A USA-365 special report by Mark Smith
6-6-2004
| Team (Record) / Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E |
| Rochester (22-6) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 2 |
| HANOVER CENTRAL (25-7) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 4 |
June 5, 2004, 76 degrees, LaVille 2A Regional championship game
WP
- Amanda Wendlinger (19-4) CG #18, 13K, 1 walk (163 pitches)
LP - Ashley Lowe (19-6) CG, 3K, 4 walks (227 pitches)
Ashley Lowe (R) 2 doubles, 2 single, RBI
Jamie Fornal (R) 2 singles, 2 runs scored
Lesley Cox (R) 2 singles, 2 RBIs
Trisha Sheehy (HC) 2 singles, run scored
Rachel Williams (HC) 2 single,s 2 sac bunts
Kelly Lapota (HC) Double, single, walk, RBI
Christie Wick (HC) 4 singles, 4 RBIs
Bess Copak (HC) Single, 2 walks, 2 RBIs
Amanda Wendlinger (HC) 3 singles
Shannon Phillips (HC) single, walk
| Team (Record) / Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Bremen (24-6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| HANOVER CENTRAL (24-7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
June 5, 2004, 76 degrees, LaVille 2A Regional semifinal
WP
- Amanda Wendlinger (18-4) CG #18, shutout #12 10 K, 1 walk (89
pitches)
LP - Val Bollenbacher (12-4) 4K, 2 walks, CG
Adrienne Bollenbacher (B) Single
Val Bollenbacher (B) Walk
Rachel Williams (HC) 2 singles
Megan Meyers (HC) Single, RBI
LAKEVILLE (6-5-2004) - As her teammates celebrated under the artificial light of LakeVille's Newton Park, the senior simply shook her head and smiled quietly at no one in particular. It would be every hard to explain to the people back home exactly what had happened in the previous three hours.
The more you know about high schools sports, the more you realize that you don't know everything. I don't know why certain teams win big games and others don't. It's hard to believe that one team 'wants it more' than the other and nobody who's around youth sports for any period of time seriously believes that the best team always wins. The drama of a great game is not so much the glory of winning but truthfully, the fear of losing.
Hanover Central's defending regional champion softball team could win the upcoming state finals games 100-0 in two innings, and years from now, all they will remember is the LaVille Regional championship game against Rochester. On a faraway field they'd never seen in a town where few, if any of them had ever been, The Lady Cats played a ridiculous, 12-inning, three hour roller-coaster game that blended mistakes with good breaks and great plays with misplays.
When all hopes seemed gone for about the third time in the game, junior Christie Wick, stepped up and ensured her team a long-standing place in Hanover history. Wick's two-run single to right center brought the Lady Cats from behind for a third time in the biggest game of the season. HC's 8-7 victory over seventh-ranked Rochester, a win that featured an array of amazing performances and bizarre tosses and bounces, sends the Lady Cats (25-7) to next Friday's 2A state semifinal game against third ranked (Indianapolis) Scecina, at giant North Central high school on the far north side of Indianapolis.
"We hadn't seen them before," said Wick later, still standing on the dusty diamond after her game-winning hit had ended the biggest game of the year a little after 10 p.m. in the small St. Joseph's County town. "We just kept talking to each other, telling each other we could do it. As soon as they scored, we knew we had to score twice as many. This is great. Not many teams get to go to the finals twice in a row."
No Hanover team has ever won a state title in any sport and the 2003 Lady Cats trip to the finals was the first in the 35-year history of varsity sports at the Cedar Lake school.
"I just think we've worked too hard," said junior pitcher Amanda Wendlinger, "not to go back to the state finals."
Wendlinger, who gave up a career-high seven runs on a career-high 11 hits, while striking out 14 and posting her 19th victory of the year, was referring to the entire year. But she could just as well meant this one game.
Only the 300 fans who attended this game will truly understand what it was really like. No explanation does this early summer nighttime circus adequate justice.
"These guys really like to put me to the test to see if my heart is as bad as I say it is," said half-jokingly Wildcats coach Larry McMillen. "8-7. They don't ask you how you won, They just ask you, 'Did you win?'
Truthfully, the most difficult question for Hanover softball players to answer this week will be, "How did you win?"
