Lady Wildcats capture PCC Championship with 5-3 win over Boone Grove

A USA-365 special report by Mark Smith

5-12-2008

Saturday, May 10, 2008 - 60 degrees & cloudy, PCC Softball Championship at LaCROSSE

WP - Jessica Toth (9-3) CG, 8K, 1 walk
LP - Taylor Johnson (12-2) 1K, 1 walk  (2 innings)

HANOVER CENTRAL (18-5) starters
Kara Gilbert (SS) 0-for-4
Morgan Austgen (CF)  1-for-3, walk
Kelsey Jankowski (1B) 1-for-4,RBI
Jessica Toth (P) 1-for-3, double, RBI, walk
Tiffany Gibson (RF) 1-for-4
Lindsay Thompson (2B) 2-for-2, sac bunt
Shannon Kiraly (3B) 0-for-1, Sac. Fly, RBI, sac bunt
Alisha Janes (LF) 1-for-3
Anna Plassmann (DP) 1-for-3

BOONE GROVE (16-3) starters
Morgan Doelling (LF) 0-for-4
Lauren Johnson (2B) 1-for-3, double
Katie Runyan (CF) 1-for-3
Taylor Johnson (P) 0-for-1
Caitlin Wilcox (1B) 1-for-2, Sac. Fly, 2 RBIs
Kristyn Kessler (3B) 0-for-3
Christine Scheiderer (C) 0-for-2, walk
Lauren Ferber (RF) 1-for-3
Lauren Doelling (SS) 0-for-3

Saturday, May 10, 2008 - 65 degrees & sunny, PCC Softball Semifinal at LaCROSSE

WP - Kelsey Jankowski (8-2) CG, 8K, 2 walks
LP - Stephanie Balon (4-8) 0K, 5 walks (3 innings)

SOUTH CENTRAL (8-12) starters
Courtney Michael (SS) 1-for-3
Katie Bekavac (CF) 0-for-2, walk
Olivia Pahl (3B) 1-for-2,
Janel Breitenbach (1B) 0-for-2
Brittany Turner (RF) 0-for-1, walk
Dannae Alm (DH) 0-for-2
Hayley Paul (C) 0-for-2
Shelby Worthen (LF) 0-for-1
Stephanie Balon (P) 0-for-1

HANOVER CENTRAL (17-5) starters
Kara Gilbert (SS) 2-for-3, walk
Morgan Austgen (CF)  2-for-3, HBP
Kelsey Jankowski (P) 3-for-4, 3 RBIs
Jessica Toth (1B) 0-for-3, walk
Tiffany GIbson (RF) 1-for-4, RBI
Lindsay Thompson (2B) 0-for-1, 2 walks, HBP
Shannon Kiraly (3B) 1-for-4, double, RBI
Danielle Graham (LF) 0-for-1, 2 walks
Anna Plassmann (DH) 1-for-2, 2 RBIs, walk

Saturday, May 10, 2008 - 60 degrees & cloudy, PCC Softball Semifinals at LaCROSSE

WP - Taylor Johnson (11-1) 4K, 0 walks (2 innings)
LP - Morgan Galloway-Daly (6-8) CG, 3K, 2 walks

Washington Township (6-12) starters
Sydney Wagner (RF) 1-for-2,
Sarah Lawson (2B) 0-for-2
Liz Lueck (SS) 0-for-2
Jamie Lowther (C) 0-for-2
Ariel Lytwakiwsky (CF) 0-for-2
Kelly Wells (3B) 0-for-2
Katie Lawson(LF) 1-for-2
Megan Kazmarsky (1B) 0-for-2
Alicia Klemoff (DH) 0-for-1

BOONE GROVE (16-2) starters
Morgan Doelling (LF) 0-for-3
Lauren Johnson (2B) 0-for-3
Katie Runyan (CF) 1-for-3, triple, stolen base
Taylor Johnson (P) 0-for-2
Caitlin Wilcox (1B) 1-for-1, HR, 2 RBIs, 2 walks
Kristyn Kessler (3B) 2-for-3, 2 doubles, 2 runs scored
Christine Scheiderer (C) 1-for-2
Lauren Ferber (RF) 1-for-2, double
Lauren Doelling (SS) 1-for-3, triple, RBI

LaCROSSE (5-10-2008) - There's only been a Porter County Conference (PCC) softball tournament for 12 years, but it's almost always been official property of the Hanover Central athletic department.  Except for the first few years, Hanover has been the favorite, the team to beat and the sole survivor.

