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With two weeks before IHSAA sectionals, here's the South Bend area baseball power rankings

austin hough, south bend tribune
·6 min read

There are two weeks left in the high school baseball regular season, and things are heating up for the South Bend area.

Two-time defending Class 4A state champion Penn snapped a losing streak. South Bend Adams continued its impressive season. South Bend Saint Joseph got even with its rival. Concord made up ground in the NLC.

A lot is happening, setting up for a dramatic stretch run before sectionals.

More: The IHSAA baseball sectional pairings are set

Here is this week’s South Bend Tribune area baseball power rankings as we inch closer to the postseason.

1. South Bend Adams Eagles (14-4, 5-1 NIC)

Previous ranking: 1. Last week’s results: def. Elkhart, 6-4; def. Elkhart Christian, 15-1; lost to LaPorte, 1-0; def. Concord, 3-1. This week’s schedule: Monday vs. Marian, Wednesday at Washington, Thursday vs. John Glenn, Friday and Saturday at the Lake Central/Munster Region Invite.

Adams senior Kai Whitlow swings at a pitch during a baseball game against Concord Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Concord High School in Dunlap.
Adams senior Kai Whitlow swings at a pitch during a baseball game against Concord Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Concord High School in Dunlap.

Three of Adams’ four losses have come in walk-off fashion, including this past Friday’s LaPorte contest. If the ball bounces differently in those games, you could see the Eagles even higher than they are currently in the statewide Class 4A polls.

2. South Bend Saint Joseph Huskies (14-4, 4-3 NIC)

Previous ranking: 2. Last week’s results: def. Riley, 18-0; def. Marian, 2-1 (8 innings); swept doubleheader against Northridge, 9-1 and 17-6. This week’s schedule: Monday vs. Penn, Wednesday vs. Glenn, Friday vs. Illiana Christian, Saturday doubleheader at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger.

The Huskies’ avenged an earlier loss to Marian by getting a non-conference win over the Knights, courtesy of a go-ahead home run by Jayce Lee in the eighth inning. The Notre Dame commit is batting .367 with four homers, nine doubles and 25 RBI.

Boys golf: Saint Joseph nips Trinity for Concord title; Fairfield’s Miller medalist

3. Penn Kingsmen (15-7, 6-1 NIC)

Previous ranking: 3. Last week’s results: def. Marian, 4-3 (8 innings); def. Bremen, 5-0; def. Logansport, 7-2; def. Fort Wayne Carroll, 11-10. This week’s schedule: Monday at Saint Joseph, Wednesday vs. Jimtown.

Penn junior Kydin Horvath catches a pop fly during a baseball game against Marian Monday, April 29, 2024, at Marian High School in Mishawaka.
Penn junior Kydin Horvath catches a pop fly during a baseball game against Marian Monday, April 29, 2024, at Marian High School in Mishawaka.

The Kingsmen desperately needed that win against Marian, even if it came in controversial fashion. Penn scored two runs in each of the final three innings to stage a stunning comeback against Carroll Saturday afternoon to cap off the 4-0 week.

4. Mishawaka Marian Knights (13-7, 6-2 NIC)

Previous ranking: 5. Last week’s results: lost to Penn, 4-3 (8 innings); def. Elkhart, 4-2; def. Washington, 15-0; lost to Saint Joseph, 2-1 (8 innings); def. Wawasee, 11-7. This week’s schedule: Monday at Adams, Friday and Saturday at the Lake Central/Munster Region Invite, starting with Indianapolis Cathedral Friday night.

Marian senior Evan Schmidtendorff, left, makes a catch in foul ground as senior Bryce LaSane slows down before running into his teammate during a baseball game against Penn Monday, April 29, 2024, at Marian High School in Mishawaka.
Marian senior Evan Schmidtendorff, left, makes a catch in foul ground as senior Bryce LaSane slows down before running into his teammate during a baseball game against Penn Monday, April 29, 2024, at Marian High School in Mishawaka.

Hard to have two more painful losses for the Knights than the ones they had this week, both coming in extra innings. Bryce LaSane has been a workhorse for Marian, making 11 pitching appearances while also leading the team with 24 RBI and second with a .391 batting average.

5. New Prairie Cougars (15-5, 4-3 NIC)

Previous ranking: 6. Last week’s results: def. Bremen, 9-1; def. Washington Township, 21-0; def. Jimtown, 8-0; lost to Hanover Central, 6-5. This week’s schedule: Monday at Glenn, Tuesday vs. Lakeshore, Wednesday at Riley.