Hanover, which really hadn't hit the ball solidly in a month, rolled up 18 hits and had 23 base runners in 12 innings, but left 18 runners on base.
Rochester (22-6), in regional play for the first time in 11 years, led 2-0, 6-4 and 7-6 but could not hold on. Twice, the Zebras led with two outs remaining in an extra inning and both times, Hanover scored twice to cancel their ticket to the state finals.
Hanover's Wendlinger, who hadn't really been hit by anybody except Chesterton (20-6) all season, gave up 10 hits in eight innngs, and then retired 13 batters in a row in an unexplainable see-saw show.
Rochester's Ashley Lowe, who was two strikes away from her 20th victory in the eighth inning before Kelly Lapota and Wick tied the game with RBI base hits, threw an insane 227 pitches. On a night where she went 4-for-6 at the plate, the sophomore right-hander's final pitch was smacked into right center field and last seen bouncing beyond the glove of Rochester's Jeanette Waggoner as pinch runner Samantha Plant scored the winning run.
Hanover left the bases loaded in the first, second and seventh innings. In the seventh, with the score tied, they loaded the bases with nobody out and could not score. The Lady Cats left 18 girls on base, including 12 in the first seven innings.
Rochester's Jaime Fornal, a Division I catcher who is going to attend the University of Arizona, went 2-for-6 but ended three innings with fly balls or ground outs.
Lowe had four consecutive hits against Wendlinger including two doubles, well over the head of leftfielder Trisha Sheehy. But Lowe struck out the final two times up including a three-pitch strikeout with a runner at third base and one out in the 12th after Rochester had taken a 7-6 lead.
"I told her (Wendlinger) to walk that girl," said McMillen later. "They already had a run in and first base was open. But she pitched to her anyway and struck her out."
Hanover got a base hit from Megan Meyers in the seventh inning to beat Bremen 1-0 in Saturday's first semifinal game before Rochester had to go 10 innings to beat Delphi 4-3 in the second game.
Rochester served notice that this would be a different game by scoring two in the first inning off Wendlinger, who had pitched 12 shutouts. Fornal and Lowe had back-to-back hits and Wendlinger allowed a run on a throwing error.
HC, which had scored only 10 runs in the three previous playoff games, immediately tied the game. Sheehy, who struck out three times against Bremen's Val Bollenbacher, slapped a 3-2 pitch for a single to left field. Rachel Williams reached base on a sacrifice bunt and Wendlinger bunted for a hit. Bess Copak's two-run single to left tied the game, but Lowe cut off the throw home and doused the rally by throwing out Wendlinger at third base.
The Lady Cats filled the bases again but Shannon Phillips' hard, head high line drive was grabbed by the pitcher Lowe for the third out. HC jumped ahead 4-2 in the second inning after two walks and an error filled the bases. Copak walked to force in the 3-2 run and Wick's slicing single to right made it 4-2.
Rochester tied the game with single runs in the fourth and sixth, both times after leadoff doubles to the left field fence by Lowe.
"I think you can tell when I'm hurting," said Wendlinger, who is still coming back from double knee surgery in the off-season and has obviously been in pain the last two weeks. "The second double she hit," Amanda recalled, "that pitch just laid there. If she didn't hit that, she wasn't any good."
The tying run scored when Meyers, the hero of the semifinals, could not hold a throw on a rundown at home plate, allowing pinch runner Danna Beck to score the tying run to the delight of 100-150 Rochester followers who had made the 30-mile trip north on Route 31.
In the seventh, Lapota and Wick started the inning with singles and Andrea Trock reached base on a fielder's choice. McMillen sent up ace pinch hitter Heather Rebeneck to bat with the bases loaded and nobody out in a tie game. But Rebeneck, whose pinch hits helped push HC to the 2003 state finals, hit a weak tap to the pitcher Lowe who got a force at home plate. Meyers grounded to shortstop Michelle Cross, who also got a force at home.
Then, Sheehy, a left-handed slapper, popped a soft line drive down the third base line. But Rochester's Rachael Steinmeyer reached up and caught the ball, drawing another roar from the Rochester crowd.
"We strive and strive and strive to hit the ball on the ground," said McMillen, "I try to get them to hit the ball on the ground. With the bases loaded and nobody out do you think I could get a fly ball?"
