Youth gone wild

Wolves figure to be young, but talented
By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 9:45 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Michigan City baseball is going young.

Coach David Ortiz is excited about it, too.

“Maybe I’m crazy, but I think we have a better team than last year,” Ortiz said. “The chemistry is different. They’re young, but everybody is hungry and coachable.”

There will be upperclassmen manning everyday positions, but there will be plenty of freshmen and sophomores scattered in around them.

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The Wolves’ biggest area of concern is also full of depth, oddly enough. Robbie Coursel, who would be a senior, transferred to a Florida high school after taking the ball in most of City’s big games a year ago.

So, junior Andrew Ray, sophomore Logan Kaletha and junior Danny Lemon will be counted on to fill the gaps. But they won’t be alone.

Ortiz is also high on a pair of freshmen, Ryan Washington and Scott Thomas, who should see their innings on the mound increase as the season progresses.

Another newcomer is one of the team’s seniors, Blaize Kachmar, who transferred from Highland. Ortiz said he throws harder than anyone on the team and will figure into the pitching picture somewhere along the line.

Returning behind the plate is senior Lane Van Sickle, who has experience to burn at the position.

Danny Lemon will see time at first base, but Ortiz indicated “ultimate utility” player Joel Hirsch could play there as well.

Sophomore Tony Lemon will play second base, though he’s in a battle with Thomas at that spot. Kaletha returns to play shortstop when he’s not pitching, but look for Washington to play there when Kaletha’s on the mound. Ortiz thinks that not too long down the road Washington could take over at shortstop while Kaletha moves to second.

Junior Andrew Ray returns at third base, with Washington also seeing some time there when Ray, currently the teams No. 1 pitcher, is on the bump.

In the outfield, senior Evan Doperalski — who didn’t play as a junior — will play in left field and potentially lead off at the top of the lineup.

“He runs like a deer,” Ortiz said. “He’s our fastest kid.”

Hirsch will spend most of his time in center field and right field figures to be a hodgepodge, including Kachmar and sophomore Erik Stevenson.

Ortiz said there were 42 combined sophomore and freshmen who came out for the team, and for the first time in years City will field a freshman squad.

At least early on, the season will be about seeing how all the pieces fit together.

“The young guys need to get their ears wet and get used to the pace of the game,” Ortiz said. “Once they adjust and get used to things, the talent is all there. It’s just a matter of having the confidence.”

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.

Wolves get off to strong start

By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer
1-866-362-2167, Ext. 13869
sports@heraldargus.com
Published: Thursday, March 29, 2012 4:54 PM CDT
SOUTH BEND — As far as opening day games go, Michigan City couldn’t have asked for much better.

Factor in City’s youth and inexperience, and Wednesday’s 12-5 shellacking of South Bend Adams was downright impressive for the first game of the season.

“I wish they could all be like this,” City coach David Ortiz said.

The Wolves (1-0) pounded out 16 hits including six for extra bases as they jumped on the Eagles (0-1) early, giving starting pitcher Andrew Ray plenty of cushion.

Ray was effective, though he had to work out of potential trouble in each of his five innings. He gave up nine hits and four runs but struck out nine and walked just two. The big lead even gave Ortiz to get a look at freshman pitcher Scott Thomas and senior transfer Blaize Kachmar.

“The lead is everything,” Ortiz said of being able to play defensively with at least a four-run cushion for the entire game. “I’ve been on the opposite feeling of that so many times, it’s nice to be on the other side.”

Prior to the season starting, Ortiz was a bit uncertain on how to assemble the starters into a lineup. What he did Wednesday clearly worked as the Wolves wore out Eagles pitching.

In the first inning, Joel Hirsch led things off with a single and was bunted to second by Logan Kaletha. Ray was then hit by a pitch and Daniel Lemon rocked a two-run double deep into left field to make it 2-0. Freshman Ryan Washington followed with an RBI double and senior Lane Van Sickle followed that with an RBI triple. Just like that, it was 4-0 Wolves.

Ray cruised through the first two innings on the mound, though he did allow the leadoff hitter to reach base both times. In each of Ray’s five innings, the leadoff man reached on a base hit.

However, the Eagles didn’t score until the thrid when the Wolves already led 7-0. In the top of the inning, City got runs on a sacrifice fly from Anthony Lemon and back-to-back singles from Evan Doperalski and Hirsch.

Adams finally scratched in the bottom of the frame on Alex Skipper’s two-run single up the middle.

However, City put four more on the board in the fifth, the big blows coming on back-to-back-to-back extra base hits from Kaletha (triple), Ray (triple) and Daniel Lemon (double).

Adams scored two more off Ray in the bottom of the inning, but the damage was already done. City scratched across one more in the sixth on a wild pitch and cruised to the win.

“I knew we’d be young, and we showed our youth at times on the defensive side,” Ortiz said. “But it’s nice to have the hard work we put in during the offseason pay off.”

Wolves earn split

Michigan City's Cameron McFarrin takes the handoff from a teammate in the 400 relay during Wednesday's meet at Michigan City High School. Photo by Bob Wellinski
First outdoor meet has several positives for City
By Zack Eldridge
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, March 29, 2012 3:18 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — So far, Michigan City’s boys track team has only competed indoors.

Mother Nature greeted the Wolves on a somewhat blustery but sunny day in the Wolves’ first outdoor meet of the season.

All in all, City split a triangular, beating South Bend Clay 78-65 but losing 102-53 to South Bend Adams on Wednesday at Michigan City High School. The Eagles downed the Colonials 94-60.

“Without seeing the results I think we did pretty well,” Michigan City coach Willie Henderson said. “It seems like we competed. We did pretty well for the second meet of the year. It’s a pretty new staff and a lot of kids are pretty new.”

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The Wolves’ Kevin Kreighbaum earned first place in the shot put (43-0.5) as well as second in the discus (106-6). In those two events, Kreighbaum recorded eight points for City.

Ryan Jones II claimed second in the long jump (21-0) and third in the 200 dash (23.60).

In the distance running events, Alejandro Miller, only a freshman, placed third in the 1,600-meter run (5:17) and fourth in the 3,200 run (12:00). Logan Doperalski, also just a freshman, was closely on Miller’s heels, finishing fourth in the 1,600 run (5:18.42).

“We did all right, we’re improving,” Michigan City coach Mike Liss said. “We’ve got a bunch of new guys and rookies. They’re starting to understand the race and coming around pretty nice. We trained through this meet.

“We’re looking forward to next week’s spring break and opening up the DAC schedule on April 10.”

Liss said Logan Doperalski was a surprise.

“He’s a freshman,” Liss said. “It’s a new experience at the varsity level but he covered the 1,600 and the 3,200 really well. We’re pleasantly pleased with his efforts.”

Liss added Alejandro Miller was right there with Doperalski and was strong, too.

City’s Envoy Hienz-Hodgson took third in the 110 hurdles (17.94), while Jalen Lewis was fourth (18.30). Cameron McFarrin claimed third in the 100 dash (11.59), and Hienz-Hodgson recorded fourth in that event (11.84). Kyle Neulieb posted third in the 400 dash (55.0), while Anthony Catchings notched fourth (55.49). Hienz-Hodgson earned third in the 300 hurdles (45.09), and Diamond Harvey captured third in the 800 run (2:15). Catchings was fourth in the 800 run (2:26.50).

The Wolves posted second in both the 4x800 relay (9:20.56) and the 4x400 relay (3:55.58). Its 4x100 relay team finished third (49.02).

Bats fail Wolves in loss to Riley

By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, April 2, 2012 11:46 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY – It wasn’t necessarily a matter of getting hits for the Michigan City baseball team Saturday morning.

It was a matter of getting hits at the right time.

The Wolves stranded nine runners on base – six in scoring position – and came up short in a 6-4 loss to South Bend Riley at Wolves Park.

City (1-1) had golden opportunities in the second and the third but couldn’t capitalize. The Wolves had runners on second and third with one out in the second inning and loaded the bases with two out in the third and couldn’t capitalize on either situation.

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“You’ve gotta hit them at the right time – bases loaded, second and third,” Wolves head coach David Ortiz said. “We couldn’t catch all the breaks that we were getting (Wednesday). It was frustrating because we really were hitting some shots.”

Sophomore Logan Kaletha picked up the loss despite pitching four decent innings in which he struck out eight and allowed only two hits. Of the three Wildcat runs to have scored with him on the mound, only one was earned.

Kaletha was pulled due to his pitch count, yielding to a combination of freshman Scott Thomas and senior Blaize Kachmar.

“We wanted to keep him at 75 and he was at about 52 after two innings,” Ortiz said. “We probably pitched him a little longer than we had planned. Almost every year, we have pitchers out for two or three weeks with arm problems.

“Even if it means possibly taking a loss, we’re committed to the plan.”

Thomas allowed four hits and hit a batter in one inning of work, but did record three strikeouts in the inning. Kachmar had three walks and three strikeouts in two innings of work.

Both Thomas and Kachmar were making their second appearance of the year, each having seen action in the Wolves’ season opening win against South Bend Adams on Wednesday.

“I thought they all threw well today,” Ortiz said of his pitchers. “I have all the confidence and I feel like we can throw them in and not have to worry about keeping guys in an extra inning.”

City scored a pair in the sixth inning on a two-run single by third baseman Andrew Ray, plating Kaletha and Evan Doperalski.

Daniel Lemon led the Wolves’ offense going 3-for-3 and Kaletha was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.

Riley catcher James Salmon had what would become the game-winning hit in the fifth inning, a two-run single off of Thomas. Matt Salmon picked up the win for Riley in relief.

City hits the road for a pair of games this week – at Hammond Bishop Noll on Monday and New Prairie on Wednesday – before returning to Wolves Park on Saturday to face South Bend Clay.





Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

Moving forward

Wolves lost nine seniors to graduation, but return a solid core
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, April 2, 2012 11:46 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY – Make no mistake about it, the Michigan City softball team was hit hard by graduation.

Nine seniors are gone, but Wolves head coach Candy Feare is embracing an influx of young players to complement a pair of returning stars in top pitcher Peyton Webb and shortstop Jameka Collins.

Of the 13 players on the varsity roster, only five had varsity experience last season. The remaining eight, however, give Feare optimism that this season can hold some promise in a difficult Duneland Conference.

“I don’t want to say that we’re rebuilding, because I think we’re talented enough,” Feare said. “We just don’t have real, game-time experience. It’s just going to be a matter of getting that experience and getting accustomed to the pace of the game.

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“I think the learning curve will be a lot quicker than what a lot of people are expecting.”

The return of senior Webb and junior Collins will make sure that significant experience will be on the field at any given moment for the Wolves.

Webb has been a starter all four years and will lead a pitching staff that will also include senior Allison Martinez and sophomore newcomer Jaden Lane.

“There’s no doubt that Peyton is going to lead us,” Feare said of her top hurler. “She has put in a lot of hours making sure that she’s ready for opening day. She’s the type of kid that you really can’t say enough about. Her maturity and experience is so nice to have.”

