Northwest Indiana's Magnificent-7,  High School 'Renegade' 2015 Poll and A Look Ahead to the Top-5 for 2016 6-25-2015
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

Madison Blythe (23) Hannah Grady (11) and Alex Hickey (26) after LC's 2-1 won over CP on 6/02/2015. Crown Point and Lake Central have won the last two Class 4A regional championships. Odds are it will be one or the other again in 2016. (Photo by Mark Smith)

CROWN POINT (6-20-2015) While Lake Central lost the Class 3A state championship game 6-2 to Center Grove and Boone Grove lost the 2A state final 3-0 to North Central, it would be hard to find many who didn't think that Crown Point wasn't the top team. The Lady Bulldogs lost three times, 2-0 to Penn, 1-0 to Portage and 2-1 in the regional to Lake Central and won 29 other games.

You never know who is coming in to what school, but as things stand now, the main story for 2016 will be again "How far will CP go this time?" They will be ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the state in Class 4A to start the year.

In NW Indiana, next up will be Hanover Central (22-11). Playing a team with five freshmen starters in 2014, HC won sectional and regional titles and lost to Leo 3-0 at the 3A semistate. Playing with six sophomore starters in 2015, Hanover won sectional and regional titles and lost to Leo 4-2 at the semistate. In 2016, with all due respect to everybody else in 3A, there's a very good chance that Hanover will win the sectional and regional and I believe Leo bumps up to 4A with two consecutive state finals appearances. So what happens to Hanover next June?

Class 2A out of the north is somewhat of a 'yellow brick road' since former 2A champions Wheeler and Hanover Central moved up to 3A. It's the easiest path to the state finals. Boone Grove returns the entire team from 2015, but Bishop Noll returns the majority of their state-ranked squad as well. Got to be a showdown there. Arch-rival Hebron defeated Boone twice and lost to them in the post-season.

One of the intriguing trends in NW Indiana softball continues. In an area which does not have an overwhelming number of top programs, why do so many state finalists come from one school district? Lake Central has been to the final game five times and has won three titles. Andrean, which draws largely from the Lake Central school district has three titles and six appearances.

Center Grove has won six state titles. Nobody else has more than three. Whiting won twice, largely due to former All-American Mel Dumezich. Class 2A has been a path to the finals. Wheeler, Morgan Township, Hanover Central and Boone Grove have all taken it. But that's not unsual. Twelve non-NW Indiana squads have also won two state titles.

But Lake Central, playing only big schools (no 1A or 2A schools will play them) has won 20 games or more 28 years in a row. And Andrean, with no real feeder system, has won three state titles. There is a parallel in baseball where Andrean has won five state titles in 11 years.

We can pat ourselves on the back until our hands fall off, but the Tri-Town area, while certainly middle class, isn't overly affluent. Obviously the youth leagues in Schererville, Dyer and St. John deserve credit, but only a massive ego seizure would allow anybody to think that the youth leagues in those three towns are better than anywhere else in this part of the state. And our weather is a severe set of handcuffs to baseball or softball compared to a place like Jasper (5 baseball crowns) in southern Indiana or even Center Grove in central Indiana.

Exactly why the Lake Central school district basically produces this region's top teams in both baseball and softball isn't totally clear. But you see it again and again.

What would I most like to see in 2016? Id like to see all NW Indiana leagues drop the double round robin. The Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC), the Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) and the Greater South Shore Conference (GSSC) all have all league members play each other twice. It limits where a team can travel and who they can play. And its a waste of time for teams in Lake and LaPorte counties to play home and home.

I'd like to see Lake Central host a multiple team (more than four) tournament at their renovated complex. My idea of a Lake County softball championship to be played on a Friday and Saturday in May would be well received. Crown Point, Lake Central, Munster, Andrean, Lowell, Hanover, Whiting, Highland, Bishop Noll, Morton, Boone Grove and Merrillville in a pool play format would be a major event. The artificial turf at LC would help the scheduling of games in poor weather. Softball has a lower profile than it should in NW Indiana because there are no major regular season events. This would be one.