A good week for the Cougars, with the loss coming to an 18-2 Hanover Central team coming via a late Wildcats rally. Sophomore Reed Robinson has one of the top batting averages in the area at .475, while the top three pitchers for New Prairie in Matt Sorce, Joe Kinney and Tyson Greenwood all have ERA’s below 2.44.

Boys golf: New Prairie’s Zdyb wins medalist, Saint Joseph captures title at Leonard Memorial

6. Concord Minutemen (13-6, 7-2 NLC)

Previous ranking: 9. Last week’s results: def. Wawasee, 1-0; def. Riley, 13-2; def. NorthWood, 11-5; swept doubleheader over Plymouth*, lost to Adams, 3-1. This week’s schedule: Monday vs. Northridge, Wednesday at Mishawaka, Friday vs. Goshen.

Concord senior Braeden Messenger swings at a pitch during a baseball game against Adams Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Concord High School in Dunlap.
Concord senior Braeden Messenger swings at a pitch during a baseball game against Adams Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Concord High School in Dunlap.

The asterisk next to Plymouth there is because the Minutemen and Pilgrims finished a suspended game first Friday before playing the regularly scheduled game that night. So, Concord picked up four NLC wins technically this past week, keeping it one game behind Warsaw with five conference games left for both. Braeden Messenger has been one of the area’s top pitchers, carrying a 3-0 record with 1.04 ERA in five games.

7. Fairfield Falcons (15-5, 7-0 NECC)

Previous ranking: 10. Last week’s results: def. Eastside, 10-1; def. Fremont, 6-5; def. LaVille, 15-0; def. Jimtown, 5-3. This week’s schedule: Tuesday at Mishawaka, Thursday vs. Prairie Heights, Saturday vs. Warsaw, then vs. Frankfort

The Falcons picked up massive conference wins over Eastside and Fremont before finishing the week with an impressive non-conference victory over Jimtown. Maybe the only pitcher better than Concord’s Messenger this spring is Fairfield senior Landon Miller, who’s 8-0 with a 0.81 ERA. The Falcons also have Owen Garrison at 5-0 with a 2.06 ERA, and Cohen Yoder with a 0.64 ERA in 11 innings pitched. Impressive stuff.

8. Jimtown Jimmies (14-6, 5-3 NIC)

Previous ranking: 4. Last week’s results: def. Westview. 6-3; lost to New Prairie, 8-0; lost to Fairfield, 5-3. This week’s schedule: Wednesday at Penn, Friday vs. Tippecanoe Valley.

The two losses didn’t cause this drastic fall for Jimtown, rather the teams above it playing well this week. Just like last year, the Jimmies can throw a wrinkle into the NIC title race if they knock off Penn Wednesday.

More: As boys volleyball in Indiana grows, more South Bend area teams are getting involved

9. Mishawaka Cavemen (10-8, 5-4 NLC)

Previous ranking: 8. Last week’s results: lost to Warsaw, 6-0; lost to Plymouth. 6-3; def. Wawasee, 24-0; def. Crown Point, 3-2; def. Illiana Christian, 7-6. This week’s schedule: Monday vs. Goshen, Tuesday vs. Fairfield, Wednesday vs. Concord, Friday at NorthWood, Saturday at Elkhart.

The Cavemen officially win the title of most confounding team in the area. They lost to Plymouth — whic is 5-12 overall and 1-8 in the NLC — then pick up as good of a doubleheader sweep as you can get against Crown Point (16-5) and Illiana Christian (11-7), the latter of which is the two-time defending Class 2A state champs. Maybe the loss to Plymouth woke up Mishawaka for the stretch run.

10. NorthWood Panthers (10-8, 4-5 NLC)

Previous ranking: 8. Last week’s results: lost to Goshen, 2-0; lost to Concord, 11-5; lost to Northridge, 3-2 (11 innings); lost to Culver Academies, 4-1. This week’s schedule: Monday vs. Wawasee, Tuesday at Bethany Christian; Wednesday vs. Warsaw, Friday vs. Mishawaka.

It was a tough week for the Panthers, as the 0-4 mark indicates. Three of them were close battles, which allows them to hang around in the power rankings for this week.

Honorable mentions: Elkhart (10-7, 3-4 NIC), John Glenn (11-6-1, 3-3 NIC), LaPorte (11-8, 5-5 DAC).

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Here's this week's South Bend area baseball power rankings