Crown Point Baseball wins tight game, 3-2 over Griffith at Railcats Stadium

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

4-19-2003 at RailCats Stadium - Gary , sunny, 75 degrees
WP - Brian Sparks (2-0) CG, 3Ks, 2 walks (5 innings)
SAVE - Dave Guenther - 1K, 2 walks (2 innings)
LP - Brian Miles (1-3) CG No. 4, 3K, 2 walks, WP

Griffith (4 singles, 3 walks, )
Brian Miles (G) Single, Sac. Fly, RBI
Jim Swienconek (G) Single, RBI

CROWN POINT (5 singles, double, 3-3 stolen bases. 2 walks)
Chad Pierce (CP) Walk, stolen base
Brian Sparks (CP) Single, RBI
Kevin Vandas (CP) Single, RBI
Jake Pierce (CP) Single, stolen base

GARY (4-19-2003) -- Crown Point's 3-2 win over Griffith wasn't a game where either team needed to be especially unhappy. The Bulldogs won for the sixth time in a row and Griffith, off to a poor start, got strong pitching and went errorless for just the third time in eight games. Both of these teams will be fine next month when it counts.

Saturday's game was more about players like Crown Point's Dave Guenther, a first-time varsity player as a senior. In what was really his first significant varsity appearance, Guenther had a career highlight that four years starters would envy, pitching two scoreless innings to earn the save as the Bulldogs beat Griffith 3-2 in Railcats Stadium, Gary's new downtown baseball park.

"It's nice," said Guenther, a 6-3 right-hander. "This is a beautiful ballpark. This was big for me, today. Really big. It's all pretty amazing. I don't think it can get much better than this."

Imagine that your second varsity game (he got two innings in a late season nonconference game against Wheeler last season) is not only as a closer with a one run lead, it's for an undefeated team in a 45 million dollar ballpark. "Coach told me that it would be between me and (starting pitcher Brian) Sparks today. So, I knew I was going in. It really got me up for the game."

Steve Strayer said that he wasn't doing anybody a favor, bringing in the seldom-used Guenther in the game that everybody wanted to pitch.

"Brian's arm was just a little tender," the coach said, "so we put him on a pitch count of 70. Once he hit that number we took him out. We know it's a big game being here at the stadium but we didn't want to take a chance of losing him. Plus, we just hadn't seen Guenther throw and he's been doing very well in practice. You can see that he threw his three pitches over for strikes and that's hard to do in your first time out."

"I wish he was a junior."

Both sides wished the game lasted longer than the two hours it took to play. Griffith scored first when the Panthers, who have defeated only Wheeler and Lake Station, mixed singles by Brian Miles and Jim Swienconek with a walk and an error against Sparks, CP's 6-2 left-handed senior starting pitcher.

Crown Point, which had scored 58 runs in five games, tallied all three runs on this day in the third inning. Jake Pierce and Chad Pierce both singled with one out against Miles, Griffith's senior right-hander. With runners at first and third, Sparks, CP's No. 2 hitter, faked a bunt and Miles threw a wild pitch over the head of catcher Jason Lewis. Sparks then singled to left field to make it 2-0 and one out later, Kevin Vandas singled to center to make the score 3-1.

In the Griffith fifth, Jeff Konopasek and Raul Larios reached base with nobody out and Jordan Buzea sacrificed the runners to second and third. Miles' sacrifice fly scored Konopasek but Jim Swienconek flied out to end the inning.

Crown Point didn't hit well on this day and the Panthers had a chance to tie the game with two out in the seventh inning. Buzea walked and Miles reached on an error by CP shortstop Chad Pierce.
But Pierce fielded Swienconek's ground ball to shortstop and ran to second base for an unassisted force play to end the game.

Griffith has lost three games this month by five runs or more and the Panthers made 15 errors in a four game span. This game was nothing like those games.

"We just wanted to come out and play our style of play," said Griffith coach Brian Jennings. "Against a good team. We didn't necessarily win by winning today as we did by playing our style of play. Our mindset was good today, we played with a good ballclub and we had a chance to win the game at the end."

"Miles is our hard-luck loser. He's pitched against three Duneland schools already. All of our big games. When he pitches, we feel we're going to be in the game and we feel that's our best defensive team behind him. "

Sparks, who also started and won CP's season opener at Highland, said he was fortunate to be able to get the start in the pro park. "It was just my turn in the rotation basically," he explained. "I didn't want to come out but I'm on a pitch count. I've been having some trouble with my arm and I'm glad he (Strayer) kept me in as long as he did."