I'd also like to see consideration of a double elimination at the regional and semistate. At the regional, you could play two games Tuesday and a third, deciding game on Wednesday night. The semistate would have two games Friday, two elimination games Saturday morning and a championship round (there would be, at most, six games) Saturday. High school is the only level of the sport of softball that plays single elimination championship tournaments.

Many teams were hit hard by graduation in June, but let's take a look at five that l think will do more than just survive.

1. (4A) Crown Point (29-3)
29-1 (2014), 25-5 (2013), 25-8 (2012), 18-9 (2011), 27-2 (2010)

CROWN POINT: Crown Point lost 2-1 to eventual state finalist Lake Central in regional play, a very disappointing end to a very good season. CP didn't give up more than three runs in any game all season. Pitchers Miranda Elish (15-1, 0.67, 194 strikeouts/19 walks) and Alexis Holloway (14-2, 0.47, 190 strikeouts/20 walks) combined to pitch 207 innings, allowing 17 earned runs and striking out 384. The CP two girl pitching staff allowed only 74 base hits and 39 walks all season. It will be difficult to do any better than that in 2016 when both right-handers return. It will also be difficult to accurately evaluate why CP has missed advancing to the state finals the last two seasons despite a combined record of 58-4. CP hit .324 as a team, scored 224 runs (7 per game) in 2015 and made just 24 errors in the field. CP won the Duneland Athletic Conference, The CP Invitational and the Lakeshore Michigan Invitational in addition to defeating state ranked 4A schools Portage, Lake Central and Harrison twice each. The spotlight will again be on CP in 2016 when they (and Penn) will start the season in the national rankings. Elish (46 of 96, .479), Holloway (35 of 99, .354), MacKenzie Dunlap (38 of 97, .392), Marie O'Malley (33 of 91, .363) are all back. In fact, only two seniors graduated in June and there is talk of more top players coming into CPHS. Crown Point will be the top team in 2016, but then, they were in 2015 as well.

2. (4A) Lake Central (29-7-1)
20-9 (2014), 23-7 (2013), 26-3 (2012), 29-6 (2011), 21-11 (2010), 25-2 (2009)

St. JOHN: As time goes by, Lake Central will forget their 6-2 loss to Center Grove in the state championship game and will recognize more fully what they accomplished in 2015 when they defeated top-ranked Penn (27-3) twice and second ranked CP (29-3) in post-season play. Lake Central will hand the ball to Madisen Tucker (8-2, 2.44 ERA, 47 strikeouts/20 walks in 58 innings as a freshman) in 2016, but she won't be alone. LC had four pitchers on the playoff roster other than Tucker who did not pitch to a varsity batter in 2015. It's highly unlikely that Lake Central won't find capable pitching in 2016. LC graduates only five seniors overall, so Alex Hickey (32 of 99, .324, 7 HRs, 29 RBIs), Ciera Novak (27 of 79, .340), Paige Carter (33 of 82, .409) and Maddie Blythe (37 of 101, .368, 23 RBIs) all return. The Indians will also be an excellent offensive team in 2016. Lake Central's wins over Crown Point and Penn could be considered upsets and those two teams return all key players from the 2015 rosters. LC and Crown Point will likely meet three more times in 2015 with all the money on the third game. Those two teams will highlight the 2016 NW Indiana schedule. When you graduate a senior pitcher and catcher, your team will be different, but LC has won 20 for 28 years in a row and 2016 will almost certainly be year 29.

3. (3A) Hanover Central (29-11)
2014 (29-5), 2013 (18-10), 2012 (13-13), 2011 (13-13), 2010 (17-7)