Last weekend, at the end of a year when the PCC had two teams in the Class 2A state Top-10, there was a thought that maybe 2A No. 10 Boone Grove had pulled even with Hanover. Boone defeated the Lady Cats 3-2 in Cedar Lake last month and they had swept all seven PCC regular season games.

But Saturday, after both teams had easily won semifinal games over out-manned opponents, Hanover took advantages of some Boone Grove mistakes early and held on through a flurry of their own errors to win the school's eighth PCC championship with a 5-3 victory over Boone.

The Class 2A No. 3 Lady Cats (18-5) led 3-0 in the fourth inning and held off a couple of rallies by Boone (16-3), which lost sophomore starting pitcher Taylor Johnson (12-2) to a shoulder injury after two innings.  Johnson, who pitched a nine-inning complete game on May 1 in the 3-2 win over HC, left the game after two innings, trailing 2-0.  She went behind the Boone dugout and tried to throw without pain but could not.  The loss of Johnson not only took the Wolves' top pitcher out of the game, it took their clean-up hitter to the sidelines.

"Injuries are part of the game," said Boone coach Andy Niksich.  "I asked her in the sixth inning if she could swing the bat and she said she couldn't.  She's a pretty tough girl so she must be hurting."

Hanover, which has much higher goals than the PCC title in 2008, tried to fight the thought that they were expected to win.

"We don't think of it that way," said junior shortstop Kara Gilbert, who played on her second PCC championship team.  "We don't look at it as though we're supposed to win because that puts us in over our heads.  We just do what we can.  Other than my freshman year, I don't think we've ever lost here."

These are clearly the two most athletic teams in the PCC, but the difference Saturday under cloudy skies on the big back lawn at LaCrosse was injuries.  All softball pitchers are hurting by the end of the weather-tortured spring season.

Boone's Johnson developed a shoulder problem Saturday to the extent that she could not raise her arm to throw or bat, while Toth, the 5-foot-5 right-hander, who left the Twin Lakes Invitational game against Andrean on May 2 with a leg injury (described as shin splints), was able to play through it.

"Its a lot better this week," she said.  "It's still there so I can feel it.  But it was much better today.  I really felt pretty good."

One of Hanover's great strengths is that they have two gifted pitchers in Kelsey Jankowski and Toth, the 2007 PCC MVP.  Jankowski was 3-for-3 in the semifinal win over South Central and coach Larry McMillen seems to prefer the combination of the 5-foot-9 Jankowski at first base and Toth 'closing' the game from the pitchers' circle.

Toth agrees that once her side gets the lead in a game she's pitching, it's pretty much on her.

"Yeah, a lot," she agreed after pitching her second consecutive PCC championship game victory.  "That's okay.  I try not to feel the pressure.  But sometimes that's better.  In the final inning, a lot of times, I really do try to throw harder and blow it by everyone."

Hanover scored twice in the second inning on senior Shannon Kiraly's sacrifice fly ball and a Johnson wild pitch.  Another wild pitch scored Lindsay Thompson to make it 3-0 in the fourth.  But three HC errors led to two unearned runs by Boone in the bottom of the fourth.

Kelsey Jankwoski's RBI single upped the Hanover lead to 4-2 in the fifth, but right-hander Lauren Doelling, who pitched five-innings of relief for Boone, was able to prevent big rallies.

"She's a trooper," said Niksich.  "She kept us in the game.  We just couldn't get the big hit."

Boone Grove home run champion Caitlin Wilcox, who hit her sixth home in 19 games earlier against Washington Township, lined a sixth-inning RBI single to right center to cut the lead to 4-3.  Toth then got Kristyn Kessler to ground out to end the sixth and she struck out Boone leadoff batter Morgan Doelling to end the game.

Hanover's five seniors:  Alisha Janes, Anna Plassmann, Danielle Sampognaro, Maggie Kaminski and Shannon Kiraly finished PCC play as two-time champions.  But this is the second title (they won the LaVille Invitational last month) in what should be a peak season for Hanover.  The four senior starters, the three core sophomores (Jankowski, Toth and multi-position player Morgan Austgen) and the junior double-play combination of second baseman Lindsay Thompson and Gilbert give HC as good and as experienced a team as they have ever had.

