Hanover Central falls 8-1 to South Spencer in 2A State Baseball Championship
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith 6-21-2011

Saturday, June 18, 2011 - 2A State Championship at Victory Field in INDIANAPOLIS, IN

WP - Jordan Meece (10-0) CG, 5K, 1 walk, 1 wild pitch, 96 pitches
LP - Andy Wellwerts (9-1) 8K, 2 walks, 6 earned runs (5.3 inn.).

SOUTH SPENCER (24-6)
Zeke Harmon (CF) 2-for-5, run scored
Jared Lauer (SS) 2-for-4, walk, double, RBI. 2 runs scored
Jordan Meece (P) 3-for-5, double
Justin Wead (3B) 1-for-2 2 HBP
Nate Hall (LF) 0-for-3, walk
Aaron Seiler (RF) 1-for-4, double
Mike Phillips (1B) 1-for-3
Shelby Lashley ((2B) 2-for-3, double
Nate Kuester (C) 0-for-2, sac bunt

HANOVER CENTRAL (22-6)
Zac Maciejewski (C) 0-for-3
Nic Sampognaro (2B-P) 1-for-3, double
Danny Stum (3B) 0-for-3
Nick Bollenbacher (SS) 1-for-3, double
Mike Balich (DH) 1-for-2, walk
Tyler Trepton (1B) 1-for-2
Nick Laing (LF) 1-for-2, sac bunt
Nick Myszkowski (CF) 0-for-2
Nick Spangler (RF) 0-for-2

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (6-18-2011) After the game, I walked out to my car, took some photos of down town Indianapolis, got back to the highway and headed north into some rainstorms. By the time I got back to Lake County, I was thinking about something else entirely.

Hanover Central's Class 2A championship game with South Spencer was very forgettable for the boys in blue. South Spencer, the 2008 state champion, led all the way and wore down the Porter County Conference (PCC) champions 8-1 in the Class 2A state championship game in warm, humid conditions at Victory Field.

I wish there was a turning point. Some strategic or personnel error that turned this game towards the boys from southern Indiana's Spencer County, but there really wasn't. There doesn't have to be. Hanover's five-game playoff winning streak ended against what looked like the better team. The Rebels (24-6) outscored, out-hit and out-fielded Hanover in the Wildcats' first-ever state title game in the 43-year history of the school.

South Spencer right-hander Jordan Meece (10-0) coasted through seven innings and 96 pitches in a game that was somewhat anticlimactic to the three-week playoff run Hanover had been on ignited by the school's first-ever sectional championship.

"It was a good ride," said second year HC coach Doug Nelson. "We're young. We're still figuring it out. We enjoyed it. We appreciate it. We appreciate where we are. It doesn't happen to every team. It doesn't happen every day. It doesn't happen to every team, It doesn't happen every day."

It was a great week for Hanover until the game began.

South Spencer, which had a .412 team batting average over its first 29 games, put the first three batters on base with a single to center, a 12-pitch walk to Jared Lauer and a perfect bunt single down the third base line by Meece.

Hanover's undefeated right-hander Andy Wellwerts struck out clean up man Justin Wead (38 of 95, .400) but his 1-2 pitch to Nate Hall (48 of 93, 514) bounced past catcher Zac Maciejewski back to the stands for a wild pitch and the first run of the game. Wellwerts struck out the next two hitters, holding South Spencer to one run, but needing 42 pitches to do it.

"I thought it was very similar to the semistate (against Taylor) where they scored one in the first and left the bases loaded," said Nelson. "That kid (Lauer) had great at bats. But Andy battled. You can't win if you don't score."

Jordan Meece was the reason Hanover didn't score. His numbers are deceptive. The 6-foot-2 right-hander only had an earned run average of 2.63 but he had pitched complete game victories over top-ranked Forest Park and fifth-rated Park Tudor.

"He just changed speeds a lot," said Nick Bollenbacher, one of Hanover's three .400 hitters. "He liked to keep the ball down low. We worked on it a lot this week. but it's a lot different practice to game. Especially practice to state championship game."

Batting with a runner at first and nobody out, Lauer fouled off seven pitches before he walked.

"He was keeping it down, "Lauer said later. "And I like the ball up. He threw me one curve ball. I saw his arm motion and I knew the last pitch was a curve ball."

Some hitters have an 'emergency' swing designed just to foul the ball off. Lauer said not to give him that much credit.

"No," he said. "I don't know what was going on there."