Collins is the lone regular to return on the infield, aside from Webb at second base when she’s not pitching.

Coming off of a winter in which she helped lead the City girls basketball team to a sectional title, Feare said it will be important for Collins to help lead those newcomers around her on the infield.

“Everybody around her is going to be all new,” Feare said. “Jameka will guide the people around her to make the right play. She has the mentality of an athlete and she’s a winner, no matter which sport she is playing.”

Besides Webb, Collins, and Martinez, the other two varsity returners include junior Aubria Smith and Theresa Saenz. Smith will move from left field to center and Saenz will move from the outfield to a regular position at third base.

Newcomers to the varsity include Michelle Newman, who will fill in at first and second bases depending on whether Webb or Martinez is pitching, and sophomore Dakota Leslie, who will be a regular in left field.

Catchers Abby Heckman and Kristen Hixon will both see time behind the plate

Opening today against Mishawka Marian, Feare says she will use the first couple of games to tinker with the lineup and positions.

“It’s exciting, because I haven’t had that in a few years,” Feare said. “We have the pieces, it’s just a matter of putting some of those pieces together to try to figure out the best lineup we have.

“I think we’ve got the pieces for a pretty solid lineup. It’s just going to be the youth and inexperience that we’re going to have to work on and get over that hump.”





Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

Girls tennis conference previews

April 8, 2012 9:24PM

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Updated: April 8, 2012 11:20PM


Duneland

Last year: Chesterton, Michigan City and Valparaiso all shared the title at 6-1, with Chesterton losing to Michigan City, which lost to Valparaiso, which lost to Chesterton.

Team to beat: The Trojans have three of the area’s top players in Bobbi Modesto, Margaret Shinn and freshman Meg Modesto, returning six starters from last season.

Sleeper: Crown Point will try to improve on its 3-4 conference record from last season.

Players to watch: Chesterton — Bobbi Modesto, Sr.; Margaret Shinn, Jr.; Meg Modesto, Fr.; Sunny Lee, Sr.; J.J. Lee, So.; Rachel McCrum, Jr.; Amanda Susnak, So.; Crown Point — Kelsey Ingelhart, Sr.; Amber Hawarth, Jr.; Abby Kvachkoff, So.; Lake Central — Bre Falcone, Sr.; Anna Weber, Sr.; Angela Gerlach, Sr.; LaPorte — Alison Searle, Sr.; Morgan Sandelski, Sr.; Kayla Wurster, Jr., Hannah Barden, Sr.; Merrillville — Lauren Carniello, Sr.; Morgan Lamb, Sr.; Miranda Vega, Jr.; Michigan City — Ashleigh Ellenwood, Sr.; Alante’ Wright, Sr.; Portage — Kacie McGuire, Sr.; Michelle Comerford, Sr.; Lauren Zack, Jr.; Valparaiso — Kelly Kennedy, So.; Caitlin Kennedy, So.; Sonja Schaefer, Sr.

Escape artist

Thomas makes most of first varsity start, Wolves bats power past Clay
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, April 9, 2012 10:02 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Finding the ability to pitch yourself out of trouble is something even experienced pitchers struggle with.

Michigan City freshman Scott Thomas showed that he is well ahead of the curve Saturday during his first varsity start at Wolves Park as he worked his way out of multiple jams in an 11-3 City win over South Bend Clay.

Thomas’s escapes were complimented by a solid City offensive showing as the Wolves pounded out 13 hits on the day.

After the Wolves scored four in the bottom half of the first inning to take a 4-1 lead, Clay rebounded to score two more runs in the second and were threatening to score more with bases loaded and only one out. Thomas would get some help as junior third baseman Andrew Ray fielded a grounder, stepped on third and fired across the diamond for the first of two City double plays on the day.

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In the Colonial third, Clay got back-to-back hits to open the inning, but both of those runners would remain stranded after Thomas retired the next three batters in order.

In all, Thomas forced Clay into stranding nine runners on base. He scattered ten hits, walked only two and had a pair of strikeouts.

“I was happy with the way Scotty responded today,” said City assistant coach Jeff DeMass, speaking for head coach David Ortiz Saturday. “There were some bumps in the road, but he did quite well. Yes he gave up some hits and some runs but he only had two walks and really had pretty good command.

“It’s a big stage for a freshman. He showed a lot of maturity. He didn’t fold under the pressure situations.”

The Wolves offense was solid, led by a 3-for-4 effort from both Ray and senior Lane Van Sickle. Ray’s day included a pair of doubles and a solo home run in the sixth inning, while Van Sickle’s two-run triple started a five-run City fifth inning.

Daniel Lemon was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, Evan Doperalski tripled and scored a pair of runs, and Joel Hirsch and Scott Eldridge each had doubles.

“Throughout the early part of the season, we’ve been pretty good offensively,” DeMass said. “Things might change a little bit when we get into the Duneland Conference season with better pitching, but as a staff we’re happy with the offense so far.”

Freshman Ryan Washington pitched a perfect seventh to complete the game for the Wolves.

City (4-1) will open its DAC campaign on Tuesday when the Wolves host Lake Central at 4:30 p.m.

One is not enough

Michigan City's Jameka Collins watches one of her two home runs fly out of the park during Wednesday's game with New Prairie at Wolves Park. New Prairie catcher Katie Buford looks on. Photo by Bob Wellinski
City falls short against Cougars despite Collins’ offensive outburst
By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, April 12, 2012 9:36 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Coming into Wednesday’s game with New Prairie, Michigan City had scored just four runs in five games.

That makes the six runs scored against the Cougars a veritable offensive explosion.

It wasn’t enough, however, New Prairie used a five-run third inning to hold off mighty Jameka Collins and the Wolves, 9-6, at Wolves Park.

“We’ve scored 10 runs now in six games and Jameka has accounted for seven of them,” City coach Candy Feare said. “We need more than Jameka.”

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Collins hit two homers and was pitched around during a crucial at-bat with the bases loaded. She knocked in four runs but could have done more damage if New Prairie coach Tara Blair had let her.

“This is my first year here so I didn’t know anything about (Collins),” Blair said, noting she was given the scouting report Tuesday. “Even with the bases loaded, we didn’t want to pitch to her.”

In the fourth inning, Collins came up with two outs and the bases loaded. With one run already in, the Wolves trailed 7-3 and Collins already had a two-run bomb in the third inning on her stat sheet.

The walk Collins’ drew wasn’t officially intentional, but clearly pitcher Hannah Mahlka wasn’t going to give the City junior anything to hit. Collins drew the walk to plate a run and make it 7-4. The strategy worked when Mahlka got Aubria Smith to ground out to second base to end the threat.

“I’m ecstatic about her home runs,” Feare said, “but I’m more proud of her to realize they weren’t gonna pitch to her and to take the walk.”

Collins came up once more, in the sixth, and sent a two-out rocket over the fence in left-center for a solo shot, her third of the season. In the seventh, Collins was still two batters away during a late rally when New Prairie reliever Brandee Ptrazek struck out Peyton Webb to end the game.

“(Ptrazek) is actually our No. 1, so we threw her in there with the intention of shutting it down,” Blair said. “It got a little scary, but I was confident she’d finish it.”

The Cougars had 11 hits, six of which came in a five-run third inning. No. 9 hitter, freshman Bria Parmalee, tripled to lead things off and Lexi Buford lined out to short.

New Prairie (5-5) then had four straight hits with Ptrazek’s two-run single being the big blow of the inning.

City (1-5) was left looking for answers all the way around, even with the improved offensive performance.

“I just wish the ball would fall our way a little more,” Feare said. “It’s just not.”



Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.

Over in the first

City hangs tight with No. 1 Lake Central, but four-run first ultimately sinks Wolves
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, April 12, 2012 9:36 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Spotting the top-ranked team in the state a four-run lead in the top of the first inning isn’t typically a good way to start off a conference opener.

The Michigan City baseball team ultimately shook off a rough start but was unable to get back into the game during a 5-0 loss to Class 4A No. 1 Lake Central at Wolves Park on Tuesday.

City (4-2, 0-1 Duneland Conference) saw the Indians send nine batters to the plate in the first inning. After plating four runs, Lake Central (9-0, 1-0 DAC) seemed poised for more with the bases loaded and only one out, but City starter Logan Kaletha began a 1-2-3 double play that averted the threat.

Kaletha struggled in the opening inning, issuing three walks and allowing three hits before the inning-ending twin killing.

In the remaining six innings, Lake Central would get a fair share of baserunners but only managed one run that came in the third inning. Kaletha would go four innings before making way for freshman Ryan Washington, who pitched the final three innings, allowing only one hit.

Three City errors contributed to the Wolves’ struggles, but only one directly led to a Lake Central run. The Wolves also committed a few baserunning blunders that hindered their ability to tap into the five-run deficit despite the Indians pulling ace Jimmy McNamara after only four innings.

“You know going in with a team of seven freshmen and sophomores and a lot of first-year starters, there are going to be some mistakes,” City head coach David Ortiz said. “It’s part of the game and part of the learning of a young team. They are still unacceptable.”

The Wolves had bases loaded in the first thanks to an error and a pair of McNamara walks, and they also had a pair of baserunners on in the third and fourth innings but couldn’t push across a run. City’s Andrew Ray doubled with one out in the fifth inning but was stranded on third.

“We had a lot of runners in scoring position but we just couldn’t get that hit,” Ortiz said. “We definitely had the opportunities to have the game come out a bit differently. It’s just frustrating.”

Lake Central’s McNamara, a lefty who already has a five-inning perfect game in which he struck out all 15 batters he faced last week, allowed just two hits and struck out eight. He had four walks.

Bitterly cold temperatures made for rough conditions Tuesday and likely had something to do with both starters getting pulled after just four innings.

“In the dugout it wasn’t so bad, but as soon as you stood on that top step, it was pretty bad,” Ortiz said.

“But the thing is, it’s bad for both teams.

“I thought it might have actually worked in our favor, keeping the runs down.”

Besides Ray’s double, singles by Washington, Kaletha, Daniel Lemon, and Scott Thomas accounted for the other four City hits.

Lake Central’s Ryan Pachowicz was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and Adam Fulk was 2-for-4 — including a two-run single in the first inning.

City will host Chesterton on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.



Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

Wolves get big win

Michigan City's Evan Doperalski (left) scores the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth as Andrew Ray (right) reacts Thursday against Chesterton at Wolves Park. Photo by Robb Quinn
City rallies late to overcome Chesterton, pitcher Humphries
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, April 13, 2012 10:18 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — The Michigan City baseball team has made getting into trouble and minimizing the damage a sort of art this season.

Thursday night at Wolves Park was no different as the Wolves worked their way out of jams in each of the first three innings, staying in the game long enough to push ahead the tying and go ahead runs in the sixth and come away with its first Duneland Conference win of the season with a 4-3 win over Chesterton.

City starter Andrew Ray quickly found himself in trouble in the first inning as the first three batters he faced reached base, including an RBI double by K.J. Zelenika that gave the Trojans an early 1-0 lead.

