Hanover Central's 4-game win streak brings Wildcats to within game of .500

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

5-04-2007

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

WP - Jesse Hernandez (1-0) CG, 8K, 1 walk, 98 pitches
LP - Danny Macon (0-1) CG, 78 pitches

WHITING (7-9)
Steven Combs (SS) Triple, 2 singles, run scored
Jeremy Dumezich (LF) Double, HBP, run scored

HANOVER CENTRAL (6-7)
Jon Gaisor (CF) 2 singles
Dale Sjoerdsma (LF) Single, sac bunt
Joe Angone (RF) 2 singles
Jesse Hernandez (P) Double, walk, RBI

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
East Chicago (6-6)	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	3	2
HANOVER CENTRAL (5-7)	0	0	2	3	0	1	-	6	8	1

WP - Mark Furman (1-0) 1K, 0 walks (3 2/3 innings)
LP - Roger Sierra (2-2) CG, 2K, 3 walks

HANOVER CENTRAL (5-7)
Jordan Rizo (1B) 2 doubles
Zac Burns (OF) Double, run scored

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
HANOVER CENTRAL (4-7)	0	3	0	5	1	1	1	11	13	1
South Newton (4-7)	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	6	2

WP - Joe Angone (2-2) CG, 9K, 0 walks
LP - Evan Brown (0-2) 0K, 0 walks (3 2/3 inn.)

HANOVER CENTRAL (4-7)
Adam Warn (LF) HR, 2 RBIs
Jake Huppenthal (3B) HR, 2 singles, 3 RBIs
Jesse Hernandez (2B) Double, single, RBI

CEDAR LAKE (5-03-2007) The debut season of new Hanover Central coach Jim Nohos didn't go well immediately, but it appears to be going well now. No amount of optimism can shine up a 2-7 start, but when the Wildcats beat Whiting 5-3 Thursday in the bright sunshine behind Hanover Central high school, the home team had a four game winning streak and a lot of reasons to look ahead.

Sophomore right-hander Jesse Hernandez (1-0) pitched his first varsity complete game, posting nine strikeouts and walking just one as the Wildcats (6-7) pulled to within one game of the .500 mark for the first time since the day after opening day.

"This wasn't a good game," said Nohos, pointing to outfield mistakes and some fundamental assignments lapses. "We've got to do better than this."

Whiting coach Jim Lenz thought his side might struggle if Hanover threw a decent pitcher in this non conference midweek matchup.

"Hanover always had the reputation of playing pretty good ball," Lenz said. "We just couldn't get any hits out of the bottom of the lineup. We had nine strikeouts, all the bottom five guys. This guy (HC pitcher Jesse Hernandez) is better than a lot of guys we see. He's not as good as (Clark's Trent) Howard but he's pretty good."

Hernandez gave up a first inning run when the Hanover outfield played two long fly balls into a leadoff triple by Steven Combs and RBI-double by Jeremy Dumezich. Hanover came back quickly when Dale Sjoerdsma singled to center and Jon Gaisor singled to left. When Combs, Whiting's shortstop, fumbled Brian Jager's ground ball, the game was tied and an RBI ground out by Jordan Rizo gave Hanover a 2-1 first inning lead.

Whiting tied the game in the third when Combs singled and stole second in front of Brock Vale's RBI single. HC made it 3-2 in the bottom of the third on hits by Gaisor and Jager and a base loaded walk to the pitcher Hernandez. Hanover scored a fourth run in the fourth on an error, a bunt and two wild pitches by Whiting sophomore right-hander Danny Macon (0-1). HC also 'stole' a run in the sixth on a double by Hernandez, a sacrifice bunt by Cody Howarth and a first pitch squeeze bunt by Erik Leibengood.

"The good thing about that was that Erik missed a squeeze bunt the other day," said Nohos. "It shows he's working and concentrating."

"We just didn't react to it," he said. "Our baseball IQ is not very high. That was the ninth place hitter. You have to know they might do that. But our guys don't always recognize baseball situations."

The bunt is becoming Hanover's trademark. The Wildcats were 3-for-4 in sacrifice bunt attempts and they'd have been 4-for-4 except that the home plate umpire, working by himself, did not see Brian Jager's bunt hit his leg before he left the batters box.

"Even when we bunt," said Nohos. "I don't want to give up an out. I want them to beat it out or put pressure on the defense to make a mistake. I try to let them run and sometimes they get thrown out, but I don't want them to be afraid to play."

Whiting is looking at the 1A playoffs where they do have a chance if they can get someone productive in the fifth and sixth slots. Macon did a decent job pitching his first complete game.

"The bottom of our lineup isn't going to do much against good pitching," said Jim Lenz, who did not mince words. "We can hit against the bottom half of the LAC Blue Division. But some of our guys are not going to hit good pitching. We went up there swinging at anything. Their pitcher did a good job and we didn't have a plan against him."

Scheduling Lincoln Way East (which has 3,300 students), powerful Griffith and 3,000-kid monster Lake Central in the next 10 days before the Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament, it's obvious that Hanover Central's coaches have a plan, too. The only question is, will it work by the end of this year?

