Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 65 degrees, sunny, PCC Championship at LaCrosse

HANOVER CENTRAL (17-7)
Jessica Toth (P) Double, 2 walks, RBI
Lindsey Thompson (2B) 2 singles, 2 walks
Anna Plassman (LF) Single, walk
Morgan Austgen (SS) Single, sac. bunt


Porter County Conference (PCC)  Tournament
Quarterfinals:  HANOVER CENTRAL 10, LaCrosse 0  (5 innings)
BOONE GROVE 20, Kouts 5
HEBRON 3, Washington Township 2
Morgan Township 3, South Central 2  (10 innings)
Semifinals:  HANOVER CENTRAL 1, HEBRON 0
BOONE GROVE 2, Morgan Township 0
HANOVER CENTRAL 4, BOONE GROVE 0 - championship


PCC Softball Tournament Championships
2007:  HANOVER CENTRAL
2006:  HEBRON
2005:  HANOVER CENTRAL
2004:  HANOVER CENTRAL
2003:  HANOVER CENTRAL
2002:  HANOVER CENTRAL
2001:  HANOVER CENTRAL
2000:  MORGAN TOWNSHIP
1999:  HANOVER CENTRAL
1998:  MORGAN TOWNSHIP
1997:  MORGAN TOWNSHIP

LaCROSSE, IN (5-12-2007) -  The games were close but then again they weren't.  Hanover Central was never far ahead in the Porter County Conference (PCC) softball tournament and then, again, they were.

Hanover's freshman pitching, the question mark when the season began, continued to answer that question with a big 'thumbs up' over the weekend, as ninth grade right-hander's Kelsey Jankowksi and Jessica Toth pitched HC to a 10-0 win over LaCrosse, a 1-0 win over Hebron and a 4-0 win over Boone Grove for the school's seventh PCC tournament championship.

"We gave up no runs and four hits in three games," coach Larry McMillen said with a smile in the setting sun of the LaCrosse softball complex late Saturday.  "It's hard to lose that way."

"I didn't know who we had coming in this year," said senior Molly Fairhurst, who now will graduate as a PCC champion.  "I  knew we had good players coming in.  I heard people were saying we'd be pretty decent.  It's a little shocking coming off last year.  We work together so well.  I'm so happy with this."

Everybody wearing Hanover colors was happy because this three-game sweep wasn't supposed to happen after starting Hanover shortstop Kara Gilbert, probably the best all-around infielder in the PCC, suffered a knee injury and missed the entire eight-team league championship tournament.  HC isn't a great offensive team and, without the leadoff batting Gilbert, nobody from Cedar Lake was overconfident going in.

But Hanover's three varsity freshmen who have been overlooked somewhat in a season where good freshman have made impacts all over NW Indiana, provided exactly what the shorthanded team needed.  Morgan Austgen, who had played third base and outfield much of her freshman year, switched to shortstop and was a powerful player, handling every chance without error.  Jankowski (6-4) pitched a one-hit shutout against LaCrosse and Toth (10-3), who has been unhittable in PCC play, pitched matching one-hit shutouts of Hebron and Boone Grove to give the Lady Cats their sixth title in seven years.

The Lady Cats, who have 10 shutouts and are 15-2 after a 3-5 start, rolled over LaCrosse and squeaked out a Saturday morning victory over Hebron when Jankowksi doubled to left center, scoring Austgen with two out in the sixth inning.  Hawk right-hander Jessica Orris, who struck out 21 in a nine-inning game against Whiting earlier this month, took the loss, allowing just that one hit and two walks.  Austgen reached base on an error by Hebron third base man Erica Pauer on a slap hit and was bunted to second base by senior Brittany Ribicki.

Boone Grove, which has played the last month without top pitcher Lauren Denhert (12-12 last season), got an amazing performance from freshman right-hander Taylor Johnson in the semifinals against Class 1A, No. 3 Morgan Township (14-4).  Johnson gave up five hits and three walks while hitting three Morgan batters with pitches.  But nobody scored.  The 5-foot-2 right-hander struck out 11 and won 2-0 as the Cherokees, who had lost only to Crown Point (twice) and Wheeler (18-2), left 12 girls on base.

But in the title game, Johnson had trouble with a bleeding cut on a finger of her pitching hand and she lasted a little more than four innings.  Toth's RBI double to the left field fence made it 1-0 Hanover in the third inning and Boone coach Andy Niksich replaced his freshman pitcher after she walked the first two batters in the fifth inning.

"I thought she'd given all she had to give," Niksich said later.  "It wasn't a blister.  She just came from pitching a lot.  I had a lot of faith in Lauren Doelling.  She's done the job for us many times this year."

