Boone Grove upsets Lady Wildcats 3-2 in 8 innings to take PCC lead

A USA-365 special report by Mark Smith

5-03-2008

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	R	H	E
BOONE GROVE (12-2, 5-0 PCC)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	7	1
HANOVER CENTRAL (12-3, 5-1 PCC)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	5	4

Thursday, May 1, 2008 - 69 degrees and cloudy in CEDAR LAKE, IN

WP - Taylor Johnson (9-1) CG, 13K, 3 walks
LP - Jessica Toth (6-3) CG, 13K, 1 walk

BOONE GROVE (12-2, 5-0 PCC) starters
Morgan Doelling (LF) 0-for-4
Lauren Johnson (2B) 2-for-4, stolen base, run scored
Katie Runyon (CF) 0-for-4
Tyler Johnson (P) 1-for-4, RBI
Caitlyn Wilcox (1B) 2-for-4, RBI
Kristyn Kessler (3B) 1-for-3, sac bunt
Lauren Ferber (RF) 1-for-4
Christine Scheiderer (C) 0-for-2, walk
Lauren Doelling (SS) 0-for-3

HANOVER CENTRAL (13-3, 5-1 PCC) starters
Kara Gilbert (SS) 1-for-4, stolen base
Morgan Austgen (LF) 0-for-3, walk, stolen base, run scored
Kelsey Jankowski (DH) 0-for-2, walk, HBP
Jessica Toth (P) 1-for-3, sac bunt
Tiffany Gibson (RF) 1-for-4, run scored
Lindsay Thompson (2B) 0-for-4
Shannon Kiraly (3B) 1-for-2, walk
Victoria Wigsmoen (1B) 0-for-2, sac bunt
Anna Plassmann (CF) 1-for-3

CEDAR LAKE (5-01-2008) - In sports, it's not a rivalry until both sides win a big one. Consider the Hanover Central-Boone Grove softball match-up now a rivalry. Up-and-coming Boone Grove squeezed out the game-tying and game winning runs in the seventh and eighth innings Thursday on the road to upset 2A No. 2 Hanover Central 3-2, and most likely, ensure themselves of a first pace finish in the Porter County Conference.

"I've been telling them since 'Day One'," said Boone Grove coach Andy Niksich, "that they can play with anybody. And they've been proving me right."

Hanover Central, losers only to Illinois small school sate champ Beecher and 4A power Munster, was two outs away from victory when they gave up the lead, a fact that was not lost on longtime coach Larry McMillen.

"Don't take anything away from Boone Grove," said McMillen. "They're an up-and-coming young team. They did a great job. But when you don't take care of the ball, you're waiting around to get beat."

Hanover had a nightmare final two innings defensively. Leading 1-0 with one out, the game was tied in the seventh inning when Boone's Lauren Ferber, who had struck out twice against Hanover pitcher Jessica Toth (6-3), sliced a soft pop single about 15 feet behind first base and in front of Hanover right fielder Tiffany Gibson.

In the eighth inning with two out and a runner at second base, Hanover's Taylor Johnson sliced a base hit to right field that scored a go-ahead run. HC right fielder Tiffany Gibson fielded the ball and appeared to look at first base for a force play, but no one covered the bag for the Wildcats. After Caitlyn Wilcox's infield hit, Kristyn Kessler sliced a base hit to right field. Gibson's throw to the plate cut off Johnson, but Hanover mishandled the rundown and the third run scored anyway. For Kessler, a senior three-sport athlete in her final days of high school, this win was a bonus, a reward for a long career of representing her school.

"Have we beaten Hanover before?" asked Kessler, referring to her class. "I don't think so. It's really exciting. Especially this being my last year. The biggest thing we get is respect. The boys at Boone just laugh at us. They call us useless and all other kinds of names. They respect us now."

Hanover's McMillan felt his team didn't play up to their reputation.

"There's a very fine line between losing and getting beat," said McMillen. "We lost today. It does remind you of the Munster game. Hopefully, the way we came back after that is what will happen now."

Hanover Central, which had a six-game win streak broken, had base runners in seven of the eight innings, but could not score them. Johnson, a small right-hander, got strikeouts to end the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth innings.

The Lady Cats' inability to put the ball in play with runners on base allowed Boone the chance to rally. As they did in a 6-1 loss to Munster in mid-April, HC seemed to try to nurse the 1-0 lead to the finish line.

"We're not good enough to do that," said McMillen, who feels his team should be undefeated. "We should have had four or five runs."

Boone celebrated the win like it was a championship game. No one was certain when the last time was that: 1.) Boone beat Hanover or 2.) Boone beat the team ranked second state wide. The Wolves did score the winning run on a misplay, but Hanover has won by 10 runs or more over six different teams.