CEDAR LAKE: On a smaller scale, Hanover is in the same position Crown Point is. The Lady Cats lost to the eventual state runner up and they return almost everybody. Hanover didn't dominate early in the season and thy averaged almost two errors a game. But the Lady Cats won sectional and regional titles for the second season in a row. Left-hander Marley Hanlon (14-9, 2.02 ERA, 107 strikeouts, 11 walks) had a very good sophomore season keeping her team in most games. HC's sophomore class excelled with catcher Alexis Mokos (43 of 110, .391), left fielder Alyssa Gill (42 of 109, .385, 6 HR, 29 RBIs) third baseman Sophia Barbosa (31 of 86, .360), Skylar Barnett (34 of 101, .337) and Dakota Ward (10 of 32, .323 in 11 games). Barbosa probably moves to short in 2016 to replace all-stater Melissa Balkema, so HC will need a new third baseman. HC, which used two lefties in 2015, also needs a right handed pitcher to alternate with Hanlon. In softball, it's hard to go all-lefty against softball teams, which use approximately 90% right-handed hitters. The Lady Cats also know they need to work on bunt defense, which beat them at the semistate. With all that said, Hanover has its top starting pitcher and 70% of the batting order returning for 2016. Longtime 400-win coach Larry McMillen retires and will be replaced (hopefully) by assistant Amanda Suarez, the former HC starter and former North Newton head coach. The present team knows her well and Andrean will challenge HC in sectional play, but the Lady Cats have every reason to believe they will be back in the 2016 semistate to face probably some one other than Leo (which bumps to 4A after consecutive state finals appearances) for a ticket to the finals.

4. (4A) LaPorte (19-12)
14-14 (2014), 12-20 (2013), 16-13 (2012), 20-9 (2011)

LaPORTE: Looking forward you can't help but think LaPorte's 19-12 is not the record they will have in 2016. Seven of the 12 losses were to Lake Central (29-7-1), Portage (24-5) and Crown Point (29-3). One was 2-1 to (Stevensville) Lakeshore, one of Michigan's top-ranked teams and another was 6-5 to Rochester (18-6). The Slicers were 2-1 against Chesterton (17-9). LaPorte only has three seniors and junior Kassidy Rosenbaum (44 of 107, .411) had 16 extra base hits and freshman Avery Wolfenbarger (31 of 88, .352) scored a team high 27 runs. Add in junior Bailey Severs (31 of 99, .313) and sophomore Kimani Woodard (26 of 85, .306); pitchers Wolfenbarger (5-2, 2.46 ERA) and Riley Galloway (11-7, 2.09 ERA) and the future seems bright. Here's the problem. LaPorte's probably going to have to play Crown Point three times next season as well and must beat them to win the DAC and the sectional. That's the CP team that returns seven starters and both pitchers from a 29-3 team. And that Penn team with five Division I players that was ranked No. 1 most of the 2015 season? They return all five of those girls in 2016. So while any year is a good year to be good, 2017 might be the next chance for LaPorte to have a great season.

5. (3A) Boone Grove (24-4)
21-5 (2014), 17-9 (2013), 17-11 (2012)

PORTER TOWNSHIP: The Wolves weren't one of the top five schools in NW Indiana in 2015 and they won't be in 2016 either. That's the beauty of class sports. Boone won 20 of their last 22 games to take the Wolves' first regional and semistate softball championships. Pitcher Amanda Hawrot (15-4, 143 Ks, 33 walks in 111 innings) is similar to Hanover's Marley Hanlon in that she doesn't strike out many, but doesn't walk many either. She'll keep winning as long as the defense holds up. Sarah Brown (40 of 103, .455) had 18 extra base hits last year as a junior and Taylor Stevens (33 of 82, .402) had 15 extra base hits last year as a sophomore. Hawrot's junior season ended with 39 hits in 95 at bats, including five home runs and 35 RBIs. Boone as a team batted .343 with 10 home runs and 13 triples - numbers that are relevant because every varsity player for Boone in 2015 is eligible to return in 2016. Boone won all 10 Porter County Conference (PCC) games, winning the regular season and tournament titles.  You could argue that the Wolves need to play a more difficult schedule, but after they went 6-0 in the Class 2A playoffs, they might say they don't. Here's the trick for Boone in the 'new' IHSAA world. If the Wolves win the regional again, I believe that jumps them to Class 3A in 2016. Boone does not want to be 3A in softball battling Hanover, Griffith and Kankakee Valley locally and teams like (Mishawaka) Marian and South Bend St. Joseph's beyond that.