The Trojans had runners at second and third with nobody out, but a grounder to Ryan Washington at third turned into the first out when he caught Zach Jenks between third and home. Ray proceeded to strike out the next two batters to end the threat.

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City tied the game in the bottom of the first when Ray reached on a walk and worked his way around the bases and scored on a wild pitch by Chesterton starter Bobby Humphries.

The Trojans again threatened in the second with three straight singles to open the inning, but Kevin Jones was caught stealing and Humphries was picked off for two of the three outs.

Chesterton (4-3, 0-2 DAC) would push two across in the top half of the third – including an RBI single by J.R. Frederick to give the Trojans a 3-1 advantage.

The Wolves (5-2, 1-1 DAC) got one back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double by Daniel Lemon, scoring Ray.

Ray would work the fourth and fifth innings on the mound, pitching to just one over the minimum before getting pulled in favor of Lemon in the sixth inning. He struck out seven and walked three, yielding seven hits.

“We could tell that he was getting a little tired out there and when I asked how many pitches he’d thrown, they said 105,” Michigan City head coach David Ortiz said. “He was a little shaky out there at first but he really settled down and threw well.”

Chasing the run in the sixth, City took advantage of three infield singles as well as a Chesterton error to take the lead.

After Erik Stevenson reached base on a fielder’s choice with two outs, Evan Doperalski and Logan Kaletha both hit choppers that would turn into infield singles. Kaletha’s scored Stevenson and Doperalski stole third and scored when the ball got away from Chesterton’s Zelenika at third base.

Lemon allowed just two hits in two innings while picking up the win. In all, City forced Chesterton into stranding 10 runners on base.

“The pitchers just came up clutch,” Ortiz said. “They got out of tough situations and that allowed us to stay in the game.

“We also minimized the errors and that’s what has been giving us the biggest problems recently.”

Trojans head coach Jack Campbell saw a solid performance by Humphries go unrewarded. The Chesterton starter went the distance in the loss, scattering eight hits and striking out five.

Ultimately, the stranded base runners were missed chances the Trojans could ill afford to miss.

“The way things have gone the last couple of ballgames, we didn’t have a lot of opportunities,” Campbell said. “We went from not having enough opportunities to having too many missed opportunities.”

The Wolves were able to pick up a nice DAC win, something Ortiz credited his team’s leadership for.

“When we were in that situation in the sixth, everybody was up and making noise,” Ortiz said. “I can’t say enough about our leadership.”

By TR HARLAN

Searching - that’s what LouAnn Hopson’s softball team is doing right now.

Thursday night, the Chesterton softball team did just enough to pick up a 4-2 Duneland Athletic Conference victory over Michigan City.

“When you’ve lost four of your last five, it’s important to get a win,” Hopson said. “We’re trying so hard right now to get all the different parts of our team to fit together on the same night. Some nights we hit it a ton and can’t field it. We’ve had nights where we field it and we don’t get any hits.”

Thursday night was a little bit of both.

The Trojans jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Sarah Richards reached on a fielders’ choice. Taylor Bissonnette moved Richards to second and she eventually scored when Shelby Carter reached on an error.

Michigan City answered with two runs in the fourth inning thanks to a Trojan error and a double off the bat of Kristen Hixon.

Richards again started a rally in the fourth by reaching on a fielders’ choice and eventually scoring after three wild pitches. Jordan Wadding later scored when Tymorek reached on an error.

Tymorek finished with two hits to lead the offense after being moved into the leadoff spot for the first time this season.

“Tymorek had a great night for us,” Hopson said. “That’s the first time we put her in that leadoff spot. We have the luxury of courtesy running for her if she gets on and she’s been hot, so we wanted to get her an extra at bat.”

The Chesterton lead grew to 4-2 when Tymorek doubled to score Richards.

Michigan City tried to rally in the seventh when Peyton Webb doubled with two outs and Dakota Leslie singled. Jameka Collins struck out on a high fast ball to end the threat.

“I didn’t want to put the go-ahead run on base,” Hopson said. “If she drives two in and gets on, oh well. I wasn’t real pleased with how many pitches we put in her wheel house, but we got away with it.”

The Trojans return to the field today when they travel to Hebron to take on the Hawks. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Chesterton 4, Michigan City 2

AT CHESTERTON

SCORING BY INNINGS

Michigan City 000 200 0 -- 2 7 4

Chesterton 010 201 x -- 4 7 1

2B -- Kristen Hixon, Peyton Webb (MC); Megan Tymorek ©. Pitching Summary -- Michigan City -- Allison Martinez (6 IP, 7 H, 3 K, 3 BB); Chesterton -- Megan Tymorek (7 IP, 7 H, 9 K, 1 BB). WP -- Tymorek. LP -- Martinez.

Junior Varsity

Chesterton 15, Michigan City 5

Jessica Stacy worked all five innings and struck out three as the Chesterton junior varsity beat Michigan City 15-5 on Thursday.

Allena McElfresh led the Trojan offense with two hits, including a triple, and three RBIs. Abby Canright had two hits and three RBIs. Emily Hamady had three hits (double, triple, RBI) and Alexis King also had three hits and an RBI in the victory.

Different cast, same goal

A new head coach, two returners will try to keep City girls tennis at the top
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, April 16, 2012 9:54 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — There will be many new faces within the Michigan City girls tennis program this season, but there won’t be a new philosophy.

The team won 14-out-of-15 sectionals under now-retired head coach Norm Bruemmer and new head coach Don Varda expects to hold the same standards for success despite returning only two players from last year’s team — seniors Alanté Wright and Ashleigh Ellenwood.

Varda, a tennis pro at Northwest Athletic Club and the Michigan City Public Library’s Director of Marketing and Development, took over the program last summer and has made it a priority to cultivate young talent to surround his two returners.

“Norm has been such a help to me,” Varda said. “He’s been very pleased with how the transition has gone down as well. I want to continue the program’s success and of course there’s pressure to do that.”

*
Wright will make the jump from her role at No. 3 singles the past two years and will be the team’s No. 1 singles player. She replaces the departed Brooke Foltz.

Last year’s No. 2 singles player Lena Carlson transferred.

“I’m really proud of Alanté and she has tremendously improved from last year,” Varda said. “I think she’s going to do very well and win a lot of matches this year.”

Ellenwood will likely return to her position of a year ago as one half of the Wolves’ No. 1 doubles team. Last season, she and the graduated Lauren Palmer advanced to the IHSAA Individual and Doubles State Finals where they fell in the quarterfinals.

This year, she will be paired with freshman Megan Methner. Varda also indicated that Ellenwood may be called upon on to play a few matches at singles.

“She is passionate about every point and the more she rubs off on the rest of these underclassmen, the better,” Varda said. “She is a warrior and a champion.”

Varda describes Methner as a “superstar” who has tennis experience.

Senior Theresa Werner and junior Kaila Gieser are expected to play No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively.

The No. 2 doubles position will be filled by a combination of three different players — sophomore Claire Hirsch and freshmen Kristen Palmer and Dayna Pedzinski.

Experience would seem to be the team’s biggest obstacle according to Varda, especially in a tough Duneland Conference. The Wolves were part of a three-way tie atop the conference last spring.

“When you’re playing at No. 2 or No. 3 singles, most of the girls — especially in our conference — are skilled players,” Varda said. “They are very difficult to play when you haven’t played a lot of tournaments or haven’t played a lot of varsity, so it comes down to experience.”

With so many new faces, Varda sees it as a mixed blessing. While this season will involve a lot of learning, it will also provide plenty of experience to his young players that will return next year — particularly freshmen Methner, Pedzinski, and Palmer.

“The great part is that I will have a solid core of underclassmen coming back and I am very excited about that,” Varda said. “Those three freshmen are going to get put in the fire this year. They are going to battle kids that are a lot older than them and have more experience.

“They are the future.”

Varda wants to make sure the winning ways of the program continues, but he knows that all he will be able to do is prepare the girls as best he can.

“I’m very passionate about winning and I’m very competitive, but at the end of the day, the girls go out there and play the point,” Varda said. “Hopefully we’ve got the girls mentally tough to stay out there and battle when they need to battle.”



Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

Turning the tide

Young Wolves pick up big road win over struggling Slicers
By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, April 19, 2012 3:15 PM CDT
LA PORTE — La Porte’s rivalry with most area teams has been one-sided over the years.

However, 2012 is a different story in the Maple City, and coach Scott Upp knows it. He can see it in the faces and actions of his team’s opponents.

“Teams have a little more confidence coming over here now,” Upp said, “and when we do things to build their confidence, it makes the hill we have to climb a whole lot higher.”

La Porte has certainly got the best of intra-county rival Michigan City over the years, but not Wednesday. City used five extra base hits and a brilliant all-around performance from Andrew Ray to top La Porte 7-3 at Schreiber Field.

*
“It’s great thing to come out strong against them,” said Ray, who got the win on the mound and hit a two-run homer late to break the game open.

“We saw a perfect opportunity to kick them while they were down after (the Slicers’ loss) Monday.”

La Porte did have eight hits, three for extra bases, well above its season averages in both categories. But the Slicers (6-7, 1-3 Duneland) couldn’t sustain any rallies. Meanwhile, the Wolves (6-3, 2-2 DAC) had a couple nice rallies to help put this one in the win column.

La Porte starter Ben Saliwanchik cruised through the first three innings without allowing a hit and was staked to a 1-0 lead after Francis Silfa’s RBI single in the third.

However, the Wolves came right back in the fourth, scratching across two runs — one unearned — including an RBI double from freshman Ryan Washington.

The Slicers tied it in the bottom of the frame, taking advantage of a Logan Kaletha error, but Kaletha, who had a big day, would help make up for it.

In the fifth, Kaletha legged out an infield single to keep the inning alive for Ray’s ringing, two-out, RBI double. Paired with Joel Hirsch’s RBI groundout earlier in the frame, the Wolves led 4-2

“I think we came up big at the times we needed to,” Ray said.

Nick Latham jacked a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead down to one, and that’s where it stayed until City’s half of the seventh.

Brody Kutch came on to relieve Saliwanchik, but he walked No. 9 hitter Evan Doperalski to lead off the frame. After a sacrifice from Hirsch, Kaletha came through with an RBI single.

Then, Ray hit a mammoth two-run homer to left-center to give the Wolves a four-run lead and put the game on ice.

“We’re just not a team that’s gonna catch up from four runs behind,” Upp said.

Ray finished off a solid outing on the mound, pitching a complete game and striking out seven with two walks.

“He’s been pretty consistent for us,” City coach David Ortiz said of Ray. “You can tell the kids play hard for him because he’s out there working so hard.”

The loss made two in a row for the Slicers after Monday’s hard-luck loss at Chesterton and also comes on the heels of the Slicers having won six of eight games. The Slicers are also 1-3 in the DAC, already three games behind leading Lake Central.

“It’s a disappointing start especially when you look at what we could have done against Chesterton and Portage,” Upp said.

Upp also realizes other teams might be looking to take advantage of the Slicers in a down year.

“We’ve had a lot of success over the years against people,” Upp said. “The tides have turned a little bit.”

