Michael Osipoff’s baseball rankings and player of the week for Northwest Indiana

Valparaiso rises to No. 1 amid a shuffle in the rankings, and Lake Station’s Jimmy Hastings is the player of the week.

TOP 10

With records through Thursday and previous rankings in parentheses.

1. Valparaiso 9-2 (2)

Caden Crowell goes 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs and pitches four scoreless innings in the Vikings’ win against Portage on Tuesday, their first of two in the series.

2. Lake Central 9-5 (3)

Michael Szatkowski goes 5-for-7 with two RBIs, five runs scored and three stolen bases in the Indians’ doubleheader sweep of Michigan City on Wednesday.

3. Crown Point 12-4 (5)

Austin Leeming goes 4-for-8 with a double, four RBIs and three runs scored in the Bulldogs’ two wins against Merrillville.

4. Hanover Central 14-2 (6)

Jaylen Rutherford hits a triple in the Wildcats’ win against Lowell in nine innings on Tuesday.

5. Illiana Christian 8-2 (1)

Tyler Balkema goes 3-for-3 with a triple, two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored in the Vikings’ win against Griffith on Monday.

6. Andrean 13-3 (4)

Moises Vazquez goes 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in the 59ers’ win against Highland on Tuesday.

7. Chesterton 9-4 (7)

Nick Foust goes 4-for-9 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the Trojans’ sweep of LaPorte.

8. Munster 8-5 (9)

Zach Wright hits an inside-the-park homer in the Mustangs’ win against Griffith on Thursday.

9. LaPorte 7-7 (8)

Kai Jones goes 3-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base in the Slicers’ loss to Chesterton in 10 innings on Wednesday.

10. Lowell 5-6 (10)

Gavin Gutierrez goes 2-for-2 with a homer, six RBIs, four runs scored, two walks and a stolen base in the Red Devils’ win against Hebron on Thursday.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Lake Station senior Jimmy Hastings goes 4-for-6 with a homer and two runs scored in the Eagles’ sweep of Calumet.