Hanover Central evens record at 6-6 with back-to-back, come-from-behind wins over Hammond, West Side

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

5-1-2004

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Gary West Side (2-3)	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	8	2
HANOVER CENTRAL (6-6)	0	0	0	1	4	0	-	5	6	1

4-29-2004 - 72 degrees at the Steelyard, Gary

WP - Danny Kozlowski (3-0), 3K, 0 walks (2 1/3 innings)
LP - Cory Wells (1-1) 0K, 2 walks (1 1/3 innings)

Cory Wells (West) Double, single
Mark Smith (West) HR, single, RBI
Jonte Evans (West) 2 singles
Rondell Daniels (West) Single, RBI

Zack Wajvoda (HC) Single, RBI
Mark Myszkowski (HC) Double, single
Larry Pempek (HC) HR. 2 RBIs
Luke Besse (HC) 2 walks
Danny Kozlowski (HC) Double RBI

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
HANOVER CENTRAL (5-6)	0	3	1	4	2	0	1	11	9	1
Hammond (2-11)	6	0	0	2	0	1	0	9	8	3

April 27, 2004 - 77 degrees in Hammond

WP - Zack Wajvoda (1-0) 11Ks, 3 walks (4 2/3 inn.)
Danny Kozlowski (Save No. 1) 4K, 1 walk ( 1 2/3 inn.)
LP - Korey Shelton (0-3) 3K, walk (3 1/3 inn.)

Jose Santos (Hammond) Double, run scored
Ryan Gawron (Hammond) 3 singles
Danny Kozlowski (HC) Triple, RBI
Larry Pempek (HC) Double, single, 3 RBIs
Luke Besse (HC) Double, RBI

GARY (4-29-2004) - Hopefully, the Gary Railcats' Prep Baseball Challenge will continue for many years. Hopefully, Hanover Central will be invited every year. They were left out in 2003. Hanover Central's baseball program has been reminded in the past year to live for today. So whether this was the only game Hanover Central ever plays on a pro field or if it was simply the first one, it will still stand tall as a memorable experience.

Trailing for most of a 70-degree late spring afternoon, the Wildcats whipped up a four run fifth inning and made the plays the rest of the way to record a 5-3 win over home town team Gary West Side Thursday in one of the final games of the 2004 RailCats Prep Baseball Challenge showcase.

Junior Larry Pempek launched only the third true home run in the two-year history of the Railcat Challenge, tying the game 3-3. Senior Danny Kozlowski doubled in the go-ahead run and then took the mound with Pempek as his catcher to shut out the Cougars (2-3) over the last two innings.

"We have a tendency of falling behind," said coach Ron Szayni, who reminded that, one night earlier, HC had rallied from a 6-0 first inning deficit, to win at Hammond 11-9. "We can be a little up and down at the plate. The time is coming where I may have to tell some of the older players that, hey, you've had your chance. We've got to go with some of the young ones."

One senior who won't be sitting down is Kozlowski, who changed the flow of the game that the Cougars, who were on the field for the first time in three weeks due to multiple weather and field related postponements, seemed to be winning.

West Side led 3-1 in the fifth inning and had a runner at third base with two out. Szayni saw the Cougars' Donte Evens, who was already 2-for-2, coming to the plate and he made a change.

Kozlowski, a tall right-hander, came in from right field to pitch and Pempek, who started the game at third base, moved to catcher, his natural position. With the game getting away from Hanover, Kozlowski struck out Evans to end the inning and HC then mounted the game-winning four- run, five- hit rally.

"He can go both ways on me," said Szayni. "He was really ready to come through today. He did a great job, I'm very pleased.
Kozlowski credited Pempek with his pitching excellence. "This guy right here did it for me," said Kozlowski. "He gave me all the adrenaline I needed to get back out there and pitch when we had the lead. I've been pitching a lot better lately. With Larry behind the plate, I just feel so much better. He tells me what he wants. He's in control of the game. I just throw the ball."

Pempek, who is only about 5-10 but an avid weight lifter, posted his name along with Chesterton star Josh Malone and Michigan State outfielder Ryan Basham, Lowell's all-time leading hitter, as the only three high school players who have cleared the fence in the Steelyard.

