Crown Point's Zach Plesac makes the plays to be Times Baseball Player of the Year

When Zach Plesac was a freshman, the Crown Point baseball coaching staff made him a catcher.

RailCats wait out weather with region, fans

GARY | The RailCats were contacted by American Association officials during the afternoon for notification that the league's curfew rule would be waived on Wednesday.

LIVE: RailCats vs. Quebec, waiting out the rain

GARY | If you came here looking for a baseball game, it's starting a little late.

Lake Central's Ryan Burvan picks Purdue

Ryan Burvan's father started video taping his son's at-bats this baseball season in part as a memento, but mostly to help the Lake Central senior analyze his swing.

RailCats making quicker work of eating innings

GARY | When the RailCats average more than three hours per game, it's in part because of the patience of Gary hitters at the plate.

LIVE: RailCats hope to keep winning ways vs. Quebec

GARY | The RailCats aren't simply fighting the emotional toll that a losing streak can take, they're battling Mother Nature for another game.

RailCats fall to Sioux Falls

GARY | RailCats designated hitter Cristian Guerrero addressed his team after Sunday's 9-5 loss to Sioux Falls.

LIVE: RailCats vs. Sioux Falls, Bark in the Park

GARY | The RailCats are welcoming dogs to U.S. Steel Yard with their annual Bark in the Park promotion.

RailCats hope to kick injury bug as quarter season approaches

GARY | RailCats manager Greg Tagert won't complain about his team taking a hit by the injury bug.

LIVE: RailCats vs Canaries, stay away from injury day

GARY | The RailCats are entertaining an interesting lineup with injuries and illnesses.

Draft brings back big league memories for RailCats

GARY | RailCats catcher Ryan Babineau lived through the excitement and stress of MLB Draft Day twice.

MLB Draft continues as region players are selected

A day after Sean Manaea was drafted, MLB Network was still talking about the Andrean grad and left-handed pitcher.

LIVE: RailCats return home from Lone Star State

GARY | The RailCats split two series in Texas and return to U.S. Steel Yard with more injuries than they left with.

Andrean grad Sean Manaea drafted by Royals

Sean Manaea was picked by Kansas City as the first selection of the Competitive Balance Round of the Major League Baseball draft Thursday.

Blackhawks take 2-0 series lead with win

CHICAGO | Taking 36 shots on goal would tire out any team in the postseason.

Defending 4A state baseball champion Lake Central bows out in regional final

LAPORTE | Lake Central won't blame the end of their season on the rain.

Lake Central ends Portage's baseball season in regional semifinal

LAPORTE | Even though the sun was shining, the weather wreaked havoc on the Lake Central vs. Portage regional semifinal game Saturday.

Ryan Burvan's production breaks L.C. baseball records

ST. JOHN | Ryan Burvan was so sure he wouldn't play baseball in college, he's already enrolled as a student at Alabama.

Larry Crisler's goal is to help the team — he's reached it and more

HAMMOND | Larry Crisler is having one of the best statistical seasons that Bishop Noll baseball coach Paul Wirtz has seen.

Andrean's Jimmy Tarala is the team's most vocal leader and can be heard across the field

MERRILLVILLE | Last Saturday, Jimmy Tarala was hoarse by the second inning of Andrean's first baseball sectional game.

Junior catcher Kyle Buikema gives Panthers tough defense

GRIFFITH | Last season, after the Class 3A baseball regional games, Griffith catcher Kyle Buikema made a thank-you call.

RailCats catch hitting milestone

GARY | In the fourth inning, the RailCats reached a milestone oddly calculated, but one that will live on in franchise lore.

LIVE: RailCats vs. Sioux City, Tuesday night's alright

GARY | An odd statistic to open the game notes, the RailCats enter the day six hits away from 10,000 in franchise history.

Lake Central tops Munster in walkoff fashion

MUNSTER | When the semifinal games of the Munster Sectional were delayed Monday morning because of the rain, the Lake Central baseball team went to breakfast at Aspen Cafe in St. John.

PREP BASEBALL: Lake Central advances to play Munster in sectional final

MUNSTER | Lake Central escaped a fourth-inning scare against Morton and the Governors' ace pitcher Aurielo Cazares.

PREP BASEBALL: Munster advances to baseball sectional final

MUNSTER | Four hours, 21 minutes after Monday's first Class 4A sectional semifinal game was supposed to start, Munster and E.C. Central stood for the national anthem.

