Three-time defending champ Lady Wildcats to be tested, but should prevail at PCC Softball Tourney

(5-12-2004)

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Porter County Conference (PCC)
Softball Championship Tournament
8-teams - single-elimination - at LaCrosse Ind. May 13-14, 2004
(Beginning of school year enrollments in parenthesis)

LaCrosse (86), Morgan Township (191), Washington Township (210), Kouts (222), South Central (273), HEBRON (336), BOONE GROVE (502) and HANOVER CENTRAL (527).

DEFENDING PCC CHAMPIONS
2003: HANOVER CENTRAL, 7-0 over LaCrosse
2002: HANOVER CENTRAL, 4-0 over Wheeler
2001: HANOVER CENTRAL, 1-0 over BOONE GROVE (11 inn.)
2000: Morgan Township, 1-0 over BOONE GROVE (8 inn.)
1999: HANOVER CENTRAL, 3-0 over Wheeler

PCC NOTES: This tournament, while not a money maker for the host school, is an anticipated event for the league. I cannot explain why the 16-team Lake Athletic Conference has a baseball tournament which, by the nature of the game, must take at least a week and does not have a softball tournament, which could be held in two days.

Hanover has dominated the PCC since the glory days of 1A state champion Morgan Township in the late 90s. Now, the arrival of perennial 1A power South Central will even things up. It is believed that Hanover Central has never lost in LaCrosse where the finals will be held. But this month's 1-0 HC win over SC was the first ever meeting between the two schools, which are 45 minutes apart. Hanover has shut out everyone for 60 innings in a row in this tournament. LaCrosse's softball field has the feel of a country picnic out behind the school. South Central loves to go to LaCrosse, their arch rival. Hanover is not jumping up and down about the 45-minute drive, whose bus is going to have to leave Cedar Lake about 8 a.m.

THE SCHEDULE:

May 14, 2004 (Friday night) home sites
Washington Township (5-13) at LaCrosse (6-12)
HANOVER CENTRAL (17-6) at BOONE GROVE (6-17)
South Central (15-4) at Morgan Township (9-10)
Kouts (5-10) at HEBRON (15-4)

May 15, 2004 (Saturday) at LaCrosse high
WT or LaCrosse vs. HC or BOONE - 10 a.m.
SC or Morgan vs. Kouts or HEBRON - 12 noon.

PCC Championship - 3 p.m. at LaCrosse
(or 30 minutes after the end of the semifinals)

THE CONTENDERS:

HEBRON (15-4, 4-3)

HEBRON - The Hawks got a bad draw in that they must defeat BOTH Hanover (17-6) and South Central (15-4) to win the title. The Porter County squad has lost 9-0 to Hanover and 9-2 to South Central although that was last month. The Hawks' defense is their main flaw, but if they can hold the errors to a minimum, all-area right-hander Maggie Riggs (15-4) can pitch the Hawks within reach of the title. The Hawks made eight errors in a 7-4 loss to Wheeler, a team both HC and SC have beaten. Riggs has pitched every inning of every game for Hebron this year. The 8-1 win at Boone Monday (May 9) was Riggs' fourth complete game victory in a row. The Hawks are 28-14 in the last two seasons, but they have only recorded 10 hits three times in 19 games. The Hebron offense has to break through before the defense breaks down. In a championship game, that's always a lot to ask. To be plain, they can't beat South Central and Hanover Central on the same day.

South Central (15-4, 6-1)

UNION MILLS - Making their PCC debut, this is probably one of two major goals of South Central's softball program this season. The Satellites (don't ask me to explain the nickname) lost 2-0 to Culver Academy and right-handed pitcher Jackie Lawrence (13-5) Monday. There are similarities between Lawrence (13-5) and Hanover Central's Amanda Wendlinger (12-3), so that game might have done SC some good. South Central, a LaPorte County school that was 20-9 in 2003 and 26-5 in 2002, is led by leadoff girl Angela Ward (27-52, .519), who is a good bunter and has 20 stolen bases. Chelsea Rowe (13-37, .351) bats down in the lineup and she has 14 steals. Other than pitcher Chantal Gross (19-43, .442, 16 RBIs) who bats third and big Beth Harrold (.321), the cleanup hitter and catcher, SC does not have a lot of hitters. Three of their losses have been shutouts.

SC has had a run of strong pitchers including two daughters of coach Bill Fryar, but Gross is the latest star. Once the junior right-hander gets the lead, she is hard to beat. Chantal was 14-4 last year with a 2.88 ERA and she is 11-4 in 2004 with a 1-0 shutout of Class 1A No. 7 Whiting, a 5-0 shutout of 4A South Bend Adams and a 4-0 shutout of 1A No. 9 Marquette. She is not a big strikeout pitcher and requires a strong defense. Only one team (New Prairie) has come from behind to beat South Central all year.

