Girls H.S. Softball: Munster 5, Hanover Central 1

Saturday, May 31, 2012 - 43 degrees at MUNSTER, IN

WP - Carly Murphy (1-0) CG, 7K 2 walks
LP - Ashley Yoways (1-2) CG, 12 Ks, 1 walk

HANOVER CENTRAL (1-2)
Ashley Yoways (P) 2-for-3, walk, run scored
Tiphani Ward (LF) 0-for-2, sac bunt
Melissa Balkema (SS) 1-for-2, walk
Katie Klopp (C) 1-for-3, RBI
Taylor Hurst (1B) 0-for-3
Blayr Poston (3B) 2-for-3
Tina Zychowski (CF) 0-for-3
McKenna Russell (RF) 0-for-3
Alyssa Howard (2B) 0-for-3

MUNSTER (2-1)
Brianna Zunica (2B) 3-for-4, 2 runs scored, double, RBI
Sadie Conner (LF) 2-for-4, 2 RBIs
Taylor Michalski (CF) 0-for-4
Sarah Simchak (C) 0-for-4
Gina Rice (RF) 1-for-3, RBI
Kari Dillner (1B) 1-for-3, RBI
Carly Murphy (P) 0-for-2
Colleen Jones (DH) 0-for-3
Emma Hodges (3B) 2-for-3, walk, double

MUNSTER (03-31-2012) For as long as I can remember, Hanover Central has opened the softball season with three games in three days in the last week of March against River Forest, Chesterton and Munster. While they have done better on occasion, that schedule most times ends up with Hanover holding a 1-2 record and that's the way it was this year. HC rolled over River Forest 16-0 Thursday before losing on the road 2-0 at Chesterton and 5-1 at Munster Saturday.

Coach Larry McMillen isn't the type to be okay with losses, especially when the games were winnable. But he knew his team did well to stay close to two of the top 4A teams in Northwest Indiana.

"This game here was pretty tight until they got two extra (fourth inning) runs," said McMillen after the game. "(Ashley Yoways) pitching was a little off at the start of the game today, She was a little high. When she comes across her body, the ball rises. She's not 100% on her pitching yet because she broke her foot early in the (pre-season)."

On a very cold morning (an 11 a.m. start in 43-degree weather), Hanover could have changed the course of this game in the first inning after Yoways led off with a single to left. Melissa Balkema's one-out single was followed by Katie Klopp's single to center for a 1-0 lead against Munster sophomore right-hander Carly Murphy. Taylor Hurst flied to left, but Blayr Poston beat out an infield slow roller to third base, filling the bases. Murphy was then able to strike out Tina Zychowski, a key play in the game.

Munster (2-1), which lost 10-1 to Homewood-Flossmoor but then upset defending regional champ Lake Central 8-7, rallied when Junior Brianna Zunica lined a double to right center and Sadie Conner's slap single to center tied the game. Yoways, who pitched in all of Hanover's 26 games in 2011, struck out the next two batters but Gina Rice smacked a run-scoring hit off the glove of Balkema, HC's shortstop.

In the second inning, Conner's sacrifice fly ball made it 3-1 after Zunica's second hit. Munster got two more in the fifth after a misplayed fly ball should have been the second out. RBI hits by Zunica and Conner created the 5-1 score. Murphy allowed just two singles after the first inning and she benefited from a line-drive double play started by Munster third baseman Emma Hodges in the sixth.

Murphy, who threw over 175 pitches in the win over Lake Central three days earlier, rebounded from HC's early rally and benefited from error-less defense. The Lady Ponies started three sophomores in the outfield and a freshman at shortstop. There's only two seniors who play regularly. Munster coach Beth Thornburg tried to lift her players with constant chatter in the early starting game played under painful weather conditions.

"I'm normally fairly talkative to begin with," she said. "But we've got a lot of young girls out there. I'm trying to explain it to them that you're in the game. You need to keep track of what the count is. How many outs there are. You can't just stand there."

Hanover coach McMillen thought there was an opportunity for an upset win missed Friday or Saturday.

"We were even last night and then one swing, two runs," he said. "Today I thought we could have scored more than one run. Ashley (Yoways) and Melissa Balkema are hitting the ball really hard and once Katie (Klopp) comes out of this fly ball thing she's doing, she will, too. She's hitting good pitches, but the ones down here (knee high) are the ones she can drive."