Griffith handles Clark for baseball sectional title

GRIFFITH | Jesse Smith was the perfect pick to start Saturday's sectional title game against Clark, because the Griffith senior had topped the Pioneers last year in the championship game.

Azar tosses 3-hitter as Munster ousts Highland from baseball sectional

MUNSTER | When the baseball sectional bracket was set by the IHSAA, Highland coach Dan Miller called Munster coach Bob Shinkan and asked "Are you going to pitch the guy who threw a two-hitter against us, or the guy who threw a one-hitter?"

Rain forces ground crew to dump 'everything' during RailCats rain delay

GARY | The rain downpour lasted only 15 minutes at U.S. Steel Yard, but the cleanup took another 90.

LIVE: RailCats morning game vs. Wichita

GARY | The RailCats woke up this morning to a roster move, picking up left-handed reliever Mike Hanley from Florence for a player to be named later and releasing infield-outfield versatile player Aljay Davis.

Highland wins No. 630 for Miller in last regular-season game

HIGHLAND | In addition to Tuesday's regular-season baseball finale against Valparaiso scheduled as senior night, the seniors preferred to think of it as something else.

RailCats take division lead on controversial call

GARY | After Brian Kolb fractured the middle finger on his glove hand, he went to the doctor to run a few tests.

LIVE: RailCats vs. Wingnuts in first early game of the season

GARY | The RailCats have three morning games this season, two in the next two days. All three are designed to cater to kids, with the parking lot full of school buses.

PREP BASEBALL: Roosevelt forfeits sectional game before postseason begins

Griffith athletic director Bill Crowley notified media members by email this morning that Thursday's sectional game will not be played.

HILLARY SMITH: RailCats center fielder Drew Martinez is adding to his family's lore

GARY | Drew Martinez calls his biggest fan after his baseball games.

Weather gives RailCats opening-day hope

GARY | Mike Massaro can't remember the last time the opening-day weather was so beautiful at U.S. Steel Yard.

FIRST PITCH: Opening day, Michelle Fields

GARY | A native of Wisconsin who attended Michigan Tech, Michelle Fields arrived in Northwest Indiana in 1995.

Noll pitcher Danny Pobereyko makes an offseason change for the better

When Danny Pobereyko arrives at Butler this summer, he’s going to ask his coaches if he can add a different regimen to his pitching routine.

LIVE: RailCats season opener vs. Lincoln Saltdogs

GARY | The RailCats open their season at home for the first time since 2010, and the last time it was this early in May was 2008.

Competition breeds fun, winning as RailCats open season

GARY | Steve Liddle was picked up by the RailCats after he was the last player cut from the Minnesota Twins spring training.

RailCats prepare to cut roster with final exhibition game

GARY | Heading into Monday's final exhibition game of the RailCats' spring training, the coaching staff had already started making cuts to the roster.

RailCats make most of situational baseball

GARY | Will Krout had twice as many reasons to start his American Association preparation early.

Hammond Academy's Cody Glass doesn't mind the heat

HAMMOND | Cody Glass spent a week last summer in the Dominican Republic playing baseball.

RailCats top Evansville with late rally

GARY | RailCats pitcher Stephen Hiscock was running agility drills in the offseason when he collided with another runner.

L.C. knocks its way to DAC win over Valparaiso

ST. JOHN | In the third inning, Lake Central shortstop Brenden Seren hit a ball that seemed to take a long, slow fall toward the left-field fence.

Pitcher Alain Quijano wants to show his third time charm

GARY | Alain Quijano's life kept pulling him back to the Chicago area.

RailCats open spring calling 2012 a 'blip'

GARY | Cristian Guerrero was calling Greg Tagert to recommend a friend to the RailCats manager.

RailCats numbers down, attract big-league vets to tryout

GARY | Whether it was the 48-degree temperatures at the outset of the RailCats tryout, the newly installed $50 fee for players wanting to participate or the RailCats roster that is nearly full, Thursday's open tryout didn't produce the numbers as past years.

Hobart's heavy hitter Tyrus Joseforsky is already breaking records

Tyrus Joseforsky forced himself into the Hobart lineup as a freshman, outworking everyone around him to the point that the Brickies coaching staff couldn't help but start him.