CAT NOTES: No one at Hanover Central has said anything, but you can look at the schedule below and see which teams are unlikely to be on the baseball schedule next season. Normally, when games are postponed, you reschedule them. When several teams have had their games with Hanover postponed this year, the new coaching staff and athletic director Dave Seils have scheduled other games. Hanover has added three new games to the schedule since the start of the year:

1) Saturday's 10:00 a.m. game with Illinois power Lincoln-Way East,
2) Friday, May 11 home game (4:30 p.m.) with Griffith, and
3) Wednesday afternoon, May 16 at Lake Central.

Since Lincoln-Way East has never heard of Hanover Central and Lake Central hasn't played HC in this century, it's a sure bet that Nohos called those three schools, not the other way around.

"We just want to play the toughest teams we can," the new HC coach said. "That's the only way to get better. And if we play well, we can stay with them."

Hanover senior Matt Kozlowski has suffered a dislocated knee and may be out for the season.

"I've always had bad knees from playing three sports," he said Thursday. "I hurt it in gym class. My doctor said if it hadn't gone out in school it would have happened later that night. It was going to happen. I have to wear this (a knee brace) for two weeks and then I want to try to come back. Maybe by the sectionals."

Kozlwoski, a volleyball and basketball player who hit the game winning three-point shot in a February game at Kouts, is one of just three seniors on the team and he badly wants to return before his time is up. But there's only three weeks left in the season.

"I just hope I can come back and play in one more game," Matt said. "Who knows if he'll play me and I don't now if I'll be able to play. But I'd really like to play just one more game."

Hanover senior Joe Angone (2-2) is clearly pitching himself onto a small college roster with 27 strikeouts and one walk in his last three starts over 20 innings.

"Joe has been fantastic," said HC coach Jim Nohos. "He's not walking anybody now. There's a situation where things get tense and, in the past he's faltered. He's been a bulldog. He's been very strong. I'm very happy with him. South Suburban is interested in him. DePauw has had contact and Franklin has contacted him. Purdue-Cal already says he can play there if he wants to. We top him out at 84-85 (mile an hour) in the field house. He could be 89-90 by the time he's a (college) sophomore. I really haven't used him against anybody in league games yet, but we know he's our No. 1 and he knows he's our No. 1."

Hanover's baseball field is still a work in progress. The playing field and dugouts are in good shape, but there are no concessions facilities or water fountains yet. For visitors from Griffith or River Forest heading for Hanover this month, there is a hot dog shop not visible from the field about 1,000 feet south of the field along the highway, but there is nothing at the field and there won't be until next season at the earliest. Visitors need to understand that it's a new field and they should bring their own refreshments.

HANOVER CENTRAL (6-7)
Coach Tom Nohos (1st Year), 13-15 in 2006 - PCC game in CAPS

3-31 (L) 4-5 (8 innings) at Bishop Noll (6-12)
4-3 (W) 4-2 at North Newton (6-9)
4-4 -     Calumet (cold)
4-6 -     Gary Roosevelt (cold)
4-10 (L) 0-10 (5 innings) at Clark (10-5)
4-12 -     Whiting (cold)
4-16 (L) 4-8 WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (7-5)
4-17 (L) 2-3 Lowell (6-8) at the US Steelyard - Gary
4-19 (L) 5-6 MORGAN TOWNSHIP (3-4)
4-21 (L) 7-10 Beecher, Ill.
4-21 (W) 11-8 Beecher, Ill.
4-23 (L) 4-7 at BOONE GROVE (11-1-1)
4-26 (Th) Gary West Side (wet grounds)
4-27 (F) Gavit (rain)
4-26 (W) 4-3 Wheeler (9-6)
4-30 (W) 11-1 at South Newton (4-7)
5-1 (W) 6-4 East Chicago (5-6)
5-3 (W) 5-3 Whiting (7-9)
5-4-7 (F) KOUTS (7-2) 4:30 p.m.
5-5-7 (S) Lincoln-Way East (New Lenox, Ill.) 10 a.m.
5-7-7 (M) at HEBRON - 4:30 p.m.
5-9-7 (W) at LaCROSSE (10-6) 4:30 p.m.
5-10-7 (Th) at Morton - 4:30 p.m.
5-11-7 (F) Griffith (12-7) 4:30 p.m.
5-12-7 (S) at SOUTH CENTRAL - 11 a.m.
5-15-7 (Tu) at Lew Wallace - 4:30 p.m.
5-16-7 (W) at Lake Central (8-5) 4:30 p.m.
5-18-7 (F) River Forest - 4:30 p.m.

Porter County Conference (PCC) Tournament
5-19-7 (S) quarterfinals   (TBA)
5-21-7 (M) semifinals - 4:30 p.m.
5-23-7 (W) PCC championship - 4:30 p.m.

5-24-7 (Th) at Lake Station - 4:30 p.m.
5-25-7 (F) Hammond - 4:30 p.m.

BOONE GROVE (2A) Sectional
5-29-7 (M) quarterfinals
6-2-7 (F) semifinals
6-3-7 (S) championship