"Some tournaments in school feel like 'travel ball'," says Gilbert, who plays for the Orland Park (Illinois) A's in the summer.  "Travel ball is the whole day sometimes.  Sometimes two or three days.  You play and then you go to another field and then you play again in the summer.  This was easy.  It was nice to have a break and rest between games."

"We just want to stay healthy and happy," said Niksich.  "We haven't had any drama with the girls all year and we certainly don't want it now the week before the sectional.  It's very important the girls stay together right now.  We're feeling good about ourselves."

As much as the PCC means to them, there was a lot of talk about next Friday's game on the road at 1A No. 1 Whiting (22-0) and undefeated junior right-hander Mel Dumezich (20-0).  On May 19, 2007, HC led Whiting 3-1 in the seventh, but the Oilers scored three times with the help of two errors and a fly ball that was lost in the sunshine in left field.

"We had them beat last year," said Toth, who remembers a 4-3 loss in Cedar Lake.  "I do look at the schedule and point to this game or that game.   We had them beat.  I'm looking forward to that one."

PCC TOURNEY CHAMPIONS
2008-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2007-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2006-Hebron (Scott Eriks)
2005-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2004-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2003-HANOVER CENTRAL(Larry McMillen)
2002-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2001-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2000-Morgan Township (Dana Griffin)
1999-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
1998-Morgan Township (Dana Griffin)
1997-Morgan Township (Dana Griffin)

PCC REGULAR SEASON  CHAMPIONS
2008-BOONE GROVE (Andy Niksich)
2007-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2006-Hebron (Scott Eriks) & South Central (Bill Fryar)
2005-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2004-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2003-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2002-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2001-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
2000-Morgan Township (Dana Griffin)
1999-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
1998-HANOVER CENTRAL (Larry McMillen)
1997-Wheeler (Rich Patterson)

PCC NOTES:  Both Boone Grove and Hanover Central won their semifinal games by identical scores of 10-0 in five innings.

HC's Kelsey Jankowski had three run-scoring base hits and pitched a two-hit shutout in the Lady Cats' 10-0 win over South Central, while sophomore Caitlin Wilcox' sixth home run of the season highlighted an eight-run fourth inning that boosted Boone to a 10-0 win over Washington Township.  Shannon Kiraly's first home run of the year, a three-run homer in the sixth, boosted HC to a 4-0 win over Hebron on Friday's quarterfinals in Cedar Lake.  Lindsay Thompson's RBI single broke a scoreless tie with two out before Kiraly's high towering drive over the right center field fence.

Hanover's last PCC tournament loss was 3-0 to Hebron and then-senior right-hander Maggie Riggs on May 14, 2006 in the PCC semifinals.  The Lady Cats have now won 22 of their last 23 PCC playoff games in eight years.

Boone Grove picked up the trophy for finishing first in the Porter County Conference (PCC), and although they had just lost the league tournament, the Boone girls did pose for photos with the plaque afterwards.

"We wanted to make history this year and we did," said third year head coach Andy Niksich.  "We won the round robin for the first time.  We wanted to win the tournament for the first time, but something always seems to happen here.  We'll get it done at some point."

Hanover Central's original schedule shows an entire week off before they travel to Whiting Friday night (May 16) at 5:00 p.m.  The Lady Cats have added a 10:00 a.m. game against Crown Point (12-9) on May 17, the final day of the regular season.

The more you go to the PCC softball finals in LaCrosse, the more it grows on you.  The field is at the end of the LaCrosse property at the north end of town and it is the ultimate country setting, with a creek and old railroad tracks framing the field.  The ultimate in wide open spaces.

But both Hanover and Boone fans were irritated by the ticket situation.  Fans were asked to buy a $3 ticket for the semifinals and then buy another $3 ticket for the finals even though the ticket taker was about 100 yards from the playing field.  So, not only would they have to pay twice but they'd have to walk a football field's length to do it.

The solution:  Charge $5 a ticket, one time, all day for everyone.  Problem solved.

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
May 2  (L) 3-5 Andrean (10-3)
May 3 (Sa) Eastern
May 3 (Sa) Jefferson (3-12)

May 6 (Tu) WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

PCC championship
8 teams - single-elimination - at LaCrosse

May 9 (W) 4-0 Hebron (11-5) quarterfinals
May 10 (W) 10-0 South Central semifinals (5-innings)
May 10 (W) 5-3 Boone Grove championship

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.
 

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Revised: May 15, 2008.