Ortiz hopes this win against the Wolves’ rival is a sign of things to come. It’s just his second win against La Porte in his fifth season with the Wolves.

“That’s what we live for, man,” Ortiz said. “This has been our rival and we wanted to let them know we’re here and we plan to be here for a couple years.”





Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.

Turning into a real rivalry

By Adam Parkhouse
Home Cookin'
Published: Monday, April 23, 2012 10:46 AM CDT
As far as rivalries go, Michigan City vs. La Porte is about as good as it gets around here.

The schools generally seem to be about equally competitive in most sports over the years. One team might go on a run here and there, but it’s usually followed by a run from the other side.

Baseball is an exception. There’s no questioning who’s been the kings of La Porte County in baseball.

According to records compiled by La Porte, Michigan City public high schools (MCHS, Elston and Rogers) have played La Porte in baseball 186 times. The Slicers have won 160 of those games. That’s right: 86 percent of the time you see La Porte and Michigan City on the same high school baseball field, the Maple City has come out ahead.

Click here to find out more!
As far as rivalries go, this one’s about as competitive as Man vs. Father Time.

But Michigan City fans can’t help but wonder if this week’s win at Schreiber Field constitutes a turning point in this rivalry.

La Porte’s success in baseball is well-documented. No need to rehash it. But for the first time in decades, the Slicers appear vulnerable. This season seems likely to produce the first sub-20-win season in more than 40 years.

Meanwhile, City appears to be on a bit of an uptick. For the first time in a while, the Wolves have stability at the coaching position with David Ortiz now in his fifth year. Remember, he was once City’s fifth different coach in five seasons.

Also, this City team that’s turning heads — Saturday’s ugliness at Boone Grove notwithstanding — is awfully young.

In the game vs. La Porte, City started a freshman at third and second base and a sophomore at shortstop. Factor in a JV team full of varsity-level talent that’s just biding time before getting the call up, and the future for the Wolves looks bright.

I was fortunate to have coached some of these kids over the years at the youth level and have coached against nearly all of them. All along I could tell there was something about this group, and once they reached the varsity level, success would follow.

Obviously City is still a ways away from winning a state championship. That’s not the point of this column, though.

I can remember going to the Schreib for the first time to watch my brother play against the Slicers when he was a member of the Wolves. It’s a great place to go and can be quite intimidating for the opposition.

After all, every time you look at the scoreboard you’re reminded of all those state championships.

For so long, La Porte seemed like a baseball deity, something City could never expect to compete with on a consistent basis.

Maybe that will continue to be the case, but it sure seems unlikely.

La Porte coach Scott Upp talked about how he can tell other teams have more confidence this year to play the Slicers than in the past. This was especially true with Michigan City, whose kids rose to the considerable challenge that is La Porte baseball for just the fourth time since the consolidation 17 seasons ago.

If this win marks a turnaround in the La Porte-City rivalry, time will only tell. But for the first time, City baseball’s present and future appears to be on at least equal footing with its intra-county rival.

It’ll be interesting to see where this heads.



Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461. Follow him on Twitter @LPCSportsGuy.

Upset City

Wolves beat Bulldogs for first time in 7 years under Feare
By Zack Eldridge
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 6:02 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — The jubilation on the faces of the Michigan City softball players after the game said it all.

While it wasn’t a Duneland Conference championship-clinching win or a sectional victory, it felt like something similar. After all, in the seven years Candy Feare has been City coach, the team had never beaten Crown Point. Until Tuesday.

The Wolves got a reliable pitching performance by Peyton Webb and scored all of their runs with two outs, beating the Bulldogs 7-3 at Wolves Park.

“This feels really great to be able to pull out another DAC win, especially against Crown Point,” Webb said. “It was great to see all of us working together and finally everything coming together. And it really showed out there.”

A day after defeating Merrillville for its first Duneland Conference victory of the season, City (6-8, 2-6 DAC) scored three runs in the first inning and broke a 3-3 tie with four runs in the fourth to prevail.

In the opening inning against the Bulldogs (10-3, 6-2 DAC), the Wolves capitalized on a pair of errors to build a 3-0 lead. Then in the fourth, City had four straight hits with two outs to go ahead 7-3.

“I’m extremely happy with our program,” Feare said.

“This is a huge boost to our program. And I’m glad Peyton was on the mound when we did it. We have struggled defensively when she has been on the mound, but today you couldn’t tell that at all.”

The Wolves’ defense committed only one error, compared to four for Crown Point.

In the first, City wasted no time taking advantage of the Bulldogs’ miscues.

Aubria Smith reached base on a fielding error by the shortstop, and later scored on Jadan Lane’s RBI double to left-center field. Michelle Newman also reached on a fielding error, and was driven in by Gabrielle Sheppard’s two-run single to center.

“It’s just the ability to put the bat on the ball and to make things happen,” Feare said. “Their outfield struggled somewhat with our grass and the bounces. It got past them a little bit, and we reacted very well.”

Webb was credited with the complete-game win and seemed to get stronger as the game progressed.

She threw very few pitches in the last couple innings and retired 10 of the last 11 batters she faced. Webb (5-4) surrendered three runs on nine hits in seven innings, striking out none and walking none.

“I felt the run support behind me and I said, ‘You know what, I’m just going to give it my all and I know I’ve got the people behind me to back me up if I mess up,’” Webb said.

City’s offense came through with a four-run rally in the fourth.

Smith had a bloop RBI base hit to right, and the right fielder mishandled the ball, allowing Webb to score from second base. Newman then ripped a two-run double to right, pushing the Wolves’ advantage to 7-3.

“That shouldn’t go unnoticed,” Feare said of Newman’s double. “That was a big two-run double for us, and put some runs on the board. She’s hitting hot right now.”

Crown Point tallied its three runs in the third.

It had five hits in that inning, including RBI hits by Bailey Mores, Lexie Rolff and Abby Skura. It also had runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth, but Webb induced a flyball to Jameka Collins at short to hold the Bulldogs scoreless. Collins caught a flyball as well behind third base to end the game, setting off a celebration of hugs and high fives by City players and coaches.

Perfect ending

City's Ray tosses four-hit masterpiece, Hirsch comes out the hero
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 6:02 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Earlier Monday afternoon, Michigan City senior Joel Hirsch was surrounded by friends and family at a funeral for his grandmother.

A few hours later, he found himself surrounded by his baseball teammates as the hero of Michigan City’s 2-1 win over Merrillville at Wolves Park.

Hirsch managed to float a single just beyond the reach of the middle infielders in the bottom of the seventh inning to score freshman Scott Thomas and send the Wolves to their third Duneland Conference victory of the season.

“I told him, ‘That was a shot!’” Michigan City head coach David Ortiz said in reference to a perfectly placed hit off of Hirsch’s bat. “He started laughing, but it’s all about getting the ball in play.

“He’s been slumping, and with the death in the family, everything said he wouldn’t succeed, but he did. It just shows his character. He’s one of those big leaders that I talk about.”

Thomas had doubled with one out in the inning and moved to third on an infield single by pinch hitter Erik Stevenson, setting the stage for Hirsch’s heroics.

“It never really crossed my mind not to play,” Hirsch said. “I knew my grandma would want me to play. I know she’s up there smiling.”

City starter Andrew Ray quietly dealt a gem of a game, going the distance while scattering four hits. Merrillville’s lone run scored in the first inning was unearned. Merrillville put runners in scoring position twice after the opening inning, but Ray was able to avoid the runs.

“Ray pitched his butt off tonight,” Ortiz said. “Even when he had hiccups, he stayed tough and rose to the occasion. It’s almost like he thrives off of that. He drives me crazy that way.”

The Wolves struggled to push runs across, despite having their own opportunities throughout the game. They had just tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when Logan Kaletha led off the inning with a triple and scored on a single by Ray.

Merrillville entered the game at just 2-11 on the season, but gave worked their way out of their own jams, including a pair of double plays.

City managed eight hits on the game, led by Daniel Lemon going 2-for-3 with a double.

Ortiz was happy that his team was able to put a tough loss on Saturday behind them and find a way to scrap together the runs needed to pick up the DAC victory.

“When you’re struggling and things aren’t going your way, you still have to find a way to battle,” Ortiz said. “I thought we showed that tonight. We stuck with it and made the plays we needed to make.”





Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

Wolves use wind

City blanks intra-county rival on breezy day
By Ken Peterson
For The News-Dispatch
Published: Sunday, April 29, 2012 11:56 AM CDT
LA PORTE – The wind and the cold made it a challenge for both La Porte and Michigan City girls tennis teams Thursday afternoon at Kesling Park.

One seemed to handle it very well, while the other couldn’t.

In the end, it was coach Don Varda’s Wolves (4-1, 2-1 DAC) that walked away 5-0 winners over the host Slicers on a very chilly afternoon.

“It’s extremely difficult and it is extremely cold,” Varda said. “And when you see the wind out there, it is moving the ball on the serves a lot. We had a lot of our balls go long and the girls have to adapt to that. But the wind made it very difficult out here.”

City’s early season success has been a pleasant surprise for Varda.

“We only had two girls that had played a varsity match going into this season,” Varda said. “They are doing extremely well and they work hard at practice. It’s a whole process (of gaining) experience and learning how to win.”

Alante Wright won her match 6-1, 6-3 over Caroline Boger at No. 1 singles while Ashleigh Ellenwood defeated Hannah Barden at No. 2 singles 6-0, 6-3. At No. 3 singles, Megan Methner defeated Allison Searle 6-3, 6-3.

The doubles teams also shined for the Wolves. The No.1 team of Kaitha Geiser and Kristen Palmer won the first set 6-0, lost the second set to Kayla Wurster and Morgan Sandeslski 3-6 but took the super tiebreaker 10-6.

“They battled back and won the tiebreaker and I was very proud of them for that,” Varda said.

The No. 2 team of Claire Hirsch and Dayna Pedzinski defeated Rachel Edlen and Lauren Sterling 6-4, 6-2.

“My No. 2 doubles team, they are learning with experience,” Varda said. “The girls played well and it was a nice win for them.”

The loss was particularly disappointing to LaPorte coach Melissa Pfeifer, who held a closed door meeting in the dressing room following the match.

“It definitely wasn’t the best night for us,” she said. “I’ll give it to Michigan City. Their team handled the wind better than my team did. It looked like we almost had never played in wind before and we’ve had plenty of practices in strong wind. But they overcame it better than my team did.”

Pfeifer was disappointed not in the loss, but in the way her team competed at certain positions.

“I will never come down on them if we lose and we fought out there,” she said. “But I felt that on some courts, we didn’t fight. I don’t get it. I don’t understand the mentality to not go out there and fight. We’re not usually like that. We were just flat on a lot of courts. It is always a good match with Michigan City. They bring the energy and the fight and they did and I don’t think we countered that. I think we were too relaxed on a lot of the courts.”

Pfeifer said a match like this taught her team the importance of being mentally ready to play.

“I am a firm believer on energy and having a strong presence on the court,” she said. “And we didn’t have that on a lot of our courts.”

