BASEBALL: Four Seasons Mechanical Top 10 for Week of 4/16/18

#10.
MORGAN TWP. CHEROKEES
5-0

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LAST WEEK: T-#10

The Cherokees have had to share their #10 spot for the last two polls, but now it belongs to only them after a red hot 5-0 start. Morgan is outscoring the opposition 46-14 so far this year, so it’s not just a  case of barely getting by the competition – they are running away from it. It won’t be long until the Cherokees start to get some state-wide recognition.

#9.
HOBART BRICKIES
7-2

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LAST WEEK: NR

Winners of six straight, the Brickies enter the Four Seasons Mechanical Top 10 for the first time in 2018. Hobart is already 2-0 in the Northwest Crossroads Conference thanks to a sweep of Lowell and this week brings back to back games against Munster – the team Hobart knocked out of the rankings. Should be a fun series as the teams jockey for position in the standings and in the poll.

#8.
CROWN POINT BULLDOGS
5-3

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LAST WEEK: #9

Despite dropping both games to arch-rival Lake Central, the Bulldogs move up a spot in the poll thanks to a victory over then #1 Chesterton and a successful road trip to the Lafayette area, beating both Lafayette Jeff & McCutcheon. This week brings two games against Michigan City and the second game of their series against Chesterton – another win over the Trojans and the ‘Dogs could move up one spot or more.

#7.
HANOVER CENTRAL WILDCATS
4-0

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LAST WEEK: #8

Could this be the best Wildcat team since their trip to Indy in 2011? Early returns say it might be, as Hanover is off to a 4-0 start after sweeping the season series against River Forest this past week. The ‘Cats have a busy week with five scheduled games on tap between Tuesday and Saturday – we could see them shoot up the rankings or fall out entirely. What will it be?

#6. 
HIGHLAND TROJANS
3-0

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LAST WEEK: #7

With all due respect to their opponents, Highland hasn’t exactly played a murderers row of opponents yet, but give the Trojans credit  for outscoring the opposition 41-3 so far in 2018. We’ll get a better idea of how this team will fare over the long haul later this week when they take on Hanover Central.

#5.
VALPARAISO VIKINGS
4-1

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LAST WEEK: #6

Don’t be surprised if pitching helps keep the Vikings in the DAC race all season long. Through five games this year, Gang Green has given up just 19 runs, with eight of those coming in one game against the Sluggin’ Slicers of LaPorte. The offense isn’t so bad either, averaging seven runs per game. There may be three DAC teams head of them in the rankings, but we wouldn’t be shocked if Valpo was #1 in the conference come playoff time.

#4.
CHESTERTON TROJANS
4-2

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LAST WEEK: #1

After rain delays caused chaos in the early part of the schedule, the Trojans have been busy since our last Top 10, with mixed results. Sweeping the season series over Portage along with a win over Gavit is nice, but splitting a double-header with Lafayette Harrison and losing a crucial conference game to Crown Point drops the Cheez from the top spot in the rankings.

#3. 
LAKE CENTRAL INDIANS
5-1

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LAST WEEK: #3

The good news for the Indians is that in every game this season, they’ve scored five or more runs.  Maybe a cause for concern is that the pitching staff has given up six or more runs in three of those five games, which isn’t surprising considering the amount of innings LC has had to replace from a year ago.

#2.
LAPORTE SLICERS
7-3

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LAST WEEK: #4

When the Slicers offense is clicking – watch out! In six of their seven wins this year, LaPorte has scored seven or more and they put up a whopping 29 runs against SB Washington. Consistency could be an issue, as they’ve scored a combined two runs in their two most recent games (both losses), but we assume that once the weather starts to stay warm, so will the LaPorte bats.

#1.
ANDREAN 59ERS
7-1

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LAST WEEK: #2

A successful trip to Tennessee, which saw the Niners go 2-1 against some of the best from the Volunteer State, turned into an excellent start in conference play as Andrean swept the season series against Munster. Big things were expected from 5959 Broadway entering the season and nothing we’ve seen so far has dampened those expectations.