"We played hard for seven full innings and we got a little respect for ourselves around the region," said Nicksich, who has waited three years for a really big PCC win. "I couldn't be more proud of them. I don't know what else to say."

CAT-WOLF NOTES: Boone Grove took the weekend off, while Hanover Central headed for a first round matchup with Andrean in the 16-team Twin Lakes Invitational in Monticello. Boone Grove school prom is always the first weekend in May and the Twin Lakes Invitational is also always the first weekend in May. Until one of those things changes, Boone, which was at Twin Lakes three years ago, won't be in that tourney.

It may be irrelevant this season as weather forecasts for the Twin Lakes Invitational were filled with rain.

Boone's Kristyn Kessler has been part of PCC championship teams in basketball and she's had success in volleyball, but little in softball until this year. It would have been easy to give up softball, especially her senior year, after which she isn't going to be an athlete at Indiana University.

"I've been playing since I was seven," she explains. "It was always a sport that got pushed aside for me. But it's so much fun. It always has been. Sectionals felt pretty good. We won PCC three times. But this has always been different. For me, softball is totally separate from basketball and volleyball."

After Boone led 3-1, McMillen made a controversial decision. When the first two batters reached in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Hanover coach had No. 3 hitter Jessica Toth, his best right-handed batter, bunt runners to second and third base, which she did successfully. Tiffany Gibson, the fifth-place batter, hit an RBI ground ball and Lindsay Thompson struck out to end the game. Toth is a dominant hitter with home run power and she was 1-for-3 on the day.

"I wanted to put both runners in scoring position," McMillen said. "Just because you're in the cleanup position doesn't mean you can't bunt."

The irony here is that in the sectional championship game last year against Wheeler, the first two runners in the first inning reached base and McMillen let Toth swing away, hoping for an early lead. She popped up. Hanover did not score and lost the sectional title by one run.

Twin Lakes Softball Invitational
May 2-3 (4 fields) in Monticello, Indiana (times are EST)

POOL (1) ONE: Twin Lakes (9-4), Pioneer, Maconaquah, MERRILLVILLE (1-13)
POOL (2) TWO: Lewis Cass, Munster (12-5), Benton Central and McCutcheon (18-2)
POOL (3) THREE: Frontier (14-2), Western, Harrison (11-5) and LOWELL (12-6)
POOL (4) FOUR: Eastern, Jefferson (2-15), HANOVER (10-2), ANDREAN (10-3)

MONTICELLO - The 16-team Twin Lakes Invitational down by 'Indiana Beach' signals the home stretch in northern Indiana high school softball and the winner here traditionally has a good state tournament soon afterwards. The two teams that played for the 2007 title in Monticello in early May (Lowell and McCutcheon) both reached the state finals, as did Andrean, which lost in the semifinals. The Twin Lakes Invitational uses a 'lightning round' format where you play games with 90-minute time limits in four team pools. The 'international tiebreaker' is used, if necessary, to find a winner. If a game is tied after 90 minutes, each half inning begins with a runner at second and nobody out. That tends to ends games quickly.

The girls seem to like the fact that they get to stay in a hotel on Friday night and most NW Indiana teams do that now because it's getting to the point where it costs less to stay overnight than it does to drive the 90 miles back and forth to Lake County. Friday night is fun but the competitors are quickly separated from the vacationers Saturday. Unless you sweep your pool, you are almost certainly going home in the middle of the day Saturday. Pool winners meet in a four team singles elimination playoff beginning at 3:30 p.m. This is the crown jewel of Indiana softball regular season softball tournaments, and there is rarely an upset winner. Munster and Lowell have never won. Hanover has never advanced beyond pool play. Andrean is a four-time Twin Lakes champion, the last time in 2006.

LOWELL (12-6) vs. Munster (14-5)
Saturday, May 3 - 10:30 a.m.

Lowell will open the Twin Lakes Invitational Friday night with Western, but the pivotal game will be against an old friend as the Devils battle Northwest Crossroads Conference (NWCC) rival Munster (14-5). The Mustangs figure to line up undefeated Elanor Kennedy (9-0) against the Devils, who could counter with either senior regulars Alyssa Reed or Kaitlyn Bolanowski or sohomore pitching prospects Lauren Wells and Jacki Fletcher. Two problems for Lowell on this one. Lowell also was scheduled to play Munster Tuesday afternoon, so this could be the third meeting of the year between the two schools with a fourth one likely in the post-season. Also, the Devils may not have some seniors on this day as Saturday is the date of the Lowell prom. Even if Reed and Bolanowski are available, Lowell coach Pete Iussig may not want to pitch his seniors against them again with the knowledge that a sectional rematch is likely. The Red Devils will also face Class 1A power Frontier (10-0), which was unbeaten as of last weekend, but the Falcons had not faced a team as formidable as Lowell in those first 10 triumphs.

