2008 Highland Sectional
Double-elimination (19 and under)  at Highland high school

7-21 (M).. Whiting (80) vs. East Chicago (369)   5:30 p.m.
7-22 (Tu) .Cedar Lake (261) vs. Highland (180) 5:30 p.m.

7-23 (W)  Winners bracket (1st round winners meet) 5:30 p.m.
7-24 (Th) Loser's bracket (1st round losers meet) 5:30 p.m.

7-25 (F) Loser's bracket final game (Wed. night loser vs. Thurs. night winner ) 5:30 p.m.
7-26 (Sat) Championship game one - 12 noon*
7-26 (Sat) Championship game two - 3 p.m.*

*winner advances to the 4-team Plymouth Regional beginning Aug. 1.
Post 20 won the CP Sectional in 2007 with a 11-2 win over Cedar Lake Post 261, which is now in the Highland Sectional.

CROWN POINT (07-18-2008) - Many years there's been a distinct favorite in American Legion Sectional play at Crown Point and 2008 is no exception.  But Crown Point Post 20 isn't the one.

The sectional roster juggles every year and this year's group left Hammond Post 168 (17-7) as the team to beat.  Why?  They came as a team.  Post 168 is basically the high school varsity from Lake Central, a squad that went 22-9-1 in 32 games and batted .366 as a team.  Add to that, catcher and third baseman Brett Keeler from Munster.  Keeler, who was a catcher in 2008 after playing third base in 2007, batted .353 with nine homers and 33 RBIs for Munster during the spring.  To be honest, the other three teams are patchwork, none more so than Post 168's arch-rival Crown Point (13-9), which has more players from Hebron, Kouts and North Newton than they do from Crown Point.  Post 168 has beaten Crown Point 20 by scores of 12-1 and 10-1 but that's deceptive.
 

Mike Hernandez is Crown Point Post 20's top pitcher (5-1).

CP's top pitcher, Crown Point high school grad Mike Hernandez (5-1) did not pitch in either game and that's no accident.

"Why would I pitch him against them in the regular season," said CP manager Larry Samano last month.  "He's had a long year.  I'm going to go easy with him and get him ready to pitch against Hammond at the sectional." 

But nobody expects Hernandez to shut out the hard-hitting Hammond post for nine innings.  CP has to produce at the plate and the key there will be speed.  If CP can line up experienced Eric Clayton, Kyle Bacon and Munster grad Jack Standley at the top of the order and get them on base half the time, Post 20 can produce the runs needed to win this tournament.

American Legion playoff games are rarely low-scoring games, in some respects, because the game expands to nine innings in the postseason.  It is not uncommon for a hurler to strike out 10 or more, but fade in the late going and need relief.

This is Lowell's hope.  Post 101 can't match Hammond's hitting or Crown Point's No. 1 pitcher.  But Post 101 has Kankakee Valley's Micah Raebel, Lowell high's Derek Brandenburg and Craig Austgen and Lowell grad Nick Bolda, all capable pitchers.  They will certainly split the pitching duty against Hobart and then use everybody Wednesday against the Hammond-CP winner.

Crown Point has defeated Lowell 4-0 and 6-5 with Hernandez pitching both times.  But Mike Hernandez won't pitch against Lowell Wednesday because he is guaranteed to start Tuesday against Post 168.  Wednesday's winner gets three days off before the championship round.  The format gives the winner of Wednesday night's game every chance to be the sectional champ.

Lowell (6-10) has to catch the ball.  If they beat Hobart, they can't give the Hammond/CP winner extra outs.  Tim Cooper of KV has missed most of the second half of the season and Lowell needs to find him by Wednesday night.

SECTIONAL NOTES:  Tuesday's game will be the first post-season meeting of Post 168 and Post 20 since Hammond defeated Crown Point 15-14 in 12 innings for the Crown Point Sectional title on July 23, 2006.  If we're looking for a 'hot' hitter, it's Lake Central grad AJ Doyle.  Hammond Post 168 turned back Valparaiso 12-9 with AJ Doyle lifting a home run and Hammond beat Illinois' Plainfield Post 1080 14-3 last week with Doyle getting two homers and five RBIs.  Post 20 was rained out against Kokomo Post 6 on Saturday in the season finale.

The outfield is a high priority at sectional time and with games beginning at 5:30 p.m., the left fielder and third baseman are blinded by the setting sun at Teagle Field.  That always has an effect on the games at Crown Point's American Legion home.

American Legion Sectional Stars

2B -Anthony Olund (168)
He batted .468 (51-of-109) during the high school season with 25 walks.  Anthony was a major reason Lake Central scored 287 runs in 33 games (8.6 per game) this spring.

CF -Kyle Kaluza (168)
He batted .404 (42-of-104) during the high school season but he is more renowned for his defense in center field. He will be a key played in CP's pro-sized Teagle Field where you can't beat good teams without a good center fielder.