The Chesterton softball team just couldn’t get the big hit and dropped a 2-1 Duneland Athletic Conference decision in 10 innings at Michigan City on Wednesday.

“We had runners in scoring position in five innings, but couldn’t get the shot we needed,” Chesterton coach LouAnn Hopson said. “When we don’t get the run support, it’s hard to be perfect.”

Michigan City opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first with a solo home run, but the Trojans tied things up in the top of the second. Amanda Dujmovich’s RBI single plated Jill Bohnert.

Things remained that way until the 10th when the Trojans intentionally walked the Wolves’ best hitter with two out. A ground ball was misplayed in the infield putting runners on first and second. A shot into the gap in left-center field scored the game-winner.

Michigan City 2, Chesterton 1

AT MICHIGAN CITY

SCORING BY INNINGS

Chesterton 010 000 000 0 -- 1 9 2

Michigan City 100 000 000 1 -- 2 9 1

2B -- McKee, Richards ©. HR -- Collins (MC). Pitching Summary -- Chesterton -- Megan Tymorek (9.2 IP, 9 H, 10 K, 1 BB). LP -- Tymorek.

Adding to Frustration

Wolves let early lead slip away, fall at home in extra innings
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, May 7, 2012 4:20 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Frustrating.

It’s a word that Michigan City baseball coach David Ortiz has used several times this season, but it never quite seemed more appropriate than Friday night at Wolves Park where the Wolves jumped out to an early four-run lead but came up on the short end of a 7-6, eight-inning loss to Valparaiso.

City committed five errors plus made countless non-statistical miscues that resulted in a promising start end up for naught.

“I’m trying to get them to be confident and get them to make the plays they should be making,” Ortiz said. “It’s the same stuff. It’s so frustrating. We know we can do it, we’re capable of doing it — but we’re not.

*
“Blown bunt coverages, guys going the wrong way — We rehearse those things at practice, maybe we need to do more.”

The Wolves (7-9, 3-7 Duneland Conference) were the beneficiary of four unearned runs in which they parlayed two Viking errors, two hits, two walks, and a hit batsmen into an early lead off of Valpo starter John Olejniczak. City’s two hits came in the form of perfectly placed bunts by Andrew Ray and Lane Van Sickle.

Even scoring four in the innings, the Wolves likely could’ve done even more damage, having the bases loaded with only one out and a 3-0 lead. However, a walk sandwiched between a pair of strikeouts was the best they could manage.

Valpo would counter with three runs in the top of the second off of City starter Daniel Lemon. Olejniczak helped himself out with the inning’s biggest knock, a two-run single scoring Joey Gallinatti and Greg Thome.

City would go up 5-3 in the fourth when Ray singled in Evan Doperalski with two outs.

The Vikings (12-6, 6-4 DAC) took their first lead of the game with a three-run sixth, getting to Wolves’ reliever Ray for four hits in the inning.

Logan Kaletha would work his way around in the bottom of the inning after reaching on a fielder’s choice. He scored after advancing to second on a passed ball and took third and home on wild pitches by Valpo reliever Tyler Ingram.

Valpo would score the winning run in the top of the eighth when Devin Bafia tripled to deep right-center, scoring Evan Lehnen.

While the Wolves struggled on routine plays, two outstanding defensive plays by seniors helped the Wolves get out of jams — one an unassisted-double play by senior catcher Van Sickle and the other, senior Joel Hirsch — playing first base for the first time this season — running down a base runner between third base and home plate.

“You can tell that the older guys are a little bit more confident,” Ortiz said of those two plays. “It’s the young guys. We know it’s going to take time and maturity and experience, but it’s so frustrating when you know they have the tools.

“The game is 90 percent mental and we’re playing with some puppies.”

Ray took the loss in five innings of work, allowing eight hits and four earned runs. Valpo’s Andrew Sykes struck out five in two-and-a-third innings to pick up the win.

A single by Scott Eldridge in the fifth inning was City’s final hit of the game.

The Wolves will hit the road to play South Bend Washington this morning at 11 a.m. before returning home to host South Central and La Porte on Monday and Tuesday of next week, respectively.

Ortiz hopes to figure out a way of getting his team to respond mentally.

“I question where we’re at mentally,” Ortiz said. “They’re obviously not getting it so it’s time for us as coaches to try different strategies to get through to them. We can only complain about it so much.”



Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

Webb, City blank LP

By Zack Eldridge
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, May 9, 2012 9:56 PM CDT
LA PORTE — If Michigan City’s softball team continues to play like this, who knows how far they could go in the sectional.

The Wolves followed their familiar blueprint of stalwart pitching, solid defense and just enough timely hitting to shut out county foe La Porte 3-0 on Tuesday at Kesling Park on the Slicers’ Senior Night.

City has now held its opponents scoreless for 27 of the last 31 innings in its last four games.

“It feels amazing,” the Wolves’ Jameka Collins said. “To know we were struggling at the beginning of the season, we’ve come back a long ways, and beating teams we haven’t beaten in 10 years. It feels great. Everyone’s coming through.”

Behind reliable pitching by Peyton Webb and pretty dependable defense, City (10-9, 5-7 DAC) continues to stay hot in the Duneland Conference, beating Crown Point, Chesterton, Valparaiso and now La Porte (13-11, 5-8 DAC) in the last two weeks in conference play.

“I’m on Cloud 9,” City coach Candy Feare said. “I can’t be any lower than a Cloud 9. And the kids deserve it, our program deserves it, our parents deserve it.”

Webb (9-5) recorded the complete-game win. She surrendered no runs on seven hits in seven innings, striking out one and walking none.

“She’s really seizing some opportunities that we’re giving her,” Feare said of Webb.

“Peyton is just so focused on that mound right now. She’s a senior. She has a belief that she wants to finish strong and she really is. She’s a big part of those 27 innings that we’re shutting people out.”

The Wolves plated a pair of runs in the third inning to support Webb.

Kristen Hixon led off the inning with a single, Webb then had a base hit, and Aubria Smith hit a single to center, which got past the center fielder, allowing pinch runner Theresa Saenz to score from second base on the play. Collins then laced an RBI double to left center, putting the Wolves ahead 2-0.

The Slicers, meanwhile, couldn’t get that clutch hit, and some untimely miscues proved costly.

“I feel sorry for Hannah (Fuller),” La Porte coach Bob Severs said. “She pitched good enough to win and didn’t get a whole lot of backup. We hit the ball real hard at a lot of people.”

In the second inning, the Slicers had runners on second and third with one out, but couldn’t score. In the third, they had runners on first and second with one out and didn’t score either.

“We put the ball in play and they are trying their hardest,” Severs said. “You can’t ask for more than that.”

Fuller was saddled with the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits in seven innings. She struck out two and walked one.

In the sixth, the Wolves added an insurance run.

Gabrielle Sheppard started the inning with a base hit. Later in the sixth, Hixon hit a groundball to second baseman Alexis Botsford, who tagged out the runner going from first to second. But Botsford’s ensuing throw to first baseman Meghan Bunch got away, allowing pinch runner Jessica Toffelmire to score from second. That gave City a 3-0 cushion.

Bunch was a bright spot for La Porte offensively. She finished 3-for-3 with a double.

“She certainly put the ball in play and made the most of Senior Night,” Severs said. “I know she’s got it, they all do. They’ve got a desire to continue to get things moving in the right direction.”

The Slicers recognized their four seniors after the game, Bunch, Fuller, Sam Becker and Kelsee Robinson.

La Porte claimed the junior varsity contest, 12-7.

Wrong side of history

Michigan City second baseman Anthony Lemon makes a diving stop which led to an out to end the seventh inning against La Porte on Tuesday at Wolves Park. Photo by Bob Wellinski

Slicers fall to Michigan City for second time this season
By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer
1-866-362-2167, Ext. 13869
sports@heraldargus.com
Published: Wednesday, May 9, 2012 4:59 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — As Andrew Ray’s long game-winning single dropped into left field to end Tuesday’s game, one team celebrated history while the other is tired of making it.

Ray’s walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh gave Michigan City a 3-2 win over arch-rival La Porte, marking the first time since the 1995 consolidation the Wolves have beaten the Slicers twice in one season.

“This feels amazing,” said Ray, who was also the winning pitcher in both wins over La Porte. “This is the kind of thing I’ve dreamed about.”

Meanwhile, the Slicers are mired in a hisory-making slump. This marked La Porte’s eighth consecutive loss in a season that keeps piling up heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss.

“We’re stuck in the same chapter of this book,” La Porte coach Scott Upp said. “We just can’t get to the next chapter.”

In the second game since calling up a handful of sophomores from junior varsity, the Slicers actually appeared poised to win this game at the midway point after 4 1/2 innings.

Nick Latham’s second-inning homer made it 1-0 Slicers and Ben Saliwanchik’s RBI triple made it 2-0 in the third.

Through four innings, starting pitcher Tommy Snyder even had a no-hitter going. All had to be good in the Slicers dugout, right?

“I don’t know that we’re ever feeling good,” Upp said. “It seems like we find new ways to end up on the short end of the score.”

Things came unglued for the Slicers in the bottom of the fifth. Lane Van Sickle led off with a single and Snyder then walked Scott Eldridge before Anthony Lemon loaded the bases with a bunt single.

After a failed squeeze, sophomore leadoff hitter Erik Stevenson came to the plate with one out. He hit a hard grounder right back up the middle, plating Eldridge and Lemon to knot the score, 2-2.

“I was just trying to stay relaxed,” Stevenson said. “I knew I had to help my team get a hit.”

Meanwhile, it appeared Ray was getting gassed on the mound. He had a rough fifth inning before working out of a big jam and then walked the leadoff man in the sixth.

City coach David Ortiz admitted he considered pulling him, but Ray struck the next two batters out and induced an inning-ending groundout to get out of it.

“(Ray) continues to amaze us with his heart and desire,” Ortiz said. “We’re thinking he’s gassing out and start looking at his pitch count, but he comes back and starts firing.”

In the seventh, it was City’s defense that saved Ray. With two runners on and two outs, La Porte’s Ian Price hit a grounder to the hole on the right side but Lemon made a sparkling diving stop and throw to retire Price and end the frame.

That was enough to set up last-second heroics for the Wolves. Snyder hit Lemon with a pitch to lead off the seventh and Joel Hirsch bunted him to second.

Snyder then walked Stevenson and Kaletha to load the bases before Ray sent a rocket into left field that short-hopped the fence. Lemon raced home to set off the celebration.

“This (win) is great for many reasons,” Ortiz said. “We’ve been slumping and it’s nice to see the kids play to the potential we know they have.”

The Slicers, meanwhile, continue to struggle with runners in scoring position.

“That’s just getting up there and competing,” Upp said. “We’re just not competing when we need to compete.”

Trio of Wolves pitchers stymie Tigers batters

By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, May 12, 2012 4:56 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — During a Friday non-conference matchup, both the Michigan City and La Crosse baseball teams entered with similar plans of pitching multiple pitchers.

