2006 Porter County Conference (PCC) Softball Tournament Preview

5-11-2006

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

LaCROSSE (5-11-2006) While the Lake Athletic Conference and the Duneland Athletic Conference both have 14-game double round robin regular season schedules for baseball and softball, the Porter County Conference is all about the tournament. The eight Porter County Conference (PCC) teams go head-to-head starting Friday night and this year's tournament is the most unpredictable. If South Central, Hanover Central, Boone Grove and Hebron are the league's top four teams, the draw will allow them all to reach the semifinals.

High-flying Hebron (15-2), state-ranked South Central (13-5) and rival Boone Grove are looking for the chance to take down five-time defending champion Hanover Central. Boone and Hebron have senor strikeout pitchers and SC is a perennial 20-game winner.

But while Hanover looked weak at the start of the season, the freshman-laden Lady Cats have rallied behind four senior starters who want to go out as four-time champions of Northern Indiana's oldest small school league. The wild card here is the weather. Rain and wet grounds are almost certain. Hanover Central has the only PCC field with lights, and if rain pushes the tournament to Monday, HC could end up hosting the final game or games.

PCC Quarterfinals
Friday, May 12 - on home sites
Morgan Township at South Central (13-5)
Boone Grove (10-13) at Washington Township (5-14)
Kouts at Hebron (15-2)
Hanover Central (12-11) vs. LaCrosse (5-12)

PCC Semifinals - at LaCrosse
(if favorites win in the quarterfinals)

South Central vs. BOONE GROVE - 10 a.m.
Hebron vs. HANOVER CENTRAL - 12 noon

2006 PCC Championship game: 3 p.m.

PCC NOTES: LaCrosse is eight miles south of Route 30 at US 421. The LaCrosse ball fields are just east of 421 at the north end of town. The 3:00 p.m. starting time is tentative and assumes regulation length semifinals. If both finalists agree, the game will start earlier. LaCrosse does not have lights. Rain is predicted for Friday. If all Friday games are postponed, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played Saturday and the title game will be pushed back to Monday at a site to be determined. Without lights at LaCrosse, it would not be possible to play all three rounds of the tournament on Saturday.

Hebron (15-2)

HEBRON - It's now or never for the Hawks who are off to the best start in school history behind senior right-hander Maggie Riggs (13-2, 0.38 ERA, 152 strikeouts, 15 walks), who struck out 12 in a 5-2 win over LaCrosse Saturday in the semifinals of the Knox Invitational. Hebron won the title game 18-1 over Knox. Outrageously successful junior Jessica Orris (35-57, .614, 6 doubles, 19 RBIs) had six hits in the two games and Courtney Overton was 4-for-7. The Hawks have not played the schedule that South Central and Hanover Central have, although they were fortunate to rally from a 4-0 deficit to beat Hanover 5-4 last month. Hebron, which has outscored the opposition 133-32, plays Whiting (18-0) on May 15. But they probably want three wins here more than that one there. They have lost only 9-3 to South Central and 1-0 to Kankakee Valley.

The Hawks will need production from seniors like Heidi Freund (21-56, .375, 11 walks, 6 triples). This has to be all Maggie Riggs. Riggs struck out 11 in a 3-2 win over Boone Monday (5-8-2006). She is a four-year starter who has never won this tournament. It's now or never and she knows it. The Hawks have severe defensive problems when the ball is hit into the field. It will be Riggs' job to make sure the ball isn't hit into the field very often and she can get that done.

South Central (12-4)

UNION MILLS - This perennial LaPorte County small school power is looking to take the crown in just SC's third year in the PCC. Tiny South Central (297 students) is coming off a very big victory over 2,000-kid neighbor and arch rival LaPorte (12-8) Saturday. The Satellites have been a little inconsistent with understandable losses to Whiting, New Prairie and South Bend Adams. But they also have an inexplicable 1-0 loss to Lake Station.

Junior right-hander Taylor Scarborough (4-3), the Satellites' No. 2 pitcher (she was 5-3) in 2005, fanned 12 in an 8-0 win over Washington Township on April 25. But it was Olivia Paul (4-1) who stopped LaPorte Saturday. Kayla Wallace (4-0) beat Wheeler 4-0 last week.