LADY CAT NOTES: Hanover Central probably won't have to play with nine players again, but the bench will not be crowded this season. Sophomore shortstop Ivy Dawson and outfielder Jamie Frost will be back after spring break giving HC 11 varsity players. There's only 24 girls in the entire program this season.

When Dawson comes back, freshman Melissa Balkema will probably move to third base and Blayr Poston, HC's basketball and soccer leading scorer, will most likely move to center field. Balkema is a strong right-handed hitter who figures to bat third most of the year as she did Saturday.

Munster lost the season opener 10-1 at Homewood-Flossmoor and after watching them beat Lake Central and Hanover Central, it's difficult to figure out how that happened.

"Good question," said coach Thornburg. "We just didn't have the best focus in that game. We just have a much better feeling when Carly is on the mound than we do when she isn't. Their pitcher is pretty good."

Hanover sophomore pitcher Ashley Yoways (1-2) pitched 14 of the first 17 innings, including six-inning complete games at Chesterton and Munster. If there were any doubts about her after her pre-season foot injury, they were forgotten in the back to back games.

Hanover will also play games at the high school this year on field constructed two years ago between the softball and soccer fields behind the school. Since the beginning of the program in the 1980s, HC has played game at the Hanover Girls Softball fields 1/8 of a mile southwest of the high school.

Munster sophomore Taylor Michalski, who batted .376 with 19 RBIs as a freshman, is a Division I college prospect and we know that because she's already picked out a school.

"She's already verballed (verbal commitment) to Boston College," said Thornburg. "She's going to hit .360-.370 before it's all done. She's naturally an outfielder, but we had her at short today. We're trying to find out what our best team is."

"Taylor probably has the highest softball IQ of any player I've had at this stage of the game. But I thought I'd give the freshman (Kotzo Taylor) a chance. The three in the outfield we had today (Gina Rice, Sadie Conner and Taylor Michalski) are probably the best defensive outfield we've have since I've been here. She's played on a lot of summer teams and she's already visited. She's already gotten some offers. They (Boston College) offered and she accepted."

2012 Hanover Central (1-2)
Coach Larry McMillen (14th season) 13-13 in 2011
3/29 (W) 16-0 (5 Inn.) River Forest (0-1)
3/30 (L) 0-2 at Chesterton (3-0)
3/31 (L) 1-5 at Munster (2-1)
4/3 (late Tues.) at Highland (0-1)
4/6 (Fri) at North Newton (1-0)
4/7 (Sat.) at Kankakee Valley (1-0)

4/11 (Wed.) Griffith
4/12 (Thurs.) Bishop Noll
4/14 (Sat.) HEBRON 10:00 a.m.
4/16 (Mon) at BOONE GROVE
4/18/ (Wed) Lowell 4:45 p.m.
4/19/ (Thurs) at Beecher, Ill.
4/20/ (FRi.) at LA CROSSE 5:00 p.m.

CROWN POINT Invitational
4/21/12 (Sat) Andrean (1-0) 10:00 a.m.
4/21/12 (Sat.) Crown Point (2-0)1 p.m.
4/21/12 (Sat.) Wheeler (0-0) 4 p.m.

4/23 (Mon) KOUTS
4/24 (Tues.) Wheeler
4/27 (Fri.) SOUTH CENTRAL - 5:00 p.m.
4/30 (Mon) WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
5/1/ (Tues) Rensselaer - 5:00 p.m.

Twin Lakes Invitational (draw to be announced)
5/4 (Fri) pool play game - p.m.
5/5 (Sat.) pool play game - a.m.
5/5 (Sat.) pool play game - p.m.

5/8 (Tues.) at MORGAN TOWNSHIP
5/18 (Fri.) at Whiting 5:00 p.m.

KANKAKEE VALLEY (3A) Sectional
5/21 (Mon.) IHSAA Sectionals
5/26 (Sat.) IHSAA Sectionals

5/29 (Tues.) Regional championship game (p.m.)

6/2 (Sat.) 3A Twin Lakes Semistate

6/9 (Sat.) IHSAA State Finals

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
HANOVER CENTRAL (1-2)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	1
MUNSTER (2-1)	2	1	0	2	0	0	-	5	10	0

Munster tames Lady Cats 5-1 in early season showdown