The Wolves were able to work three pitchers and the Tigers got three innings a piece from Jimmy Rippe and Jared Dyjak during a 7-3 Michigan City win at Wolves Park.

A Michigan City trio of Daniel Lemon, Logan Kaletha and Ryan Washington held the visiting Tigers to just four hits, but allowed nine total free passes.

“It was a matter of trying to figure out who our pitchers are,” City head coach David Ortiz said. “We know who our 1 and 2 pitchers are, but we’re getting close to sectionals and we’re trying to figure out who is peaking right now.”

Lemon pitched the first three innings and left the game with a 3-2 lead. The two hits he allowed both came in the La Crosse half of the third in which the Tigers pushed across a pair of runs, only one of which was earned.

Kaletha earned the win with two innings of work. He walked two and was the beneficiary of a double play in the fifth.

Washington struck out three in the final two innings, yielding a run in the seventh.

Ortiz said that both Kaletha and Washington have been focusing on their other positions and that Friday was a good time for them to focus on the mound.

“We’ve been preparing (Kaletha) so much as our shortstop, I feel we’ve lacked in preparing him as a pitcher,” Ortiz said. “His velocity has always been there. It’s been his control. We’re working on that.

“(Washington) is another guy that is valuable, moving him around at third and short and first. For as little time as he has pitched, he’s done a great job.”

City (9-11) jumped on La Crosse’s Rippe early for a pair of runs after Kaletha and Lane Van Sickle hit a triple and double, respectively to open the bottom of the first. Van Sickle scored on a single by Andrew Ray.

Rippe retired the side in order in the second and allowed a run in the third when Lemon drove in Van Sickle with a sacrifice fly to deep center field. The Tiger starter faced four batters in the fourth, each of which reached base.

“We were looking at three innings and he said, ‘Hey, I’ll start the fourth,’” La Crosse head coach Brian McMahan said. “We weren’t going to pitch him the whole game. We’ve got the conference tournament next week and I want to make sure that he’s rested.

“At first he was just throwing, then he started to pitch. If he gets in that zone, he can really do well.”

Dyjak allowed just three hits in his three innings of work and helped strand seen City baserunners.

City’s four runs in the fourth included RBI singles by Blaize Kachmar and Evan Doperalski, a bases loaded walk to Van Sickle and a sacrifice fly by Scott Thomas.

For the game, Van Sickle was 2-for-3 with two RBI, Ray was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Anthony Lemon came off the bench to go 2-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base.

La Crosse catcher Sam Culver was 2-for-3 and scored two of the Tigers’ three runs. Dyjak and Tyler Sharp had La Crosse’s two remaining hits.

With the postseason approaching, La Crosse sits at 10-10 on the season. The Tigers have been beaten so far this season as both Dyjak and Bryce Guse have missed time with injuries.

Among the priorities will be finding a way of getting the timely hit. Despite having only four hits, the Tigers stranded nine runners on Friday.

“That’s one thing we’ve struggled with all year — getting runners in,” McMahan said. “The batting averages can be as high as you want them to be, but if you’re not driving in runs when you’ve got runners on — that’s what counts and we haven’t done it.”

City also stranded nine runners on Friday for the game, something the Wolves will try to improve upon this morning when they host South Central at 11 a.m.

Another DAC winner

Michigan City's Theresa Warner competes in a No. 3 singles match against Lake Central on Thursday at MCHS. Photo by Bob Wellinski
City ends conference season with winning record
By Ken Peterson
For The News-Dispatch
Published: Friday, May 11, 2012 5:07 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY – With the tennis regular season winding down, Michigan City coach Don Varda is looking to fine-tune his lineup heading into next week’s sectional.

In their final Duneland Conference match Thursday against Lake Central, City (8-3, 4-3 DAC) ended its DAC portion of the season in style with a 4-1 win at Michigan City High School.

City still has two home matches remaining – this afternoon against Marquette and Tuesday against Highland — plus an away match Monday against South Bend Riley. The Wolves also travel to Highland Saturday for the Highland Doubles Tournament.

The 4-3 mark in the DAC clinched a winning conference season.

*
“I’m extremely pleased with these girls,” Varda said. “They had to fight through a lack of experience and a lot of match situations. Learning how to win a point and learning how to move their opponent around the court. They’ve done tremendously well. They’ve listened very well and they’re learning how to compete.

The Wolves won the match with solid play at all three singles positions. At No. 1, Alante Wright continued her fine season with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Bre Falcone. Megan Methner scored a 6-1, 6-0 win over Angela Gerlach at No. 2 while Theresa Werner picked up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Kate Toth at No. 3.

“Alante is a very consistent player and Megan was again terrific at No.2,” Varda said. “And Theresa Warner is starting to play well now. I am really proud of her at No.3. She has a nice win. It’s all about consistency and keeping the ball in play and these girls are learning that and they are getting better and better at that every day.”

The match of the night at doubles came at No. 2. The team of Claire Hirsch and Kaila Geiser won the first set 6-3, but trailed 5-2 in the second set before rallying to score the final five points of the match to win 7-5.

“They really battled back,” Varda said. “Sometimes you have some adversity. I told them that when they were down 5-4 that they were back on serve and tie it up and the whole momentum (started to) shift. And it did.”

The lone setback for the Wolves came at No. 1 doubles. The team of Kristen Palmer and Dayna Pedzinski suffered a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Anna Weber and Brittany Warzyniak.

Varda said he is pleased with where his team is at and likes his lineup as City heads into the postseason.

“We’ve been able to play some girls at different positions and move some girls around,” he said.

“But I am getting more and more confident about it. The girls are starting to bond real well. I want these girls to go out and have the confidence to hit their shots. I tell them that win or lose, to go out and play your best tennis. And when you walk off the court, hold your head up. And if your best tennis doesn’t get you a win, that is fine. But you go out and play your best tennis.”

In the junior varsity match, Michigan City won 3-2.

Wolves roll to victory over Pirates

Michigan City's Peyton Webb connects for an RBI single as teammate Theresa Saenz watches from third base during Thursday's game against Merrillville. Photo by Bob Wellinski
By Courtney Noble
For The News-Dispatch
Published: Friday, May 11, 2012 5:07 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — The Michigan City softball team came together to pull off a 17-2 win in five innings over Merrillville on Thursday.

Michigan City (11-10, 6-8 DAC) continues to ride the hot streak they have been on for the past two weeks of the season.

City came out scoring in the first, ending the inning 2-0. The hits were plentiful after that. Going into the fourth inning, City was up 8-2.

“We had a mission to win the game,” City coach Candy Feare said. “Not a bad day. We came out ready to win this game.”

Senior pitcher Peyton Webb pitched four of the five innings and received the win. Webb (10-6) had four strikeouts and one walk while on the mound. She went 3-for-4 at the plate. Webb had two runs scored and finished the game with two RBI.

“She’s won six of the games in our conference,” Feare said about Webb.

Junior shortstop Jameka Collins went 2-for-3 with a double while finishing the game with four RBI. All of Collins’ RBI came in the third inning.

Junior right fielder Aubria Smith collected four RBI and three runs scored to go along with a triple.

City recorded their second best finish in seven years with the win tonight.

“Batting did work for us,” Feare said.

Michigan City went into this game knowing they had to play their best. City was scoreboard watching as La Porte faced Crown Point in Crown Point. A La Porte win would mean that City and La Porte would be tied for fifth place in the DAC. Crown Point pulling off a win would solidify a fifth place spot in the conference for the Lady Wolves.

Wolves capture crosstown battle

Wolves junior Aubria Smith (left) beats a throw to Marquette’s Devon Wells (15) on Monday at Michigan City High School. Photo by Scott Allen

Michigan City breaks out the bats against rebuilding Blazers
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 4:55 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — After her Wolves defeated Marquette 15-0 at Michigan City High School on Monday, Michigan City softball head coach Candy Feare said she can relate to her crosstown counterparts.

A year removed from the Blazers canceling its season due to a lack of players, Marquette has yet to win a game, but Feare thinks that Blazer head coach Kayla Smith is doing just fine.

“She’s trying to start up a program again,” Feare said. “Our kids know where they are coming from and we respect where they are coming from. I give credit to Kayla and what she’s doing.”

City got started early on Monday, batting around in the first two innings, putting up six runs in the first and eight runs in the second.

*
The Wolves (14-10) opened the game with back-to-back singles by Peyton Webb and Aubria Smith, both of whom would score on an inside-the-park home run by Jameka Collins. City then took advantage of a Marquette error and three walks by Blazer starter Ari Kredlo to add three more unearned runs in the inning.

In the second, Michelle Newman’s RBI triple and Theresa Saenz RBI double highlighted the inning that sent 13 batters to the plate.

Marquette struggled to get baserunners, getting only a walk to Kredlo in the first inning and the Blazers’ lone hit of the game in the second — an infield single by catcher Shannon Howe.

City pitchers Allison Martinez and Jadan Lane combined to retire the final ten Blazers in order.

“Regardless of the score, I thought Allison and Jadan pitched a great game,” Feare said. “They were nice and smooth.”

The Wolves were led by Webb and Collins offensively — Webb going 3-for-4 with two RBI and Collins going 3-for-4 with four RBI. Collins was a triple shy of the cycle.

While the outcome was decided quickly, Feare felt her team did what it needed to do to win the game.

“We scored a lot, we made contact, we put the ball in play and we made the defensive plays,” Feare said. “We manufactured some runs and took advantage of a few of their mistakes.”

The Blazers, without pitcher Emy Block who was out due to illness on Monday, have yet to complete a seven-inning game due to the 10-run rule, but Smith says she can definitely see improvement in her team.

Marquette had limited experience entering the season and have struggled with the little things, but Smith says they are coming around.

“We’ve gotten a lot better in knowing what to do and knowing how to get ready,” Smith said. “We’re making our own outs and we’re trying to get the lead out.

“We’ve yet to finish a whole game, but they at least know the game now. It would be nice to finish a game. It’s not that they’re not trying.”

With the postseason approaching, Smith hopes her team maintains the positive attitude that has allowed them to improve as players.

“We’ve made a lot of progress,” Smith said. “We just need to keep making progress, one thing at a time."

Timely hitting helps Wolves

Michigan City’s Ryan Washington delivers a pitch to South Central’s Ben Rosebaum in Saturday’s game in Michigan City. Photo by Scott Allen
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, May 14, 2012 4:56 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — After the first three Michigan City batters singled and came around to score Saturday morning, it seemed the Wolves had potentially found a cure to the lack of timely hitting that had plagued them for the past several weeks.

Turns out, those three hits accounted for half of its final total as City built an early lead and a quartet of pitchers made it stick during a 6-2 win over South Central at Wolves Park.

Logan Kaletha and Lane Van Sickle led off with back-to-back singles, and both scored on a single by Andrew Ray. Ray would later score on a wild pitch by Satellite starter Ben Rosebaum.

Kaletha, Van Sickle, and Ray have just recently become the Wolves’ 1-2-3 batters. City head coach David Ortiz said he retouched the lineup a bit to create a spark at the top of a lineup that has been stranding plenty of runners on base of late.

