Thursday, 7-03-2008  -  70 degrees, American Legion at Highland High School, HIGHLAND, IN

WP - Mike Hernandez (5-1)  CG, 8K, 1 walk
LP - Johnny Cristo (0-1)  3K, 3 walks (6 innings)

CROWN POINT (11-9)
Jack Standley (3B) 2 singles, 2 runs scored


Click Here for 2008 Crown Point Post 20 Schedule

CROWN POINT (7-02-2008) - There is often no more deceptive sport than baseball.  You watch a team play for a few games and you make up your mind.  We all know the Tampa Bay Rays aren't going to win the Major League baseball World Series.  I can absolutely guarantee that won't happen.  But they sure do look good in July, don't they?

For Crown Point Post 20, the same team that looked bad in June, looked good starting July, more evidence of that coming in a 6-1 win over Kouts Post 301 last Wednesday night.

"That's the best we've looked all year," said interim manager Sean Repay.  "We knew we could run on them and we were ready to play."

Post 20 (10-9) stole six bases, the first three on the pitcher-catcher combination of Boone Grove graduates Blake Klisaurich and Josh Cobb.  CP left-hander Jeremy Kooi, who is looking for a spot on the Crown Point high school varsity in 2009, had his best night of the summer, striking out seven and walking two.

The bottom line may be that everybody showed up to play.  That's not a value judgment.  I'm speaking literally.  Other than left fielder Evan Nikrin, who was on vacation, all of Post 20's 'A' team (age 19 and under) was on hand to face the Kouts squad, made up of Porter County schools Boone, Kouts, Valparaiso and Washington Township.  Infielders Jack Standley, a Munster graduate and Eric Clayton, a recent CP alum, played in the same Post 20 game for CP for the first time, giving CP a very solid left side of the infield, not to mention a combined three hits, two RBIs and three stolen bases.

"I think they were excited because everybody showed up," said Repay, who was managing because Post 20's regular manager, Larry Samano, the head coach at Hebron, has to sit out this week in accordance with Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) off-season rules. "I think the boys know when everybody's here and they can see they're a pretty good team when everybody's here."

CP scored in the first when Clayton singled, stole second and went to third when Cobb's throw hit the runner.  The first Post 20 run scored on Standley's ground out.  In the second inning, CP's Matt Zurbriggen walked, stole second and went to third when Cobb's throw went into center field.  Zurbriggen scored on Andrew Schrum's grounder to short.

Post 20 scored three times against relief pitcher Andrew Duncan in the third inning, again without hitting the ball much.  Clayton blooped a single to center and he stole second base again.  Kyle Bacon walked and Standley slapped a soft line drive RBI single to center to make the score 3-0.  Kooi hit a long, slicing double into the left field corner, scoring Standley and a wild pitch made it 5-0.

Kouts scored after singles by Klisaurich and Duncan in the fourth inning, but they collected only four hits on a near perfect 75-degree night.

"We knew we could run on Cobb," said Repay.  "He's got a very strong arm, but his throws tends to slice.  We were 5-out-of-6 and the last one was Andrew Schrum stealing third in the sixth and he was on his own.  I didn't give him that sign.  But I was lucky to have the right guys on base, too.  Clayton was on base three time sand he stole three times.  'Zuby' (Matt Zubriggen) was on twice and he stole twice.  Those are two of our quicker guys."

The base-stealing spree was an eye-opener because it revealed an attacking style of play that Post 20 can utilize at full strength.  Sectional rival Hammond Post 168, largely the Lake Central varsity team, is a better hitting team than Post 20 and it's not that close.  But a speedy CP assault like they displayed against Kouts could pull an upset.

Pairings for the double-elimination CP Sectional pit Hammond against Post 20 in the first round on July 22 at 5:30 p.m.  That means that CP can line up right-hander Mike Hernandez against Lake Central star Eric Summers, with the loser needing four wins in four days to survive.  CP wanted to face Post 168 in the opener.

"We're going to rest Mike (Hernandez) up now," said Samano, who watched from the stands.  "He doesn't have anything else to prove.  We play Hammond Tuesday, but we're not going to pitch him.  He'll be ready for the sectional and if we have everybody here, we can beat them."

That prospect looks good.  Clayton is back and Nikrin will be.  Standley, who was an honorable mention all-area infielder for Munster last spring, is the only question.  He's got to squeeze a couple of free nights a week out of his day job obligations.

"He knows we need him," said Samano.  "And it's now or never.  We had a talk and he was here tonight.  When everybody's here, we are pretty good."

"He's got to take a couple of nights off work," said Repay.  "He's a big stick in our lineup.  We need him here.  He's the best all-around player on our team.  I hope he knows that."

Even on nights when the manager isn't allowed to be there.  Repay, who was also the manager in Monday's 15-9 win over East Chicago, hoped to be 5-0 after his week on the bench.  The fact that CP was 2-0 without Larry Samano didn't go unnoticed.

"Larry will go crazy if I'm 5-0," he said.  "But I'm not sure who we have pitching the rest of the week."

Chris Samano, Larry's son and Post 20's second baseman, suffered what is believed to be a minor foot injury in CP"s double-header split with Osceola on June 29 and he hasn't played since.  Post 20 hasn't lost since then, either.

"We can't change the lineup while we're winning," joked Repay.  "We can't put him back in the lineup now."

LEGION NOTES:  CP graduate Mike Hernandez pitched a four-hit shutout on July 3 in a holiday eve game at Highland.  Hernandez earlier pitched a shut out against Lowell.  No pairings have been announced for the 'B team' regional, which begins at Bristol Post 143 in Elkhart on July 18.  CP will face Mishawaka Post 161, Hammond Post 168 and host Bristol in double-elimination play with one winner advancing to the state finals.

Crown Point's 'B' team lost to the Playmakers, a team of area 16-and-under all-stars coached by former Bishop Noll coach and longtime batting instructor Dave Griffin.  The starting pitcher for the Playmakers was Mike Manion, a 5-foot-10 Crown Point high school right hander who made one appearance on the CPHS varsity this past season.  Manion struck out the side in the second inning.  Also on the Playmakers was 15-year-old Mark Pishkur, the son of Andrean varsity coach Dave Pishkur.  It was somewhat of an exhibition game as each side used an 11-player batting order.

"This is what I do in my spare time," said Griffin.  "Most of these kids go on to the (Hammond) Seminoles or the Chiefs.  I have to yell at them a lot.  I see situations a lot faster than they do."

Post 20 heads down to Loeb Stadium in Lafayette Saturday to take on Lafayette Post 11 (14-5) in a 1:00 p.m. Saturday double-header.  Loeb, built in 1940, is a classic 20th Century minor league baseball park with the signs on the outfield and low cut brick grandstands.  The Stadium, which recently hosted the Lafayette Class 4A baseball semistate, is surrounded by a baby animal zoo, a water park, a little kid's train ride and ice cream and pizza establishments.  For a baseball fan, it's worth the trip.