HANOVER CENTRAL (17-6, 7-0)

CEDAR LAKE - They're the undisputed league champion after a 7-0 regular season, but everybody in the PCC knows that the tournament matters more than the regular season. HC is a three-time defending champion and seniors like catcher Megan Meyers, CF Trisha Sheehy, SS Bess Copak and RF Shannon Phillips want to be a part of the first all-champion softball class in PCC history. Hanover opened the season 5-5 but has accelerated to win 12 of their last 13 games, including their strongest-ever showing in the elite 16-team Twin Lakes Invitational where they stopped two Top-10 teams and lost 4-3 to Class 4A No. 7 McCutcheon (22-5). The Lady Cats struggled offensively early, but they now have the best offensive team in their league. Kelly Lapota had a home run, double and four RBIs in Tuesday's 11-1 victory over Washington Township. Bess Copak bats cleanup for an offense that outscored 23 foes 131-41. Lefty slap hitters Trisha Sheehy and Rachel Williams can cause major problems for the defense. Junior RHP Amanda Wendlinger (12-3) has never lost to a PCC opponent and pitched three complete games at the Twin Lakes tournament May 7-8. Lapota (5-3) is also an increasingly effective pitcher and could get the call in the semifinals if the weather is bad or too hot. The idea will be to set Wendlinger up for the title game. Amanda struck out 10 in a dominating 1-0 victory over South Central on May 4.

This Hanover team is now playing better than last year's team which went to the 2A state finals. The problem this weekend will be for the Lady Cats to take PCC teams seriously. Hanover has won 41 games in a row against PCC teams. That has to end sometime, but the girls would just as soon that sometime be about 2006.

WHO WILL WIN?

LaCROSSE - The draw favors Hanover because South Central (15-4) must meet Hebron (15-4) or Kouts in the semifinals before the two favorites would go head-to-head in the finals. If Hebron gets out of the early innings, that game could go on for some time. That's also the second semifinals. If Hanover has their way, Hebron and South Central will be playing in the mid-afternoon sun while the Lady Cats are at lunch.

The title game will be the third in 24 hours for both finalist and Hanover played three in 24 hours in 80 degree heat with a long bus ride in between just last Saturday.

Assuming that South Central takes out Hebron again, the final game will match newcomer South Central and defending champ Hanover Central.

SC coach Bill Fryar is not going to let eight of the first 11 batters strike out the way they did on May 4 when the two teams met for the first time. He will certainly bunt on Wendlinger, catcher Meyers and third baseman Andria Trock.

Hanover's money has been on a faster pony since coach Larry McMillen placed Sheehy in the leadoff slot and backup catcher Heather Rebeneck as the designated hitter. Rebeneck, who batted .421 as a pinch hitter-DH last season, is a free-swinging power hitter who can break up scoreless games. Sheehy, a speedy senior scooter, gets on base a lot and pushes Wendlinger to the No. 3 spot where she can drive in runs. The 4-5-6 of Copak, Lapota and Christie Wick has been effective in May.

In the earlier meeting, Angela Ward was thrown out stealing in the first inning and SC never got anyone else to second base. HC loaded the bases in the first inning but did not score, leading to a 1-0 game. That's not going to happen this time. SC will probably score a run early and Hanover should be able to score on Gross after one time through the order. The heat is on Hanover, which has far more senior players and is playing for a fourth consecutive title. If the Lady Cats fall behind, they may feel a lot of pressure. They feel they are supposed to win this tournament.

But South Central will be coming off the second semifinal game and they did not see everything Hanover could do in the earlier meeting. South Central must score first because, while they are a high scoring team overall (7.1 runs per game), the Satellites have played 10 Class 1A schools.

South Central has also faced 10 teams with winning records but the only 4A team they've played is LaPorte (2-21). The Lady Cats have played the tougher schedule. Hanover has played just 12 winning teams but those foes include 4A powers Munster (18-2), Lowell (13-6), Chesterton (20-4), and McCutcheon (22-5). And Hanover flat out spanked 3As Morton 6-0 and Griffith 10-0 and 2A No. 6 Lewis Cass, 4-1.

A rainout helps South Central because it would force Hanover to drive to Lacrosse on a week night. But no rain is predicted. Under cool conditions (no higher than mid 60s is forecast) a scoreless game could last until the cows come home. A multiple run first inning and the Lady Cats will win a blow out victory.

Neither of the above scenarios will happen.

South Central will take a 1-0 lead early and their followers from nearby Union Mills will make a lot of noise. But HC will rally for three runs after the third inning. The Lady Cats have better athletes on the field and few teams have more experience in playoff and tournament games in the last three years.

As we end their debut school year, it can be said that South Central is the best thing that has happened to the PCC in years. They are another enthusiastic small town/community school of multiple sport athletes. To be honest, you needed a dog and search party to find anybody in the PCC who really liked Wheeler.

In softball, South Central, which has never had a losing season, immediately become the no. 1 rival for Hanover Central and there will come a day when South Central wins the PCC in softball.

But I'd be very surprised if that day was Saturday, May 15.