In the eighth, Rochester seemed to win the game as Fornal, Lowe and Gross got ground ball base hits to give the Zebras a 5-4 lead. A sixth Rochester run scored on Lesley Cox' ground ball. Wendlinger, who threw 163 pitches, waded through a sacrifice bunt but struck out Ashley Powell and got Allie Gottschalk to ground out to HC second baseman Jaclyn Kienzle.
With two out and a runner at first base in the bottom of the eighth, Hanover mounted their most improbable rally. Lapota drove a 1-1 pitch all the way to the left field wall, scoring pinch runner Samantha Plant to make the score 6-5. After Lapota went to third base on a passed ball by Fornal, Wick worked the count to 3-2. With the Rochester fans roaring for the imminent victory, the 5-foot-9 HC basketball player smacked a hard low roller up the middle. Rochester's Kayla Brouette stopped it with a dive, but she could not make an accurate throw to first and the game was tied 6-6.
As moms and dads on both sides made cell phone calls back home explaining what was happening, Hanover had a roller-coaster ninth inning. Wendlinger found new life in extra innings, retiring 13 Rochester batters in a row. With two out in the bottom of the ninth, Sheehy slapped a bouncing single to left and Williams sliced an infield hit to third base. Wendlinger followed with a line drive hit to center field but Rochester centerfielder Allie Gottschalk made a perfect throw to the 5-foot-10 catcher Fornal, who tagged out Sheehy, who appeared to hesitate rounding third base.
In the 12th, Rochester appeared to win again as Missy York got her first hit in six at bats and moved up on a sacrifice by Steinmeyer. Fornal hit a grounder to deep short and HC's Bess Copak threw low to first base. The HC first baseman Lapota trapped the ball outside her glove and as she came off the bag to watch York, Fornal broke for second base, trying to draw a throw. Lapota threw wildly to second, York scored the go-ahead run and Fornal went to third base. Wendlinger then struck out Lowe, who was 4-for-6, and got Gross to ground out to third base.
In the bottom of the 12th, with Lowe past the 200-pitch mark, HC seemed to know they could rally. Williams reached base on a bunt single as Rochester didn't react quickly to bunting, something the HC outfielder always does. Wendlinger bunted and Lowe threw the ball to second base, hitting the runner. As the ball caromed into left field, Williams went to third and Wendlinger reached second base.
Copak grounded to third but Steinmeyer, fearing the speedy Williams would score after the throw, pump faked and tried unsuccessfully to pick Williams off third. Again the bases were loaded with nobody out. Lapota grounded to short where Gross fired home to force out Williams. But finally, with the count at 3-2, Wick lined the ball into the gap in right center. She could have had a double but she stopped at first as Plant and Copak scored the tying and winning runs.
"It was right down the middle," said Wick. "I just hit it. I saw the ball go past the outfielder and that was it. That was the hardest game I've ever been in. What was it, 13, 14 innings? It seemed like 18. We were all a little scared but we knew we could do it."
McMillen added, "That was the Christie Wick of last year. That's what she did all last season. I was contemplating not starting her this game because she hadn't hit the ball well in the last three or four games. I was thinking about putting Heather (Rebeneck) in there)."
The best move was not replacing Wendlinger after the three consecutive hits in the eighth inning. Did McMillen consider inserting Lapota, who was 5-3 as a pitcher this season, to replace the tiring Wendlinger?
"To be honest," he said, "No. I was worried when she started
picking at her hand like she had a blister on her finger. We did talk about pinch
hitting and pinch running (they did pinch run for Wendlinger every time she
reached base) for her because she looked like she had run out of gas. But then
she pulled it together and she got strong again."
"If we'd have lost today," said
Wendlinger, "I wouldn't
have been upset that we lost. I didn't care about the trophies or anything. I'd
have been upset that we couldn't go back to the finals."
LADY CAT NOTES: The win by Hanover denied Rochester a place in history. The Zebras had reached the state finals in volleyball and basketball in the 2003-2004 school year. No Indiana school has ever reached the state finals in all three major girls sports in the same time span.
Oddly, 25-7 is the exact same record Hanover Central finished with last year after a 4-0 in 12 innings to New Palestine. Also, the exact three Lake County teams that reached the state softball finals last year (Hanover, Whiting and Lake Central) return to the state championships this weekend.