He said that he hopes Kaletha is able to embrace the leadoff position.

“They’re our three top hitters in terms of batting average,” Ortiz said. “With (Logan) being leadoff and being aggressive, he sets the tone when he attacks the ball and drives it.

“It’s easier for everybody else to follow suit when they see him driving it.”

South Central’s Rosebaum would allow one more run in the second inning, but settled down to pitch a scoreless third and fourth. City took advantage of a pair of Satellite errors in the fifth for two more insurance runs, but both were unearned.

For the game, Rosebaum allowed only six hits, struck out six, and walked four.

“It wasn’t his best outing of the year, but it really wasn’t that bad,” South Central head coach Ron King said. “We were originally only going to go a couple of innings with him, but he settled down after the first and threw five solid innings after that.”

Wolves starter Scott Thomas threw four innings of scoreless baseball to earn the win. He allowed just three hits and retired the side in order in the fourth.

In the first, South Central put a pair of runners on as Chance Rowe and Garrett Walter both singled. Thomas got out of the jam, courtesy of a double play that was finished off by a solid scoop by first baseman Daniel Lemon.

“Scott was a little shaky at first,” Ortiz said. “They hit him hard, but we turned that double play and got him out of it. We see that potential in him, but he’s a freshman and he’s got those nerves when he gets out on the mound.”

Andrew Ray, Blaize Kachmar, and Ryan Washington each pitched an inning of relief for City (10-11). The Satellites got their two runs in the sixth inning off of Kachmar when Walter and Blake Geskey hit back-to-back RBI doubles.

All hands on deck

Wolves use three pitchers to get past Tigers
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, May 14, 2012 10:44 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — During a Friday non-conference matchup, both the Michigan City and La Crosse baseball teams entered with similar plans of pitching multiple pitchers.

The Wolves were able to work three pitchers and the Tigers got three innings a piece from Jimmy Rippe and Jared Dyjak during a 7-3 Michigan City win at Wolves Park.

A Michigan City trio of Daniel Lemon, Logan Kaletha and Ryan Washington held the visiting Tigers to just four hits, but allowed nine total free passes.

“It was a matter of trying to figure out who our pitchers are,” City head coach David Ortiz said. “We know who our 1 and 2 pitchers are, but we’re getting close to sectionals and we’re trying to figure out who is peaking right now.”

*
Lemon pitched the first three innings and left the game with a 3-2 lead. The two hits he allowed both came in the La Crosse half of the third in which the Tigers pushed across a pair of runs, only one of which was earned.

Kaletha earned the win with two innings of work. He walked two and was the beneficiary of a double play in the fifth.

Washington struck out three in the final two innings, yielding a run in the seventh.

Ortiz said that both Kaletha and Washington have been focusing on their other positions and that Friday was a good time for them to focus on the mound.

“We’ve been preparing (Kaletha) so much as our shortstop, I feel we’ve lacked in preparing him as a pitcher,” Ortiz said. “His velocity has always been there. It’s been his control. We’re working on that.

“(Washington) is another guy that is valuable, moving him around at third and short and first. For as little time as he has pitched, he’s done a great job.”

City (9-11) jumped on La Crosse’s Rippe early for a pair of runs after Kaletha and Lane Van Sickle hit a triple and double, respectively to open the bottom of the first. Van Sickle scored on a single by Andrew Ray.

Rippe retired the side in order in the second and allowed a run in the third when Lemon drove in Van Sickle with a sacrifice fly to deep center field. The Tiger starter faced four batters in the fourth, each of which reached base.

“We were looking at three innings and he said, ‘Hey, I’ll start the fourth,’” La Crosse head coach Brian McMahan said. “We weren’t going to pitch him the whole game. We’ve got the conference tournament next week and I want to make sure that he’s rested.

“At first he was just throwing, then he started to pitch. If he gets in that zone, he can really do well.”

Dyjak allowed just three hits in his three innings of work and helped strand seen City baserunners.

City’s four runs in the fourth included RBI singles by Blaize Kachmar and Evan Doperalski, a bases loaded walk to Van Sickle and a sacrifice fly by Scott Thomas.

For the game, Van Sickle was 2-for-3 with two RBI, Ray was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Anthony Lemon came off the bench to go 2-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base.

La Crosse catcher Sam Culver was 2-for-3 and scored two of the Tigers’ three runs. Dyjak and Tyler Sharp had La Crosse’s two remaining hits.

With the postseason approaching, La Crosse sits at 10-10 on the season. The Tigers have been beaten so far this season as both Dyjak and Bryce Guse have missed time with injuries.

Among the priorities will be finding a way of getting the timely hit. Despite having only four hits, the Tigers stranded nine runners on Friday.

“That’s one thing we’ve struggled with all year — getting runners in,” McMahan said.

“The batting averages can be as high as you want them to be, but if you’re not driving in runs when you’ve got runners on — that’s what counts and we haven’t done it.

City also stranded nine runners on Friday for the game, something the Wolves will try to improve upon this morning when they host South Central at 11 a.m.

Wolves sweep Blazers

By Courtney Noble
For The News-Dispatch
Published: Monday, May 14, 2012 10:44 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Michigan City’s girls tennis team rallied for another win Friday evening, 5-0, over Marquette.

City coach Don Varda says he is very happy with the way the girls are playing right now.

“We’ve been terrific. The girls played with a lot of heart,” he said.

The evening was full of hard-fought matches. At No. 1 singles, Alanté Wright had another great night with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Kendall Shinn.

Click here to find out more!
Megan Methner finished off strong with a 3-6, 6-2, 10-4 with the third set being a super tiebreaker at No. 2 singles over Taylor Bowen. At No. 3 singles, Theresa Werner closed City’s singles sweep with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Abby Schmidt.

The best match of the night was at No. 2 doubles where yet another match was decided in a third set tiebreaker. The Wolves’ duo of Dayna Pedzinski and Claire Hirsch won the first set 7-5, but Marquette’s Alli Westbrook and Nikki Smith won the second, 6-4.

Pedzinski and Hirsch then rallied back to win the match with an astonishing score of 10-0.

At No. 1 doubles, City’s Kaila Gieser and Kristen Palmer topped Grace Connelly and Katie Zakutansky, 6-3, 6-2.

Marquette coach Jay Adams knew the 5-0 score didn’t reflect how his team played.

“Overall it was all right,” he said. “They were close matches. The score did not show how much effort and heart was put into playing this evening.”

Varda agreed.

“We faced a good team tonight,” he said of Marquette.

9. Michigan City Wolves (16-11; Last Week: NR)
This team made a major comeback. Michigan City was 3-8 including a 10-0 loss to Portage in the home opener. But they won 13 of 16 down the stretch including a 7-3 win over Crown Point, the first MC win over CP in nine years. MC also topped neighbor South Central 4-3 last week behind senior right-hander Peyton Webb. Junior Jameka Collins was 2-3 with two triples in an 11-1 win over Morgan Township in the home finale. MC lost to 4A No. 1 Riley (24-1) to end the season Saturday. The Wolves lost to Marian (29-1) and Lake Central (25-1), but they did beat Crown Point and Kankakee Valley. MC drew a very difficult playoff path beginning with Portage Monday.

APORTE | For Chesterton’s girls tennis team, Monday’s match against South Bend St. Joseph’s was like deja vu all over again.

The lineups were exactly the same as when the two squads faced off against each other two weeks ago, and so was the result with The Times No. 3 Trojans winning all three singles matches to defeat the state No. 8 Indians 3-2 in the semifinal of the LaPorte regional held at Kesling Park.

“I felt confident that if we played the way we were capable of playing that we could prevail again,” Chesterton coach Gretchen Shinn said. “Again, it’s really hard to beat a good team twice in the same season.”

The Trojans (18-2) will face state No. 4 Penn (17-1) in Wednesday’s regional final. The Kingsmen advanced to the final with a 5-0 win over Michigan City.

Chesterton's Margaret Shinn trailed Madeline Minaudo 4-3 in the first set before rallying to win 10 of the final 11 games, including the last eight, to win 7-5, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.

“She needed to gain a little confidence,” coach Shinn said. “I knew what she was capable of, and once she got that set under her belt she could roll.”

At No. 1 singles, Bobbi Modesto defeated Sid Corrigan 6-0, 6-1.

Meg Modesto beat Haley Powers 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2 singles. Modesto trailed 3-2 in the second set before taking four of the final five games.

“Singles really did the job today,” Shinn said.

The Indians (18-4) recorded wins in both doubles matches. In four sets of doubles, the Trojans won just five games.

In the other semifinal, the Kingsmen recorded five straight-set victories over the Wolves (12-5).

“This is a program that is top in the state,” Michigan City coach Don Varda said. “I thought our girls battled as hard as they could. That’s all I asked them to do.”

Hayley Snelson beat Megan Methner 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2 singles.

At No. 1 singles, Alexandra Brinker, one of the top-ranked players in Indiana, defeated Alante Wright 6-2, 6-0.

Katherine Mader beat Theresa Werner 6-1, 6-2 to win at No. 3 singles.

LaPorte Regional

Schedule: Monday, Michigan City (12-4) vs. Penn (16-1), Chesterton (17-2) vs. South Bend St. Joseph’s (18-3), 4:30 p.m.; Wednesday, final, 4:30 p.m.

Possible lineups: Michigan City — Alante Wright, Megan Methner, Theresa Werner, Ashleigh Ellenwood-Kristen Palmer, Kaila Gieser-Dayna Pedzinski; Penn — Alexandra Brinker, Haylei Snelson, Kate Mader, Maddie Lee-Meredith Lee, Cameron Moore-Haley Meekhof; Chesterton — Bobbi Modesto, Meg Modesto, Margaret Shinn, J.J. Lee-Rachel McCrum, Sunny Lee-Amanda Susnak; South Bend St. Joseph’s — Sid Corrigan, Haley Powers, Maddie Minaudo, Alaina Roberts-Darby Mountford, Amanda Hastings-Emily Lyon

Wolves ousted in regional semis

Michigan City's Kaila Gieser (front) reaches for the return as teammate Claire Hirsch looks on during their match at No. 2 doubles during Monday's La Porte Regional semifinals at Kesling Park in La Porte. Photo by Scott Allen
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 5:04 PM CDT
LA PORTE — As soon as the Michigan City girls tennis team won its 12th straight sectional last week, the Wolves knew they would have their work cut out for them in a regional that consisted of City and three other ranked teams.

The Wolves ran into No. 4 Penn in Monday’s La Porte Regional semifinals and saw their season come to an end with a 5-0 loss to the Kingsmen. In the other semifinal, No. 11 Chesterton swept the singles positions to get past No. 8 South Bend St. Joseph’s, 3-2.

City (12-4) entered the season with only two returning varsity players but accomplished its goal of returning to the regional. Not only did the Wolves return to the regional, but first-year head coach Don Varda couldn’t have been happier with the efforts put in by his squad.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with this match today,” Varda said. “Of course you never like to lose, but with these girls, there’s no loss, there’s only gain.

