1 VALPARAISO (10-2)

5-1 (Th) CHESTERTON (6-6) 4:30 p.m.
5-2 (F) at Lake Central (10-3) 4:30 p.m.
5-5 (M) at MERRILLVILLE (6-6) 4:30 p.m.
5-7 (W) at LaPORTE (9-4) 4:45 p.m.
5-9 (F) MICHIGAN CITY (8-4) 4:45 p.m.
5-13 (Tu) PORTAGE (5-7) 4:30 p.m.
5-15 (Th) HOBART (5-8) 4:30 p.m.
5-17 (S) Munster (10-3) 4:30 p.m.
5-20 (Tu) at VALPARAISO (10-2) 4:30 p.m.
5-21 (W) Lake Central (10-3) 4:30 p.m.
5-22 (Th) at CHESTERTON (6-6) 4:30 p.m.
5-27 (Tu) Lowell (11-3) 4:30 p.m.
5-29 (Th) Clark (9-2) 4:30 p.m.

MERRILLVILLE (4A) SECTIONAL
6-2 (M) quarterfinals - 5 p.m.
6-3 (Tu) quarterfinals - 5 p.m.
6-6 (F) semifinals - 5 p.m.
6-7 (S) championship (TBA)

South Bend (4A) REGIONAL
6-14 (S) semifinals - 10 a.m.
6-14 (S) championship - 7 p.m.

2003 STATE Baseball FINALS
6-20 (F) 4A semifinals - TBA
6-21 (S) 4A championship - TBA

CROWN POINT STATISTICS (11 games)

BATTING
SS - Chad Pierce        (.485) 16 hits, 33 at-bats....2 HRs, 9 RBIs (10 stolen bases)
3B - Eric Gulbrandsen (.467) 14 hits, 30 at-bats....0HRs, 9 RBIs   (4 doubles, 2 triples)
C - Craig Horvat            (.417)   10 hits, 24 at-bats... 1 HR, 10 RBIs (3 stolen bases)
1B - Kevin Vandas        (..400)   12 hits, 30 at-bats.... 1 HR, 14 RBIs (3 stolen bases)
P-RF - Brian Sparks      (.333)   11 hits, 33 at-bats.... 1 HR, 9 RBIs   (3 stolen bases)
P-RF - Adam Vetter      (.313)    10 hits, 32 at-bats.... 0 HRs, 9 RBIs (3 stolen bases)
2B - David Clayton      (.273)     6 hits, 22 at-bats.....0 HRs, 4 RBIs (3 stolen bases)

PITCHERS
Adam Vetter (3-0, 0.70) 20 innings, 12 hits, 17 Ks, 8 walks
Chad Pruzin   (2-1, 0.84) 16.7 innings, 12 hits, 22Ks, 3 walks
Brian Sparks (2-0, 2.33) 9 innings, 7 hits, 8Ks, 2 walks
Mike Schultz (1-1, 2.50) 14 innings, 8 hits, 9Ks, 5 walks
Dave Guenther (1-0, 2.33) 10.3 innings, 4 hits, 9Ks, 3 walks (1 save)