Boys H.S. Baseball: Hanover drops two, promomotes Myszkowski to varsity baseball coach</font> </font>

Hanover Wildcats drop close baseball games to Wheeler & Boone, promote Myszkowski to varsity coach

A USA-365 special report by Mark Smith

4-30-2006

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	R	H	E
HANOVER CENTRAL (4-5)	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	6	2
Wheeler (7-6)	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	4	9	2

Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 75 degrees & sunny at US Steelyard - Gary

HANOVER CENTRAL (4-6)
Andrew DeYoung (CF) Triple, double, run scored
Brent DeMateo (P) Double, single, walk, RBI
Michael Wendlinger (RF) Double, 2 walks

Wheeler (7-3)
Nick Havens (CF) 2 doubles, stolen base
John Forrest (P) 2 singles, HBP, walk, stolen base
Andrew Hardesty (C) Sac Fly, bunt sac, 2 RBIs
Kevin wells (DH) Single, RBI
Zach Chambers (RF) 2 singles, RBI

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

Monday, April 24, 2006 - 71 degrees & sunny at Boone Grove

WP - Kyle Ferber (3-0) CG
LP - Joe Angone (1-2)

BOONE GROVE (10-1)
Ryan Cupp (3B) Double, RBI
Danny Prochno (C) 3 singles, 2 runs scored

GARY (4-22-2006) In sports you can be superior to your opposition 75% of the day, but if you don't lead at the end, it's a total loss. Saturday's (April 22) 4-3 loss to Wheeler in the US Steelyard pro baseball stadium in Gary might not have been a total loss for Hanover Central.

The Wildcats, who are having another rocky season off the field, played a solid game against a sectional rival.
Wheeler's Kevin Wells lined a bases-loaded single over the head of HC left fielder Joe Angone to break a 3-3 tie and give the Bearcats (7-6) a fourth consecutive win on the final day of the 'Railcat Challenge', which brought almost all Northwest Indiana teams to the 6,700-seat Steelyard, home of Gary's Northern League franchise, the Railcats.

Wheeler, playing veteran coach Jack Schimanski's bunt and steal game, scored two runs in the sixth and another in the eighth to overcome a 3-1 Hanover lead. But the Wildcats, who presently have no home field and just saw assistant coach Al Myszkowski take over for retiring coach Ron Szayni after three weeks of the season, played one of their best games of the year, despite losing.

"We didn't execute everything perfectly," Schimanski smiled after the win. "And we'll have to work on that."

Brent DeMateo pitched a complete game against Wheeler and deserved a better fate.

"He pitched a great game. Our inexperience and mental breakdowns cost us the game," said Myszkowski, who had great praise for his starting pitcher. "He pitched a great game. A senior and co-captain... he stepped up. I feel like in the fifth inning, we started thinking we had it. You can't do that. They came back and took it away. We need to learn how to win games."

Myszkowski, who played for Hanover seven years ago, started an all-senior infield of John (3B) and Jake (1B) Kint, his younger brother Mark Myszkowski (2B) and shortstop Todd Sheehy. But the new coach inserted sophomore Andrew Young in center field and Brian Jager at catcher, placing them 1-2 in the batting order. Hanover has been looking for better defensive outfielders for a couple of years now and DeYoung, a 6-foot-3 varsity basketball player, may be part of the answer.

"They stepped in and already, from a skill standpoint, they're two of the top four players on the team," said Myszkowski. "They're going to make some mistakes because they're inexperienced. But they picked up slack at places where we needed it defensively. We have a bright future with those two."

Hanover does not appear to have a serious transition problem with Myszkowski coming in since he has been an American legion baseball coach and has been with the high school program for two years. Myszkowski, who was approved Tuesday night by the Hanover school board, was a Hanover player for Szayni just seven years ago.

CAT NOTES: Hanover lost 5-1 to 2A No. 3 Boone Grove (10-2) on Monday (April 24), getting just three hits off Boone right-hander Kyle Ferber (3-0). Junior right-hander Joe Angone allowed just seven hits for the losers.

A Thursday game with Gary West Side was canceled when the Gary team did not show up for the 5 p.m. start. Some one from West Side reportedly called Hanover last week to request the 5 p.m. start and get directions.

Athletic director Dave Seils says that the new baseball field northeast of the school should be ready for the Hebron game on May 8 at 4:30 p.m. As of last week, there was minor work left to be done.

Hanover Central's Monday, May 1 game with South Newton was tentatively scheduled to be moved to Kentland. After the Hebron game. HC has six scheduled home games left in the month of May.

Hanover Central has had three consecutive winning baseball seasons in succession for the first time in school history, but they will have to rally to have a fourth as it is a fairly good year in PCC baseball. Hebron upset Boone Grove 4-2 last Friday to narrow the race for first place. Hanover won for the first time in league play, 13-6 over Morgan Township last week. The Wildcats broke loose for 10 runs in the first inning, backing the pitching of left-hander Jake Kint.

The PCC tournament begins on Saturday, May 20 and the pairings have not yet been announced.

Hanover has a Tuesday afternoon game, tentatively scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at tradition-rich Block Stadium in East Chicago. The old 3,500-seat park on the south side of East Chicago was built in the 1950s for employees of US Steel and now is home base for the East Chicago Cardinals. Block Stadium is the oldest baseball park in northwest Indiana. The Wildcats travel to Kouts for a PCC game Friday afternoon (May 5) at 4:30 p.m.