Boone Grove survives Hanover's 5-run 6th inning to beat Wildcats 7-5

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

4-22-2008

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
BOONE GROVE (6-2)	1	0	4	0	0	2	0	7	9	2
HANOVER CENTRAL (5-3)	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	5	7	0

WP - Wayland Roach (3-0) 5K, 1 walk (4 innings)
LP - Dale Sjoerdsma (2-3) 1K, 1 walk, 3 HBPs (4 innings)

BOONE GROVE (6-2, 3-0 PCC)
Drew Kidd (2B) 1-for-2, 2 HBPs, stolen base
Nick DiMarco (CF) 2-for-4, 3 stolen bases
Josh Cobb (C) 0-for-2, HBP, walk, stolen base

Zak Ursitti (SS) 1-for-2, Sac. Fly, walk, 3 RBIs
Wayland Roach (P) 1-for-4
Blake Klisurich (3B) 0-for-3, RBI

Kyle Ferber (RF-P) 2-for-2, RBI, stolen base
Ben Vasquez (LF) 1-for-3, sac bunt
Sam Kidd (1B) 1-for-3, run scored

HANOVER CENTRAL (5-3, 2-1 PCC)
Adam Warn (LF) 1-for-2, double, 2 walks, stolen base
Erick Leibengood (2B) 0-for-4, run scored
Andrew DeYoung (S) 1-for-4, run scored

Jordan Rizo (1B) 2-for-3, walk, 2 RBIs
Mark Furman (DH) 0-for-2
Cody Howarth (CF) 1-for-2, HR, 3 RBIs, sac bunt

Jesse Hernandez (3B) 0-for-3
Dale Sjoerdsma (P) 1-for-3
Nick Burns (RF) 1-for-3

CEDAR LAKE, IN (4-22-2008) - You get the feeling that Hanover Central is closing the gap on Boone Grove in the Porter County Conference. I know that Hanover is the defending PCC champ because they won the league tournament in 2007, but Boone won 26 games last year and Hanover was barely .500 against comparable schedules.

But on a warm late April Tuesday in 2008, even though Hanover was highly disappointed with their 7-5 loss in the 2008 home opener against Boone Grove, the game indicated that the Wildcats are gaining ground on their perennial Class 2A rival.

They're a very well coached team," said Boone coach Rollie Thill after his team survived a five-run Hanover sixth inning. "You can see that. It's a good win. We've had trouble winning over here since I've been coach. We gave them five outs in the fifth inning. You can't do that."

Hanover coach Jim Nohos was happy with the five-run rally, but unhappy that his boys needed it.

"We aren't happy to just come close," he said. "When does that stop? There has to be a time when coming closer isn't good enough. I think we're at that point. They have a very good program. Take nothing away from them. But we have a pretty good program now, too."

The first two-thirds of the game was slow, boring and all-Boone. The speedy Wolves took advantage of the fact that regular catcher Brian Jager is out until Friday's home game against Gavit. Boone stole five bases in the first three innings and scored five runs as HC senior starting pitcher Dale Sjoerdsma hit three Wolves batters with pitches. It was an ugly start to a warm weather home opener and the HC fans in the new home field bleachers were largely very quiet. Senior clean-up hitter Zak Ursitti drove in three runs and Drew Kidd was hit twice with pitches and scored both times.

Star Boone center fielder Nick DiMarco lined a two-run single to left off relief pitcher Jordan Rizo to make it 7-0 after 5-1/2 innings.

Thill lifted starting left-handed pitcher Wayland Roach (3-0) after four shutout innings because ace Kyle Ferber hadn't pitched in six days. Hanover rallied against Ferber, who was 11-3 last season, after Boone second baseman Drew Kidd dropped a force out at second. Rizo lined a two-run grounder for a two-run single to left. One out later, junior Cody Howarth lined his first homer of the season, a three-run shot to left field cutting the lead to 7-5.

"I had two other pitchers to bring in," said Thill, of the final inning. "My shortstop Zak Ursitti is my closer. But I wanted Kyle to want to be out there. We gave them five outs in the sixth inning. He created a little of the problem himself with a bad throw but he worked himself out of it."

In the bottom of the seventh, HC's Nick Burns lined a single to center on an off-speed pitch. Adam Warn then lined a hustling double to right center to put the tying runs in scoring position with nobody out.

But Ferber struck out Erick Leibengood and Andrew DeYoung before intentionally walking clean-up hitter Jordan Rizo and striking out freshman Andy Wellwerts to end the game.

"That was a tough situation for the freshman to be in," said Nohos. "That's not the guy we wanted up in that situation. But with runners at second and third and nobody out, we've got to get the bat on the ball. Two ground balls to short score two runs there. You've got to make contact."

CAT-WOLVES NOTES: Boone Grove will play Hebron at 4:30 p.m. Friday and then travel to Gary to play Hobart at 7:00 p.m. in the US Steelyard. The Wolves will then have a short night before a 9:00 a.m. semifinal game against Rensselaer in the four-team Boone Grove Invitational. The championship game will be played at 3:00 p.m., requiring Boone to play four games within a 24-hour span.

"If we reschedule the Munster game, we'll play eight times in seven days, " said Boone coach Rollie Thill.

Hanover Cental played twice at Beecher, Illinois last Saturday and split a double-header, winning 7-0 and losing 8-7. The Cats used a lot of subs in the second game. They only have two postponed games to replay.

"We have not rescheduled Clark yet," said HC coach Jim Nohos. "We have Bishop Noll rescheduled for May 3 at Riverside Park."

Wayland Roach was dominant. True, Hanover Central is not a hard-hitting team right now, but Roach was overpowering.