“The thing I was most happy with was that my girls all had smiles on their faces. They were all in very good spirits and I was very happy with that. I thought our girls battled as hard as they can and that’s all I can ask them to do.”

The Wolves’ two gutsiest performances came in the top two singles positions where senior Alanté Wright challenged Penn’s Alexandra Brinker early but eventually lost at No. 1 singles 6-2, 6-0.

At No. 2 singles, freshman Megan Methner took four games in the opening set but ultimately lost to Haylei Snelson 6-4, 6-0.

Wright’s City finale saw her consistent play lead Brinker into several uncharacteristic unforced errors.

“Alanté’s very conservative when she plays and generally doesn’t swing out,” Varda said. “Today I told her to swing out and do everything she can. I thought Alanté played extremely well.”

At No. 3 singles, City’s Theresa Werner lost to Katherine Mader 6-1, 6-2.

City had no answer for Penn (17-1) at the doubles positions, as the Wolves’ duo of Ashleigh Ellenwood and Kristen Palmer lost to Meredith Lee and Madelyn Lee 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles, while Kaila Gieser and Claire Hirsch lost to Cameron Moore and Haley Meekhof at No. 2 doubles 6-0, 6-1.

The Wolves withstood a coaching change and its relative youth to maintain their sectional title streak, in addition to finishing over .500 in the Duneland Conference.

“All the goals were accomplished,” Varda said. “We won the sectional for the 12th year in a row, the girls came in here and played really well today.”

Falling just short

Michigan City's Josh Gondeck throws the discus during Thursday's Valparaiso Regional. Photo by Robb Quinn
Despite a superb effort, MC's Gondeck falls just shy of state; rest of Wolves shut out
By Rob Smith
For The News-Dispatch
Published: Friday, May 25, 2012 10:40 PM CDT
VALPARAISO — Area teams came into the boys track regional at Valparaiso hoping to qualify as many individuals as possible to the state meet. For La Porte and Chesterton, consider its mission accomplished.

The Slicers will be sending three individuals in five events and the Trojans have advanced two individuals and one relay to the Indiana University, Bloomington campus for next Saturday’s state meet.

The meet concluded for the night unfinished, as the pole vault could not be completed due to excessive wind. Final team scores will be made available after the conclusion of that event and the Trojans figure to score significantly in the event as they have top seed and potential state qualifier Justin Zosso and Nick Raffin another contender.

Michigan City did not score in the regional, but they did get a sensational effort out of their stand out thrower.

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The Wolves got a huge effort out of senior discus thrower Joshua Gondeck. Gondeck had a huge improvement from last week, throwing the disc more than 12 feet further than last week.

His 146’2” toss was a huge PR and good enough for fourth place. Unfortunately, it was one spot shy of advancing to the state meet.

The Wolves also saw Anthony Catchings’ season come to an end as the senior was unable to advance to the finals in his event, the 200. Catchings posted a time of 24.23.

Both Michigan City and La Porte saw their 4x100 relays end their season, as they finished 12th (45.85) and 11th (45.25), respectively.

Mitch Hubner led the La Porte effort, winning two individual events, the 1,600 and the 800. Scott Schreiber will also be making the trek to Bloomington with his efforts in the long jump and the 100 and Payton McCoy punched a ticket in the 200.

Hubner cruised to the title in the 1,600, winning with a time of 4:26.69. Battling the wind for four laps was not conducive to fast times, but Hubner did what he had to do to advance. In the 800, Hubner put down a 1:55.71, throwing down a monster kick on the homestretch to take the title.

“It’s awesome. I did what I came to do,” Hubner said. “I would have run faster with no wind, but I’m happy with what I’ve done. Now I just want to go down there and throw down a good time. I’m a couple hundredths of a second off the school record in the 800 and two or three seconds off of Fout’s record in the mile. I’m expecting something big next week, but I’m sure everyone else is too.”

Schreiber may be expecting big things as well after his performance, as he hit the state standard in both the 100 and the long jump. In the long jump, Schreiber leaped 22’4” which gave him third place. In the 100, he finished fourth, normally the place that doesn’t advance to state, but his time of 10.99 was faster than the standard automatic qualifying time.

McCoy also was the beneficiary of running faster than the state standard, as he finished fifth in the 200, but ran it in 22.09, fast enough to automatically qualify.

The Slicers also scored in the 4x800 relay, but finished fifth in the event. The quartet of Hubner, Nathan Gerick, Anthony Didion and Dakota Dubbs finished in 8:05.27, eight seconds shy of advancing.

“I wanted to get our 4x8 down with me, but it didn’t work out,” Hubner said. “It was just too big a gap. I’m happy with how our team did. It’s a much different team than the one that got 5th in the state last year.”

Chesterton will be sending down both the 4x800 and the 4x400 relays. Individually, Joe Troop made it out in his signature event the 400 as well.

The 4x800 overcame a near-debacle when Troop had the baton knocked out of his hand. By the time he recovered it, he fell back to eighth place. Sophomore Billy Biehl ran a tremendous leg (1:56) to get the Trojans back into the race. Austin Palombizio gave the Trojans a lead with about 200 left in his leg before falling off slightly and then anchor Tyler Rusboldt maintained the third place finish and the automatic berth to state.

The quartet finished in 7:57, their fastest time of the year, with a dropped baton.

“Ironically, we practiced what to do if you drop the baton yesterday,” Chesterton coach T.R. Harlan said. “It was an incredible run by all of them. When you drop a baton and still run the fastest time of the year, that sets us up pretty well for next week. I feel bad for Tyler though, he had to run so hard in the 4x8 that he was just gassed for the 1,600, but at least he gets to go down next week.”

The 4x400 relay came in second to punch their ticket to state. The team finished in 3:23.44, just behind a very good Portage squad. Team members included Troop, Archie Sullivan, Nick Barango and Biehl.

“We have three kids that have never run in a regional before in that relay. They just have to give Joe a chance,” Harlan said. “They did. They gave it to him in fourth and he almost pulled it off again.”

Troop’s day also included a second place finish in the 400, where he finished just behind rival Alivn Best of Portage. Troop crossed the line in 49.53, .07 seconds behind Best.

“Joe was running a little tired and deflated from the relay in the open 4,” Harlan said. “He was also running against one of the best runners in the state and they’ve battled all year.”

With the pole vault left and two viable scorers and pontential contenders left in Zosso and Raffin, Harlan’s regional is far from over and may even have a shot at a regional title before it’s all said and done.

“We have high expectations in this event,” Harlan said. “The team title would be nice, but I just want to see two more guys in Bloomington next week.

New Prairie will not be sending anyone to state next week, but they did manage to score five points behind 800 runner Ian Silver. The senior finished one spot shy of advancing to the state meet, coming in fourth in a time of 2:01.78.

“He had a good race and he was really coming on with 200 to go,” Cougars coach Natalie Sandoval said. “It’s too bad he didn’t make it out. He had a good season overall and I’m proud of him.”

Wolves' future bright

By Adam Parkhouse
Home Cookin'
Published: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 7:41 PM CDT
Watching Michigan City’s baseball team in Wednesday’s Merrillville Sectional game against Crown Point, I couldn’t escape a feeling of dread.

Even as the Wolves led 3-1 heading into the fifth, the knot in the pit of my stomach told me the other shoe would soon drop.

Then it did and the Bulldogs ended the Wolves’ season, 7-3.

Pardon my pessimism, but a lifetime as a Cubs fan and follower of MCHS athletics will do that to a guy.

*
However, I don’t come to you today with feelings of regreat or thoughts on what could have been. Rather, I write the following: For the first time in a while, City baseball’s arrow is pointing up.

The team finished 13-13, the first time under coach David Ortiz it could claim a .500 or better record. Also, the Wolves will bring nearly everyone back, with a couple notable exceptions.

Not only will they bring back a very good ground in 2013, but in 2014 as well. That’s what starting freshmen and sophomores will do for you.

I must admit to being ever-so-slightly biased when it comes to this team. My summers spent coaching youth baseball in this town have made me familiar with a number of the kids that are now becoming the face of baseball in Michigan City.

I’ve been fortunate enough to personally coach varsity mainstay Scott Thomas, who was a freshman this season, as well as late-season call-up Marty Komay, who I remember fondly as a bright-eyed 8-year-old who threw harder than any 8-year-old should know how to throw.

I’ve also been tormented on the local diamonds by the likes of two-year starter Logan Kaletha, freshman Ryan Washington and soon-to-be varsity standouts like Chase Covert and Jay Hixon.

Having watched these kids develop as baseball players has been fun for me, and I know the future of MCHS baseball is in good hands

Making it Wright

Michigan City senior Alanté Wright made the jump from No. 3 to No. 1 singles and earned All-DAC and All-District honors in the process. Photo by Bob Wellinski
Alanté Wright stepped into the Wolves’ top spot and helped Michigan City extend its sectional winning streak to 12
By Drew White
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 4:58 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Making the jump from No. 3 singles to No. 1 singles in high school tennis can be difficult, but having to make an immediate impact can be downright impossible.

For Michigan City senior Alanté Wright, having to assume the role of the Wolves’ top player was a challenge she was happy to accept.

Finishing with a 12-5 record overall this season and a 4-3 record in the Duneland Conference, Wright was named to the All-DAC team as well as the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association All-District team.

She has also earned the title of 2012 Herald-Argus Girls Tennis Player of the Year.

Wright was one of two seniors — along with Ashleigh Ellenwood — who were tasked with helping lead a program through the only coaching change it has gone through as long-time head coach Norm Bruemmer retired and Don Varda took over. The change was something that Wright was apprehensive about at first, but soon saw that the coaches had the same expectations.

“Coach Bruemmer had been there for those three years, so I was kind of used to him,” Wright said. “When I heard we were getting a new coach, at first I was kind of mad. Before the season started, I got to know him better and I started to like him.

“They had the same goals.”

Wright said her top goal was make sure that the Wolves extended their sectional winning streak, which moved to 12 after City defeated La Porte in the La Porte Sectional final, 4-1. The streak seemed susceptible after the Wolves had lost all but Wright and Ellenwood from last year’s sectional winner.

“It was hard,” Wright said of having to bring the young replacements up to speed. “Some of them didn’t even know how to play tennis. They stepped up their games.”

Making the jump to No. 1 singles, where she replaced the graduated Brooke Foltz, was something she handled well.

“Playing No. 1 is hard,” Wright said. “I was playing the best and I wasn’t used to that. It was a big difference from No. 3.”

Wright’s strength was being able to outlast her opponents, something her quickness and stamina allowed her to do.

“My whole goal was to keep the ball in play and let them make a mistake first,” Wright said. “You have to keep every ball alive and don’t give up.”

Head coach Varda said Wright’s biggest strides were made in keeping her emotions in check.

“The biggest thing we needed from Alanté was for her to work on her game mentally,” Varda said. “She did that and she did it well.

“She won every match where we really needed her to win and she won the matches she was supposed to win.”

Wright finished with a 33-16 record in her varsity career at Michigan City.

She will be attending Bethel College in the fall and said she will explore the possibility of joining the Pilots’ tennis program.