South Central got blasted 9-0 by 3A No. 5 Culver Academy Tuesday, but I'd write that off. Culver's level of play is beyond anyone in the PCC.

SC lost just 6-3 to undefeated Whiting and Melanie Dumezich (17-0), so they usually make good contact at the plate. South Central, which has won four sectional titles in five years, has lost close PCC games to Hanover the last two seasons. But they are undefeated in round robin conference play and they have to feel this is their year.

The Satellites are probably the favorite and the best team here, but they don't have consistent strikeout pitchers and they got a bad draw which will require them to beat three good teams.

Boone Grove (10-12)

PORTER TOWNSHIP - Boone's record looked a lot better a week ago before a 3-2 loss at Hanover and an 0-3 showing at last weekend's Twin Lakes Invitational. Senior Lauren Dehnert and catcher Kara Kessler are back for one last shot at the PCC crown and they have faced a wide-ranging schedule that included southwest Michigan power Brandywine, LAC power Munster and South Bend stalwart Adams.

Boone's hitting and defense are only average, so a lot of it will be up to Denhert (9-9, 176 strikeouts), who struck out 17 in a 2-0 win over Washington Township on April 28, but lost 3-2 at Hanover last Thursday.

Any way you look at it, Boone will have to beat South Central and Hanover Central or Hebron on the same day. Do they think they can do that? Did getting bounced around at Twin Lakes last weekend beat them up or toughen them up? Boone is not a real good defensive team, but they have scored more runs this year than in past years. Dehnert (23-47, .489) and double-duty track star Katie Runyan (18-49, .367) have kept the Wolves from being shut out this season.

The problem here is confidence. South Central and Hanover Central have won multiple sectional titles. South Central is the regular season champ for this year. Boone hasn't won anything in softball since the PCC tournament began 10 years ago and that has to be a mental barrier.

Hanover Central (12-11)

CEDAR LAKE - They are the five-time defending champ. Hanover got bombed by Munster and Chesterton at the start of the season, and with three or four freshmen starters in every game, it looked like they would not be able to keep the PCC crown. But the Lady Cats are again on the rise behind senior right-hander Danielle Hill (8-8), who played third base for the defending champs last year. Hill, who hadn't started a varsity game before this year, has tossed four shutouts and lost only 1-0 to Class 1A No. 3 Eastern (15-5) last Friday night. Hanover rolled up 14 hits in a 17-2 win over Washington Township Tuesday (5-9-2006), but they won't see Washington this weekend.

The Lady Cats lost 5-4 to Hebron and 6-3 to South Central earlier this season, but Hanover's formerly shaky defense was errorless in three games at Twin Lakes. HC is 0-3 against 4A schools but they are 3-0 against 3As Morton, Clark and Western, all in the last three weeks. The Lady Cats are the most inexperienced team among the contenders here, but their record is deceiving.

Hanover lost 11-1 to 4A No. 1 Chesterton (21-1), 12-1 to 4A No. 4 Munster (19-4) and 8-0 to Illinois Class A (small school) No. 1 Beecher (30-0). Nobody else here has played anybody like that.

Hanover may have found a new pitcher in sophomore Ashley Stenger (3-1), who pitched a five-inning complete game against Washington. That will be crucial because they don't want to pitch Danielle Hill three times in 24 hours. They want her fresh for the semifinals. Stenger or Molly Fairhurst (1-2) could face LaCrosse Friday. The Lady Cats defense has improved significantly since the start of the year.

HC's four freshies, Lindsay Thompson, Victoria Wigsmoen, Jordan Kramer and top infield prospect Kara Gilbert need to have a good weekend, especially on defense to give seniors Hill, Heather Rebenack, Andria Trock and Jill Sjoerdsma the chance for a 'bridge' victory. Bridge?

The Lady Cats have won this tournament five years in a row and it's no secret that Hanover is loaded with young players. With Hebron and Boone graduating top senior pitchers, HC, with loads of softball talent rumored to be in eighth grade, will be the league favorite for the next two or three seasons. Hanover is a quickly-growing school and they should continue to dominate the PCC in softball until they grow too large to remain in the league. So if anyone is going to break Hanover's softball hold on the PCC, it probably has to be Saturday afternoon in LaCrosse. Unless the rain comes.

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