NW Indiana HS Baseball: Hanover Central 19, Hammond High 0

Hanover Central launches 17-hit barrage in 19-0 win over Hammond High

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

5-28-2005

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Hammond (5-20)	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	0	2	7
HANOVER CENTRAL (15-9)	2	7	4	6	-	-	-	19	17	1

Friday, 5-27-2005 - Mostly Cloudy and 73 degrees at Crown Point Post 20's Teagle Field

WP – Mark Myszkowski (4-1) 7K, 0 walks, CG
LP - Matt Richardson (0-2) 0K, 1 walk (2 inn.)

Hammond (5-20)
Anthony Hullitt (1B) Single
Jeremy Macon (SS) Single

HANOVER CENTRAL (15-9)
Todd Sheehy (SS) HR, triple, double, single, 3 RBIs
Brent DeMateo (CF) Triple double
Zach Wajvoda (1B) Triple, single, HBP, walk
Jake Kint (LF) HR, double, RBI
Larry Pempek (Catcher) Double, HBP, RBI

CROWN POINT, IN (5-27-2005) - You would think that Class 3A Hammond High facing Class 2A Hanover Central would at least be competitive.

It wasn't. Hammond didn't seem to want to play and Hanover, on "Senior's Day" certainly did, winning a no-contest game 19-0 under partly sunny skies at Crown Point's Teagle Field.

It was more than sunny for junior infielder Todd Sheehy, who hit for the cycle in consecutive at bats, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs inside a 17-hit Hanover attack.

After the game, the Hanover boys hung around Teagle Field for post game snacks. This was the final game for the Wildcats at their adopted baseball home at American Legion Post 20 during the ongoing school renovation. For seniors Larry Pempek and Zach Wajovoda, it was their final regular season game and those two players were the focus of Hanover's next game, the Lake Station Class 2A quarterfinal matchup Monday, May 30 against defending 2A state champion Bishop Noll (10-18).

It was assumed that Hanover would pitch Pempek (7-2), a fast-balling right-hander. But Szanyi said that he could go with Wajvoda, a curve balling lefty.

“From what I here,” said coach Ron Szanyi, “We might want to throw Zach and save Larry for Boone Grove (a potential semifinal opponent). I've heard they don't like the slow stuff and Zach might throw them off.”

“I still hear that (Ryan) Bobos is out,” said Sheehy, referring to Ryan Bobos, the Noll all-state right-hander who has been injured all year. We played there yesterday but I didn't play. We lost 12-6. I guess we had to get it out of our system. I think we're ready.”

Hanover sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the second inning against Hammond (5-20), which had only 10 players in uniform.

Jake Kint hit a 350-foot home run to lead off the decisive inning and an RBI double later in the same frame. Sheehy had an RBI single and Brent DeMateo had a run-scoring triple.

At least four of Hanover's hits were high fly balls in the spacious Teagle Field outfield that Hammond outfielders either didn't see, misplayed or lost in the sun and the wind. Hammond has probably lost some regular players in a season that has not gone very well.

Sheehy said the Hanover season went well.

“It's been good,” he said. “The coaching change (from Greg Ford to former coach Ron Szanyi) didn't matter because Mr. Szanyi was always around anyway.”

Hanover had long since clinched a third consecutive winning season, something that has never happened in the 36-year history of the Cedar Lake high school.

“I think it has to do with us having a junior varsity and a freshman team now,” said Szanyi. “Things are getting a lot better. This year, we played nine or 10 freshman games. We got 15 or 16 JV games. We've turned the corner on a lot of attitude things. We've got some kids playing on some better traveling teams in the summer instead of being done by the Fourth of July.”

“At the younger levels, we have some decent players. We've got to change a few attitudes and, if I stay around, that will be the first thing I'll be working on.”

“Its great to have a game like this but I'm not sure it's so good with who we have coming up next. “

WILDCAT NOTES: Hanover Central faces defending 2A state champion Bishop Noll Monday morning at 10 a.m. at Lake Station.

If Hanover wins, they will play Boone Grove (22-5) Thursday, June 2 at 4:30 p.m.. The Lake Station Sectional championship game is scheduled for Friday, June 3 at 4:30 p.m. Hanover has never won a sectional baseball championship. The Wildcats lost the sectional title game to Bishop Noll last year 10-0.

There will be no radio coverage because there is no indoor facility at Lake Station at the baseball diamond. There are no lights at Lake Station so all games must be day games. "It's not so much the 10 a.m. start,” Szanyi said. “It's the weekend before it. We played yesterday (a 12-5 loss at Lake Station) like we thought the season had already ended.”

Ron Szanyi credited senior Zach Wajvoda with significant improvement in his time at Hanover.

“He has the lefty thing where he falls away from home plate a lot,' the coach said. “Even earlier this year, they were D-H-ing him almost every game” But he was at .409 (batting average) coming into the game today and he's hitting the ball pretty hard. He's always had that slow curveball.”

Word is that former Hanover player Al Myszkowski will take over the new Cedar Lake American Legion team from Greg Ford, who had to resign as HC's varsity head coach after an off-the-field incident.

A large portion of the HC team will play on that squad, which will have many players who competed for American Legion Post 101 last year. There is scheduled to be Legion teams in Lowell and Cedar Lake this summer.

Senior Larry Pempek will attend Ball State University on a partial athletic scholarship to join the Cardinals baseball team. In was announced this week that Crown Point's 6-foot-8 right-hander Adam Quinn will also attend Ball State and play baseball.