ANDREAN (10-3) vs HANOVER CENTRAL (13-3)
Friday, May 2 - 6:30 p.m.

Here is the premier opening night game as two schools less than 10 miles apart travel 90 miles to meet for the first time in five years. Hanover beat Andrean 3-1 for what was then the 2A Sectional title on the way to the state finals. The Lady Cats play Boone Grove tonight (4:30 p.m.) and if Jessica Toth pitches that key league game, HC soph Kelsey Jankowski, who struck out 13 in an 11-0 victory over South Newton Thursday, figures to face the defending 3A champion 59ers, who could pitch either soph Alyssa Mosely or senior Nicole Derezinski, depending on how the week of league games goes. This is a tough pool because both sides will face Eastern (Howard County) Saturday. Hanover will probably be without the double play team of shortstop Kara Gilbert and second baseman Lindsay Thompson, who are among four HC girls who will be taking their SAT tests Saturday. The Niners are always looking to win the championship here, whereas HC might consider the weekend a victory if they simply win their pool.

Twin Lakes Softball Invitational
Friday, May 2 - pool play in Monticello, In.
(5:00) Twin Lakes vs. Maconaquah
(5:00) Jefferson vs. 2A No. 7 Eastern
(5:00) Harrison vs. 1A No. 4 Frontier
(6:30) Western vs. LOWELL
(5:45) Pioneer vs. MERRILLVILLE
(6:30) 2A No. 2 HANOVER CENTRAL vs. ANDREAN
(6:30) Lewis Cass vs. 4A No. 2 McCutcheon
(8:00) Benton Central vs. MUNSTER

Saturday, May 3 - pool play in Monticello In.
(9:00) Pioneer vs. Twin Lakes
(9:00) Jefferson vs. ANDREAN
(9:00) LOWELL vs. Harrison
(9:00) Lewis Cass vs. Benton Central
(10:30) 4A No. 2 McCutcheon vs. Munster
(10:30) 2A No. 7 Eastern vs. 2A No. 2 HANOVER CENTRAL
(10:30) MERRILLVILLE vs. Maconaquah
(10:30) 1A No. 4 Frontier vs. Western
(12:00) Maconaquah vs. Pioneer
(12:00) ANDREAN vs. 2A No. 7 Eastern
(12:00) LOWELL vs. 1A No. 4 Frontier
(12:00) Benton Central vs. 4A No. 2 McCutcheon
(1:30) Twin Lakes vs. MERRILLVILLE
(1:30) Munster vs. Lewis Cass
(1:30) Western vs. LOWELL
(1:30) 2A No. 2 HANOVER CENTRAL vs. Jefferson

(3:30) Winner of Pool 1 vs. Winner of Pool 2
(3:30) Winner of Pool 3 vs. Winner of Pool 4
(6:00) Tournament Championship game

2A Hanover Central (12-3)
Coach Larry McMillen (17th year) 20-10
PCC games in CAPS - weekday games start at 4:30 p.m. - unless otherwise indicated

(W)12-2 at Chesterton (7-4)

Queen of Diamonds Tourney - at LaVille
(W) 15-0 Clinton Prairie
(W) 11-0 Maconaquah
(W) 10-1 Mishawaka Marian (14-2) finals

(W) 14-1 at LaCROSSE
(W) 7-1 at MORGAN TOWNSHIP
(L) 1-6 Munster (13-5)
(W) 3-2 (9 inn.) Lowell (11-6)
(L) 3-4 at Beecher, Ill (17-4)

Four Class Tourney
4-19 (rain) Andrean
4-19 (rain) CP
4-19 (rain) South Central

(W) 2-1 (8 innings) Wheeler (12-3)
(W) 5-0 HEBRON (11-4)
(W) 11-0 (6 inn.) South Newton
(W) 5-0 KOUTS

(W) 13-1 (5 inn.) Rensselaer (0-16)
(W) 10-0 (5 inn.) SOUTH CENTRAL (7-7)
(L) 2-3 (8 inn.) BOONE GROVE (12-2)

Twin Lakes Invitational
16 teams - pool play - at Monticello, Indiana
5-2 (F) Andrean (9-3) 5:30 (CST)
5-3 (S) Eastern
5-3 (S) Jefferson (3-12)
5-6 (Tu) WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

PCC championship
8 teams - single-elimination - at LaCrosse

5-9 (F) quarterfinals vs Hebron (11-4) 5 p.m.
5-10 (S) Semifinals - a.m.
5-10 (S) Championship - p.m.
5-16 (F) at Whiting - 5 p.m.

Bishop Noll (2A) Sectional
5-21 (W) semifinals
5-23 (F) championship
LaVille (2A Regional
5-30 (S) semifinals - a.m.
5-30 (S) championship - p.m.