Lady Wildcats shut out Boone, LaCrosse to advance to PCC Tournament Finals to face South Central

A USA-365 special report by Mark Smith

5-17-2004

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
HANOVER CENTRAL (18-6)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
BOONE GROVE (6-18)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1

May 15, 2004, 52 degrees, sunny - PCC quarterfinal at BOONE GROVE

WP - Amanda Wendlinger (13-3) CG #13, Shutout #9, 10K, 0 walks
LP - Allison Green (1-3) CG, 1K, 1 walk

Marissa Farver (BG) Single
Amanda Banasiak (BG) Single
Trisha Sheehy (HC) Single, RBI sac bunt
Christie Wick (HC) Single, run scored

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
LaCrosse (5-16)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
HANOVER CENTRAL (19-6)	1	0	1	0	0	0	-	2	9	2

May 15, 2004, 52 degrees, sunny - PCC semifinal at LaCrosse

WP - Amanda Wendlinger (14-3) CG #14, Shutout #10, No-hitter #2
8K, 0 walks
LP - Caitlin Dommermuth (4-8) CG, 0K, 2 walks

Rachel Williams (HC) 2 singles
Christie Wick (HC) Single,
Megan Meyers (HC) Double, run scored
Andria Trock (HC) 2 singles

LaCROSSE (5-15-2004) - The problem with sports is, when you do well one year, people expect you to come back and do the same thing next year. Hanover Central's 2003 Porter County Conference (PCC) champions and Class 2A state finalists didn't exactly tear the cover off those yellow softballs Saturday in the PCC tournament, but they did what they had to do. Hanover's 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Boone Grove and the Lady Cats' 2-0 semifinal victory over LaCrosse have finally brought HC back to the doorstep of mirroring their past and to the doorstep of their future.

A win Monday over Class 1A No. 4 South Central (19-4) in the rain-delayed 2004 PCC title game gives the Lady Cats a third consecutive 20-win season and fourth consecutive PCC title. Two wins the week after next gives them a third consecutive 2A Sectional title. Four playoff wins puts Hanover back in the state finals. It isn't just on paper now. It's on the immediate schedule.

"I don't think it was that we didn't take these teams seriously," senior catcher Megan Meyers said of the low-scoring victories over the out-manned foes. "They played good defense. I'm happy with how we played today."

From this point on, 'How we played' does not figure into the equation. You either win or lose. Monday it's win or lose the PCC title. In 10 days it's win or go home.

"I think if we play like we did in Twin Lakes, we'll be fine," Meyers said. "We beat two teams and one is (ranked) in our class. We found out that we don't have to lose when we go down there. And we should have beat McCutcheon."

Saturday, The Lady Cats (19-6) rode the pitching of junior right-hander Amanda Wendlinger (14-3), who pitched her ninth and 10th shutouts of the season. Some balls were hit hard and both Boone and LaCrosse left pleased that they weren't blown out. But Wendlinger pitched 14 shutout innings, struck out 18 and allowed two singles, none against LaCrosse, in her second no-hitter of the season.

"I didn't know I had a no-hitter," said Wendlinger, who has now pitched five consecutive shutouts in PCC tournament play. 'It really doesn't matter."

What matters is South Central (18-4), the first rated team to challenge HC's three-time PCC champs in the league tournament since the heyday of Morgan Township in the late 90s.

The Satellites, who defeated Morgan Township and Kouts to reach Monday's finals, are a concern to Hanover not only because they have a top record, but because they are still largely anonymous to HC. This is South Central's first time in the PCC championship game, coming in their first year in the PCC.

"We played them once and we only scored one run," said Meyers. "It is a little unknown. "But in the state tournament every team we played after the sectional was unknown. You just have to go in and do what you can do and what you know how to do."

Hanover, which has won 68 times in their last 87 games, clearly coasted after scoring an early run against Boone, a team they stomped 8-0 on May 6.

Trisha Sheehy's second inning single pushed home the only run of a 10 a.m. morning quarterfinal, a game that was rained out on Friday.

Boone had only two base runners in the entire game, the last one being speedy senior Marissa Farver who singled and stole second base in the fifth inning. But Wendlinger struck out Meredith Coveris and got Dana Casbon on a popped up bunt back to the pitcher.

"I want to win," said Boone coach Glenn Eisenfelder. "But this is the way we can play and this is the attitude we need to have. I put a lot of pressure on them and maybe I put too much on them. Today we just went out and played like we had nothing to lose."

"We missed a steal sign in the fifth inning. I wanted her to fake the bunt and let Marissa steal third. Then we get a throw and maybe the throw gets away and we tie it up."

Boone juggled their lineup and produced a fine defensive effort with new faces in new places.

"We made six errors in the outfield in our last game" said Eisenfelder. "So, today I decided we'd put our infielders in the outfield so the ball wouldn't get by them. Steph Phillips (normally the third baseman) can play the outfield. Marissa Farver (the regular second baseman) played right field when she was a sophomore and Becky Keller can play anywhere. She's usually our shortstop and she was a catcher when she was a freshman."

"The girl we put at shortstop is just a sophomore (Meredith Coveris) but she's played there when Becky pitches. We've got some nice young players and today was a good day for us."

Against LaCrosse, Wendlinger, using good velocity inside and a hard curve ball, retired the first 16 batters while HC squeezed out two runs. The only challenge came in the sixth when LaCrosse' Caitlin Dommermuth reached base on a throwing error by HC third baseman Andria Trock and then Jill Terpening was awarded first base on a catcher's interference call against HC catcher Megan Meyers.