After Plant bunted the two HC runners into scoring position, one scored on a wild pitch and another came home on an RBI ground out by HC third baseman Shannon Kiraly.  Doelling allowed a fourth HC run in the seventh inning on a single by Lindsay Thompson and two more wild pitches.

"We were pretty confident coming in against Boone Grove," said senior Samantha Plant, who has been on the roster for three PCC titles.  "We beat them (7-0) the first time.  I'm not saying there would have been doubt in our minds playing Morgan (which was upset by Boone 2-0 in the semifinals) but we just hadn't played them.  They were different.  I thought Morgan would beat Boone."

Thee's no escaping that Boone missed Denhert, their most experienced pitcher, on this day.

"My girls don't want to make excuses," said Niksich, who was visibly disappointed in missing out on the PCC tourney title after a 9-2 start to the season.  "I hate hypotheticals.  But when you lose an all-area pitcher, hitter and shortstop... it's hard to replace.  She's been out almost a month.  Chances of her coming back this year are slim.  Doctors are saying it's two or three weeks before they'll release her to play.  She has to be released.  We don't want to jeopardize her future for the next level."

Hanover Central knows that it's time to get serious.  With four powerful teams to face in the final week and the prospect of state-ranked Wheeler (18-2) ahead at the Wheeler sectional, the Lady Cats drove off into the setting sun Saturday knowing that it's time to win or go home.

"We're not honking our own horns here at all," said McMillen.  "We're just trying to play good, solid ball and being competitive.  I think we've got a good solid shot at winning the sectional.

"We're young and we're striving to play together.  It's a learning process and it's going to take the whole year, but we're getting there.  I'm proud of how we've played this year.  We tell them the first thing we have to do is win the conference.  The second thing you have to do is win the sectional."

"And then if the softball gods are looking after you, you can win the regional and go to the big show."

PCC NOTES:  Sophomore shortstop Kara Gilbert suffered an ankle injury against Bishop Noll on May 7 and hopes to return by the opening game of the state playoffs against Lake Station on Tuesday, May 22 at Wheeler.

"A couple of games ago, I collided with a girl at home late," Kara explained Saturday.  "The doctor said I was lucky it wasn't serious and it would heel on its own.  But I don't really know when I'll be back."

Hanover coach Larry McMillen got a little adventurous as he loaded up the Hanover schedule the final week.  What was originally a two-game week became three when a postponement with Morgan Township (14-3) was dropped in there.  Then the HC coach saw that somebody else needed an extra game.

"We picked up Portage Monday, 4:45 at their place," he said.  "We play Morgan Township Wednesday (5-16-2007), Whiting Friday (5-18-2007) and we're at Crown Point Saturday."

Hanover Central has never played Portage (17-6), which is led by 5-foot-10 senior right-hander Meghan Gutierrez (15-4), who has beaten Penn, Chesterton and Lowell this season.

"We don't shy away from anybody," McMillen said.

Hanover Central thought their weak spot this season would be catching and, to be fair, it is the least experienced position on the roster.  McMillen has a designated hitter bat for both catchers, juniors Danielle Sampagnaro and Ashley Wornoff.  Sampagnaro has a very strong arm and she is improving blocking pitches, a must with the hard-throwing freshmen Toth and Jankowski.  Wornhoff is small for the position and she doesn't have Sampagnaro's arm, although you wouldn't know it if you saw her pick Boone's Lauren Johnson off first base in the sixth inning of Saturday's PCC championship game.  HC needs to develop a young catcher for the future, but Sampagnaro has been good enough and McMillen felt good enough about Wornhoff to start her in the PCC title game.

With Kara Gilbert unavailable, Hanover, for the first time, stacked all three athletic freshman, Jankowski, Austgen and Toth, at the top of the lineup with Lindsay Thompson hitting fourth and Samantha Plant batting fifth.  This may be the way they'll go without Gilbert, who will not attempt to play until the post-season.

Despite several seasons of success, Hanover has only three remaining softball players in the senior class that helped with the PCC crown Saturday.

"I wish there were more seniors," said Molly Fairhurst.  "It's kinda sad because people kept dropping out (of the senior softball class).  But I guess it's cool because the three of us stayed in and we accomplished something that we really wanted to do."

Samantha Plant has seen her softball life come full circle.  The senior outfielder is the only remaining player who was on the state tournament roster when HC won the 2A title in 2004.

"Last year I was hurt," she said. 

"The underclassmen have really stepped up," said senior Samantha Plant, the youngest player on Hanover's 2004 state title team and now one of three 'old lady' seniors in 2007.  "Its awesome," she said.  "They're going to be good for years after this.  In the beginning I had to be more mature to be with older kids.  Now, I'm the old one.  It's been awesome.  It really has.