Fans of Portage High School athletics packed into the stands despite the heat on Monday at Merrillville High School for the sectional championship game between the Indians and the Crown Point Bulldogs. The loyal supporters were hoping to see the Indians capture their first sectional crown since 1994, but it was not meant to be as Crown Point came away with a 4-1 victory on Memorial Day.
The Bulldogs struck first when they recorded three unearned tallies against right handed pitcher Cody Jackson in the second inning. Jackson settled in after that inning and did not allow another run to cross the plate until the top of the seventh. Portage scored its only run in the bottom of the fourth, when Nate Ramian scampered home on a long double by Gabe Acevado. Ramian finished the game with two of the four Portage hits.
The only other scoring chance for the Indians occurred in the third inning when Andrew Brown led off with a double. He was eventually cut down at the plate on an attempted suicide squeeze bunt.
Although the Indians came up just short once again, falling in the sectional championship for the second consecutive year, it was still a prosperous season for th
e team. They finished the season with a record of 25-8, finishing second in both the Duneland Athletic Conference and the Merrillville Sectional. Portage is forced to deal with the loss of two of the team’s top players in Tony Cheky, who will roam centerfield at Michigan State University next season, and Cody Jackson, who will take the mound at Purdue North Central a year from now. However, a talented class of current juniors will return to help carry the load next season. That group is led by cleanup man Gabe Acevado and speedy outfielder Andrew Brown, both of whom doubled in Monday’s game.
“They’re key players. Both of them know how to play the game very well, so we can feed off that,” assistant coach Bob Dixon said.
Cheky and Jackson are joined by six other seniors that put on the uniform for the final time on Monday. Nate Ramian, Jeremy Sinkus, Allen Barrett, Bryce Komenda, Mike Brunner and Sam Puchalski are all set to graduate as well. This group will never forget the fun they had together on and off the field.
“This group of seniors worked hard to get where we are today. We came up one game shy of our goal,” Dixon said.
Crown Point advances to the LaPorte Regional, where it will battle the South Bend Riley Sectional winner in the first round on Saturday, June 4 at 10:30am.