While South Spencer led just 1-0 after the first inning, the 42-pitch inning led to Wellwerts throwing 81 pitches in four innings in 80-degree heat. In the fifth, the Hanover senior seemed to tire. Lauer sliced a double down the right field line and Meece singled to left to make it 2-0. Justin Wead was hit on the arm by a pitch for the second time in the game and two fly balls made it 3-0.

In the 6th, Hanover centerfielder Nick Myszkowski dropped a line drive to put two runners on with nobody out. Third baseman Danny Stum made a diving catch of a sacrifice bunt attempt, but back-to-back hits by Lauer and Meece upped the score to 6-0. HC's Nic Sampognaro came on to pitch in relief and two more hits upped the lead to 8-0.

"Andy battled all year to stay undefeated all year," said Nelson. "There were a lot of games where he didn't have his best stuff. In order to have this kind of run, you have to get some breaks to go your way and we didn't get any today."

"I'll be okay with it," said Nick Bollenbacher who had one of Hanover's four hits. "But I won't be okay with the way we played. We got this far on pitching and defense and today, we didn't have it."

"I told the boys that we're not going to let today change the impact this has had on our program," Nelson said. "The kids did a good job all year. We can't guarantee that this will happen every year, but it's something worth working towards."

And the Cubs lost, too.

FINALS NOTES: Lafayette Catholic won a third consecutive state class 1A title Friday with a 3-2 win over North Central. Carroll won a second consecutive Class 4A title with a 5-3 win over No. 1 Cathedral (28-3). Carroll beat Cathedral 1-0 in the 2010 4A state championship game. Of the three private schools in the state finals, only Lafayette Catholic won. Mishawaka Marian lost 8-3 to Crawfordsville.

Hanover's biggest threat of the game came in the second inning when Mike Balich and Tyler Trepton singled with one out and the Wildcats trailing 1-0. Seventh-place hitter Nick Laing swung and missed at the first pitch, which came in at eye level, So coach Doug Nelson called for a sacrifice bunt.

"He didn't look like he saw the ball very well," Nelson explained later. "So I called for the bunt and he got it down."

With runners at second and third and two out, Nick Myszkowski took a called third strike.

"That was a turning point," Nelson admitted.

Attendance at the state finals was not good. There were less than 7,500 fans combined for all four games. There was a small student section for HC ready to cheer on the Wildcats but Hanover Central did not have a large turnout of fans, maybe 250. Certainly less than for most boys basketball home games. The school did have a fan bus available carrying students to the finals but the reality is: School ended almost two weeks ago and some students perhaps didn't care (or maybe even know) about the baseball team being in the state finals.
South Spencer (Rockport, Indiana) is 30 miles from Terre Haute but less than 10 miles from the Kentucky state line and Owensboro, Kentucky. South Spencer and football power Heritage Hills are the only schools in Spencer County, which is described as a farming community.

Hanover Central (22-5)
coach Doug Nelson (2nd year) 35-15
3/30 (W) 6-1 at Lowell (6-20)
3/31 (L) 0-12 at Lake Central (26-6)
4/6 (W) 29-0 Calumet W 29-0
4/7 (L) 3-7 at Wheeler L 3-7
4/12 (W) 18-0 at Covenant Christian (DeMotte)
4/15 (W) 6-0 Hebron
4/19 (W) 11-0 Whiting
4/28 (W) 10-0 at River Forest
5/2 (W) 9-0 at Washington Township
5/4 (W) 16-3 at Kouts
5/6 (W) 10-0 Morgan Township
5/7 (L) 6-7 at Hobart
5/9 (W) 9-7 at Merrillville
5/10 (W) 10-4 Boone Grove
5/11 (W) 11-1 LaCrosse
5/12 (W) 5-2 Morton
5/16 (W) 8-3 at Clark
5/17 (L) 2-3 at Highland

Porter County Conference (PCC) Tournament
5/18 (W) 6-3 Kouts - PCC quarterfinal
5/20 (L) 6-15 at Portage
5/21 (W) 4-1 at Washington Township - semifinals
5/23 (W) 6-5 Morgan Township - PCC title

Hanover Central Sectional
5/30 (W) 6-3 Bishop Noll
5/30 (W) 13-8 Wheeler (18-9)
Jimtown Regional
6/4 (W) 9-5 Westview (14-17)
6/4 (W) 10-2 Eastside (15-17)
Kokomo Semi-State
6/11 (W) 4-3 Taylor (27-5)
Class 2A State Championship
6/18 (L) 1-8 South Spencer (24-6)
 

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Revised: June 21, 2011.