The attendance was 343, not really a crowd in the 5,800-seat ballpark but more than any high school game so far in the month-long RailCats Invitational series. Fans of both schools kicked back in 75 degree weather.

It would have been nice to see both teams hit some home runs just for the sake of memories down the line but CP actually needed a challenge after some blowout wins.

"We needed this," said Gunether. "We needed a close game. I think it did us good."

DOG NOTES: Guenther said the Railcats field, which measures 400 feet from the plate to the 15-foot high center field fence, is deceptive. "The field is a lot bigger than it looks," he commented, (Lowell star Ryan) Basham's home run must have been a bomb." The CP senior was a little worried because he hadn't pitched much that he'd blow the tight game for his side.

"That was on my mind," he admitted," but I just tried to throw strikes. I had the defense out there and our defense has been playing pretty well. We needed a close game. Pitching in relief is fine with me. Anything to help."

Griffith coach Brian Jennings said that his team should have a better record.

"Our problem is not between the lines it's between the ears," he said. "This is a team that won 17 games last year and the seniors were on a team that won 27 games two years ago. I think maybe I need to change the way I work as a coach. I don't know if you noticed, but I didn't say much of anything today. I just let the coaches coach and I just made the situational changes. I can't hit for them (and) I can't throw for them. I just tried to take the pressure off us today."

CP used Chad Pruzin at second base, a position he has rarely (if ever) played on the CPHS varsity.
David (Clayton) was injured. Chad hasn't really had a chance to play. I like to throw him in there. That way, if we get an injury, I can put him there and he's had some experience. He's had some OK at-bats. He's got a lot of ability."

Pruzin, CP's most experienced pitcher, isn't known as a second baseman but he's OK with it.

"I like it," he said. "When I was younger I used to play third and second. I just wish I could get a hit that last time up."

Sparks got a quick impression on walking into the Railcats stadium for the first time.

"It's a little Comiskey," he said of the home of Gary's Class A independent minor league team. "It's a very nice place."

CP doesn't seem overly excited with the undefeated start, possibly because they have a
senior-dominated team that knows that games in April really don't matter.

"It's been good," Sparks said quietly. "It's been a very nice start."

Griffith's 1-0 lead was just the second time that Crown Point had trailed all season through six games. Hebron led the Bulldogs 1-0 before losing 8-1 on April 16. The game was a CP home game and both schools were asked to sell at least 100 tickets, which turned out not to be a difficult task.

The WJOB-based Region Sports Network (RSN) broadcast the game live and will carry Friday's Griffith game with undefeated Andrean.

Former WLTH (1370) AM and WSCR (670) AM talk radio star Tommy Williams has been named the public address announcer for the RailCats. The Gary Roosevelt grad, who did play-by-play of region football and basketball on WLTH in the mid-90s, now co-hosts a Sunday morning talk show with Chicago radio veteran Les Grobstein on ESPN (1000) AM.

Crown Point (6-0, 2-0 DAC)
Head Coach Steve Strayer - 2002: 13-12-1 - DAC Games in CAPS

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

4-21 (M) at MICHIGAN CITY (3-2) 4:45 p.m.
4-23 (W) at PORTAGE (3-3) 4:30 p.m.
4-25 (F) at HOBART (4-4) 4:30 p.m.
4-26 (S) at Munster (5-1) 10 a.m.
4-29 (Tu) VALPARAISO (8-0) 4:45 p.m.

5-1 (Th) CHESTERTON (3-2) 4:30 p.m.
5-2 (F) at Lake Central (5-3) 4:30 p.m.
5-5 (M) at MERRILLVILLE (3-3) 4:30 p.m.
5-7 (W) at LaPORTE (5-2)) 4:45 p.m.
5-9 (F) MICHIGAN CITY (2-0) 4:45 p.m.
5-13 (Tu) PORTAGE (0-0) 4:30 p.m.
5-15 (Th) HOBART (1-2) 4:30 p.m.
5-17 (S) Munster (5-1) 4:30 p.m.
5-20 (Tu) at VALPARAISO (8-0) 4:30 p.m.
5-21 (W) Lake Central (5-3) 4:30 p.m.
5-22 (Th) at CHESTERTON (3-2) 4:30 p.m.
5-27 (Ut) Lowell (6-3) 4:30 p.m.
5-29 (Th) Clark (6-1) 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