BENNETT'S MINUTES: Softball realignment kind to Cubs

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Greencastle High School’s baseball and softball programs are both in rebuilding modes, but improved performances last season have them both headed in the right direction.

Under first-year head coach Ben Wells, the Tiger Cubs posted a 6-16 record on the baseball diamond but played many close games and improved throughout the season.

As they develop more pitching depth, the Tiger Cubs will see their progress continue. They will need those arms in the rugged West Division of the Western Indiana Conference, which sees the Cubs (along with North Putnam and South Putnam) competing against state powers Northview, Sullivan and West Vigo. Each of those schools had at least one Division I pitcher this year.

In softball, Tabatha Briones was in her second year as head coach of the Tiger Cubs this spring and saw even more immediate evidence of progress.

The Cubs were just 3-13 in the regular season, but after easily winning their opening-round they had their best performance of the season on a big stage in taking eventual sectional champion Danville to a 3-1 game in eight innings.

Both coaches have worked hard to establish a winning culture in their programs, but were given different futures this week by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

The softball Tiger Cubs dropped to Class 2A in the two-year classification realignment, which would move them away from established 3A programs such as Danville and Indian Creek and likely into a nearby field that could potentially include Southmont, Monrovia, North Putnam, South Putnam and South Vermillion.

The baseball realignment wasn’t as kind to the Tiger Cubs, who remain in the bottom of Class 3A in terms of enrollment and are now the fifth-smallest school that classification.

There is no bigger proponent of the class system than me, but these two examples show how a little tweaking is necessary.

How did this happen?

More or less, the Tiger Cubs were close to the cutoff line in both sports but an abundance of softball teams being consistently successful forced them to move up due to the “success factor” and pushed some teams like Greencastle down a class.

In baseball, there don’t appear to be as many schools playing “up” higher than their enrollment classification, so Greencastle wasn’t bumped down and found itself five spots away from Class 2A.

There is no perfect way to do this. Lines have to be drawn somewhere, and unfortunately they don’t always go your way. According to the enrollment number submitted, Greencastle has 10 more students than South Vermillion — the largest Class 2A baseball school.

Rockville and Shakamak are two examples of recent “success factor” teams who show something about that necessary guidelines, but I’m not sure just what.

Both teams had been highly successful in baseball in Class A (even meeting in the state championship game one year) and were forced up to 2A for the past two years.

They did not maintain their level of success at the Class A level, and have now been returned to that classification.

Northview is one of the newest schools to feel the wrath of the “success factor.” The Knights have clearly been successful in Class 3A for the past several years, winning the state title in 2016, and are now headed (along with nemesis Jasper) up to 4A for the next two years.

It will be interesting to see how that plays out, as the Knights have lost more than half of the core of their team that had that success. Many people question the logic in “penalizing” players who sat the bench for the success of others in the recent past. (Sort of like how the NCAA puts a school on probation for violations committed when the current team members were in high school).

The message to all teams is pretty simple — you have to keep working hard to improve yourselves, and do the best you can in the post-season situation in which you are placed. That’s about all anyone can do.

Bits and pieces

• DePauw football fans can look forward to having more promising football talent to join this Tiger program this fall.

Among the many newcomers the Tigers will have are South Putnam graduate Brandon Gierke (transferring from Purdue) and Northview’s Dylan Hyatt, the MVP of the Wabash Valley Football Coaches Association All-Star Game last month.

Beech Grove graduate Chase Andries was one of the most outstanding players in the Indiana Football Coaches Association North-South All-Star Game earlier this month, completing 8 of 12 passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns in an 21-14 win for the North team.

Andries was a standout in both football and basketball at Beech Grove, and has indicated in published reports that he plans to compete in both sports at DePauw.

North Putnam’s Max Haste did a good job of both run and pass blocking, but for the second straight all-star game did not find himself flooded with passes heading his way.

One of Haste’s teammates was future Marian teammate Tristen Tonte, a running back from Warren Central. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Tonte is the athlete who eliminated South Putnam’s Kyle Shaffer at the state wrestling finals.

Another of Haste’s teammates was John Pasch, a lineman from Indianapolis Lutheran. Pasch is the son of former North Putnam coach Dave Pasch, and will also be playing for DePauw.

• A few more late college commitments from area athletes have trickled in as the new school year approaches.

Northview baseball player Luke Lancaster will continue his career at Vincennes University, while Terre Haute South’s Jesse Brown will join Wabash Valley standouts Cooper Bybee of Edgewood and Josiah Wallace of Marshall (Ill.) at Olney Central College.

Brown’s signing was interesting, given that college interest in Cloverdale senior Jalen Moore hasn’t been too strong yet. Some college coaches feel Moore’s size is a negative factor at the next level, but the talented Brown is much smaller than Moore — proving that coaches can overlook some factors if other positive ones are present.

• Some changes are upcoming in the Putnam County championships in three sports.

The county golf match has been moved up to Sept. 11, while Cloverdale will now host the volleyball county tourney after trading wrestling to North Putnam.

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