LaCrosse coach David Amor asked leadoff man Savanna Pfledderer to bunt both runners up a base. But sophomore Kendra Parlin was called out on strikes to end the inning.

"Our pitcher gave us a chance to win," Amor said. "We just couldn't get the big hit.

Nobody really got any big hits on a chilly, sunny day when the outcome seemed to be a foregone conclusion. That won't be the case from this point on when Hanover has the chance to either make history or be history.

"Anybody can beat anybody on any given day," said Meyers. "That's just the way it is."

LADY CAT NOTES: Hanover is now 100 games over the .500 mark (135-32-1) in the last six seasons. Amanda Wendlinger's career record is now 47-10. Hanover was 18-4 at the end of the PCC tournament last year. The postponed Hanover Central game against Crown Point has been canceled, leaving the Lady Cats with 28 (25 games and one tournament) games, one short of what they could play. With a quality opponent in Whiting scheduled for the season finale, there is little chance HC will fill that final opening.

Saturday's rescheduled PCC quarterfinal game at Boone began at 10 a.m. and only after Boone people worked on the field from 6 a.m.
Boone didn't want to lose, but they were very happy with a 1-0 loss to Class 2A No. 9 Hanover, a team that beat them 8-0 just one week earlier.

LaCrosse coach David Amor said that his school welcomed neighbor South Central into the PCC. "Oh yeah," he said. "We lost to them 4-2. Our girls went to school with some of them. In middle school, some of our kids went to Wanatah. Some of the Wanatah kids have their choice of South Central or LaCrosse. We have that kind of rivalry with Kouts. Some of our girls are related to some of their girls. We've got a lot of in-family things out here."

HC's Megan Meyers liked the draw which gave the Lady Cats a sectional quarterfinal bye, a semifinal game against Boone Grove, a team that has not defeated them in six years, and a sectional title match against Wheeler or Bishop Noll.

"I thought we got a break (overall) in the pairings," Megan added. "Because Lewis Cass would have to play (top-ranked) Eastern (22-2). We don't have to play both of them."

The Wheeler Sectional winner faces the Fairfield Sectional winner, probably 2A No. 6 Bremen (15-3). The Fairfield sectional championship game will be May 29 at 2 p.m. so the Wheeler sectional winner can get to Fairfield and scout their regional foe. The Wheeler Sectional title game is set for Thursday, May 27 at 4:30 p.m. The other 2A softball sectionals are at Rochester (No. 10 Rochester is favored) and North Montgomery, where all six schools are unranked.

None of Hanover's senior ballplayers plans to play softball in college, although more than one could. Bess Copak, an all-area player in 2003, will attend Ball State. Boone's Marissa Farver will attend South Suburban College in Thornton, Ill. and join the softball team there.

The 4:30 p.m. start for Monday's title game is tentative because it's about an hour by school bus from Cedar Lake to LaCrosse. There are no lights at the LaCrosse softball field, which is located (not at the school) at the north end of town east of US 421.

PORTER COUNTY CONFERENCE (PCC) Tournament

LaCrosse 11, Washington Township 5
HANOVER CENTRAL 1, BOONE GROVE 0
South Central 11, Morgan Township 2
Kouts 2, HEBRON 1

Semifinals
South Central 00, Kouts 00
HANOVER CENTRAL 2, LaCrosse 0

Championship
HANOVER CENTRAL (19-6) vs. South Central (18-4) Mon, 4:30 p.m.

2004 HANOVER CENTRAL (19-6, 7-0 PCC)
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 (8-13)
4-2-4 (L) 5-6 at Chesterton (19-5)
4-3-4 (L) 0-5 Munster (19-2)
4-10 (L) 1-3 at Bishop Noll (13-12)
4-14 (W) 10-0 at MORGAN TOWNSHIP (8-12)
4-13 (W) 13-0 (5) North Newton (4-16)
4-17 (W) 9-0 HEBRON (15-4)
4-19 (W) 2-1 (8 inn.) Wheeler (12-12)
4-21 (L) 1-4 Lowell (14-7)
4-22 (L) 1-5 at (Ill.) Beecher, Ill. (27-2)
4-24 (W) 11-0 (5) at LaCROSSE (4-10)
4-26 (W) 7-4 at Clark (2-10-2)
4-28 (W) 6-0 at Morton (15-8)
4-29 (W) 4-0 South Newton (6-13)
4-30 (W) 3-0 KOUTS (4-10)
5-3 (W) 15-3 (5) Rensselaer (4-12)
5-4 (W) 1-0 SOUTH CENTRAL (18-4)
5-5 (W) 10-0 Griffith (12-13)
5-6 (W) 8-0 BOONE GROVE (7-18)

Twin Lakes Invitational (in Monticello)
5-7-4 (W) 4-0 Pioneer (12-8)
5-8-4 (W) 4-1 Lewis Cass (14-4)
5-8-4 (L) 3-4 McCutcheon (24-5)

5-11-4 (W) 11-1 (6) WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (5-15)

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 (5-13)
5-17 (M) South Central (17-4) title

5-19-4 (W) at Gavit (3-13) 4:30 p.m.
5-21-4 (F) at Whiting (16-5) 5 p.m.

Wheeler (2A) Sectional
5-25-4 (W) Boone Grove (7-18)
5-29-4 (S) championship

LaVille (2A) Sectional
6-5-4 (S) semifinals
6-5-4 (S) championship

State 2A Finals
6-11-4 (F) semifinals at North Central - 6:30 p.m.
6-12-4 (S) 2A State championship at Carmel - 1 p.m.