Hanover, blessed with star pitchers Beth and Amanda Wendlinger for six years, had never during that period been involved in a game where both teams scored seven runs.
Christie Wick had four hits for the first time in her two years on the varsity and she actually reached base five times, being safe on a fielders choice in the first inning.
The Beecher Ill. team that beat Hanover 5-1 on a cold day in April, won the Illinois Class A (there are 2 classes in Illinois) state championship late Saturday. The Boibcats finished at 35-3.
20th
Indiana State Softball Championships
Regional
Results (6-5-2004)
at
LaVille (2A)
HANOVER
CENTRAL 1, Bremen 0
Rochester 4, Delphi 3 (10 inn.)
Championship: Hanover Central 8, Rochester 7 (12 inn.)
at
(Howard Co.) Eastern (2A)
Eastside
2, Cass 0
Eastern (Greentown) 5, Heritage 0
Championship: Eastside 5, Eastern (Greentown) 3 (10 inn.)
at
Cambridge City Lincoln (2A)
Indianapolis
Scecina 6, Switzerland County 0
Cambridge City Lincoln 3, Wapahani 2
Championship: Indianapolis Scecina 10, Cambridge City Lincoln 0 (5
inn.)
at
Forest Park (2A)
South
Knox 2, South Putnam 0
Clarksville 1, Forest Park 0
Championship: Clarksville 2, South Knox 1
2004
HANOVER CENTRAL (25-7)
Larry
McMillen 25-8 in 2003, 24-5 in 2002,
116-27-1 (last 5 years)
4-1-4
(W) 13-3 (5 innings) River Forest (10-14)
4-2-4 (L) 5-6 at Chesterton (20-6)
4-3-4 (L) 0-5 Munster (23-2-1)
4-10 (L) 1-3 at Bishop Noll (17-14)
4-14 (W) 10-0 at MORGAN TOWNSHIP (12-12)
4-13 (W) 13-0 (5) North Newton (4-16)
4-17 (W) 9-0 HEBRON (15-10)
4-19 (W) 2-1 (8 inn.) Wheeler (15-15)
4-21 (L) 1-4 Lowell (20-8)
4-22 (L) 1-5 at (Ill.) Beecher, Ill. (35-3)
4-24 (W) 11-0 (5)at LaCROSSE (6-17)
4-26 (W) 7-4 at Clark (2-15-2)
4-28 (W) 6-0 at Morton (15-8)
4-29 (W) 4-0 South Newton (8-16)
4-30 (W) 3-0 KOUTS (4-10)
5-3 (W) 15-3 (5) Rensselaer (4-12)
5-4 (W) 1-0 SOUTH CENTRAL (22-7)
5-5 (W) 10-0 Griffith (15-15)
5-6 (W) 8-0 BOONE GROVE (7-22)
Twin Lakes Invitational (in Monticello)
5-7-4 (W) 4-0 Pioneer (17-13)
5-8-4 (W) 4-1 Lewis Cass (17-7)
5-8-4 (L) 3-4 McCutcheon (28-6)
5-11-4 (W) 11-1 (6) WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (6-18)
Porter
County Conference (PCC) Tournament
Saturday games at
LaCrosse
5-15
(W) 1-0 at Boone Grove (7-18)
5-15 (W) 2-0 LaCrosse (6-17)
5-17 (M) 2-0 South Central (22-7) title
5-19-4
(W) 7-3 at Gavit (4-20)
5-21-4 (L) 0-1 (9 inn.) at Whiting (26-5)
Wheeler
(2A) Sectional
5-25-4 (W) 5-3 Boone Grove (7-22)
5-29-4 (W) 4-0 Bishop Noll (17-14)
LaVille (2A) Regional
6-5-4 (W) 1-0 vs. No. 6 Bremen (24-6)
6-5-4 (W) 8-7 (12 inn.) vs. No. 7 Rochester (22-6)
2A Finals
6-11-4 (F) vs. No. 3 (Indianapolis) Scecina (25-6) at North Central - 8:30 p.m.
6-12-4 (S) 2A State championship at Carmel - 1 p.m.
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2004 USA-365.com and Meyer
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reserved.
Revised: July 10, 2004.