Crown Point, Portage win sectional semis

Updated: May 28, 2011 11:50PM

It was a key moment late in the Merrillville Sectional semifinal game and Chesterton coach Jack Campbell had a decision to make.

With runners on second and third and one out in a scoreless eighth inning, should the Trojans intentionally walk Crown Point first baseman Jose Andrade, a dangerous hitter, who was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Chesterton pitcher Jake Post?

“I asked my coaching staff if we should put him on and right after that came out of my mouth, it happened,” Campbell said.

There was at least one person who said he knew what was coming.

“Jose walked up to me and said this was one of the worst days he’s had in baseball,” said Crown Point pitcher Ron Plesac. “I told him that he would come up with a big hit and he did.”

Sure enough, Andrade ripped a fastball over the center-field wall to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 win on a Saturday that had a little something for everyone.

If you love pitching duels, then Plesac and Post entertained you, matching shutout innings and strikeouts (both had 10 for seven innings).

If a slugfest is your pleasure, than the second game, a 15-7 win for Portage over Valparaiso, was right up your alley, with the Indians scoring eight times in the fourth inning to decide the game.

Not that a pitcher didn’t do his job, though. But it’s appropriate to say that while Allen Barrett will have better days on the mound (he gave up all seven runs), he made up for it by getting four hits and five RBI.

“We kept our intensity the entire game and our offense did a great job,” Barrett said. “The momentum shifted because of that eight-run inning.”

It took 14 Indians coming to the plate to get that done. It took only one swing of the bat by Andrade to give the Bulldogs a chance Monday morning to avenge two regular-season losses to Portage.

“He was pitching me great and he kept mixing his speeds and kept me off balance,” Andrade said. “I knew he wanted to get ahead on the count and I was looking dead red on a fast ball an I just sat on it.”

Plesac proved to be just as good a pitcher as prognosticator, throwing a four-hitter, including giving up only one hit in his final five innings of work.

The Valparaiso loss marked the end of the Jerrick Suiter era with the Vikings. The three-sport standout went out swinging, though, picking up two hits and an RBI.

“I wish I could play one more game with these guys,” Suiter said. “It’s been a great time with my teammates in every sport and I’m going to miss them.”

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