"It was a four-seam fastball," smiled the junior, who has three HRs this year. "I didn't really think it was going out." Pempek's tall fly ball was aide by a 20 mile an hour southwest wind, but it cleared the Steelyard's 12-foot fence about 10 yards to the left of the 320-foot marker and carried maybe 30-40 feet over the fence onto the South Shore Railroad tracks beyond left field.

Even though this was the Wildcats' fourth straight win and spirits are high for a big second half of the season ("This is exactly what we did last year," said Kozlowski), the game seemed secondary to where the game was played. High school boys all love the Steelyard.

"This was just great for us," said West Side's Kirk. "It makes the boys feel good about playing."

Pempek said, "I could sleep on this grass. The infield is perfect."

Kozlowski added, "I was hoping to get a line drive out there (in right field) so I could lay out and dive on the grass." Szayni said, "I tried to tell them to fill their pockets with dirt from the infield so we can take it back and use it at home."

DEVIL NOTES: There have been a couple of inside-the-park home runs at the Steelyard. West Side leadoff man Mark Smith hit one in the fifth inning Thursday. But Lowell's Ryan Basham (in 2003), Chesterton's Josh Malone and HC's Larry Pempek are the only boys to hit the ball out of the park during a game in the home of the RailCats. Gary West Side shortstop Cory Wells is a very impressive athlete and obviously has been overlooked on a team that has played only five games. He did fumble Adam Suarez' grounder behind second base but he glided to his left for two other above average plays and pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, showing good velocity.

"He could play almost any position," said West Side coach Larry Kirk. "He's the football quarterback. We think he's very good."

Hanover JV coach Greg Ford, who is also the manager of Lowell Post 101's all-stars in American Legion summer baseball, could be seen talking to the West Side coaches afterwards. "Trying to line up some games," he said.

The crowd of about 250 was very enthusiastic, cheering every base hit and every successful defensive play. The atmosphere was very competitive because the largely empty 6,800-seat SteelYard stadium structure deflects the sound, making the tiny crowd sound much larger than it was.

Szayni believes that Pempek is one of the top players in Lake County

"We always knew he was going to be," said Szayni, "It was just a matter of him controlling what he has. He gets too emotional sometimes. You've got to bring him down. You never have to get him up to play. You have to calm him down."

Szayni insists that he will retire after this season. His plan, even before the death of his son Todd in a car accident last June, was to retire after the 2003 season. He stayed on an extra year because the large senior class (9 players) asked him to.

Last year's tragedy is almost never discussed but it is always with Hanover. The Lady Cats softball team wears Todd Szayni's number on the sleeves of their cold weather uniform sweaters.

"He was with us today," said Danny Kozlowoski. "He was there on that home run. We know he's watching over us every game."

Pempek, who threw 139 pitches in the win over Boone Grove on Monday (April 26) added, "I write the number 43 on the mound before very game. Every mound. Every plate."

HC was still celebrating the 9-3 win over Boone. "I have never been on a team that's beaten Boone in any sport," said Kozlowski.

Pempek said, "I've never had so many jitters than I did before that game."

Greg Ford usually has a numbers problem during the summer for the American Legion Lowell Post 101 all-star. With his connections at Hanover, that will not occur this year.

"I have 37 names," said Ford, who will field an 'A" team of 19 and under players and a 'B' team of 17-and-under players, managed by Lowell JV softball coach Tom Stoner, whose son is Mike Stoner, Lowell's catcher. "But everybody doesn't always come out. We're not going to have a place to play (because of renovation at Lowell and Hanover), so we'll play all away games. We'll practice at the Hebron Hitting Academy. I played with Eric Quale, who used to play for Crown Point. He owns the Hebron Hitting Academy. So we'll be able to get batting practice over there and we may do better than we've done before taking 'BP'. It won't be ideal but it won't be bad. We'll have 10 kids from Lowell on the 'B' team."

2004 Hanover Central (6-6, 3-1)
Coach Ron Szayni (6 years) 60-84, 17-11 in 2003
All games at 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise indicated; PCC games in CAPS

4-6 (L) 2-7 at Lowell (7-7)
4-9 (L) 0-3 at Gary Roosevelt (4-9)
4-10 (L) 2-13 at Gavit (7-7)
4-12 (L) 5-7 Clark (15-1)
4-15 (W) 14-3 at Whiting (7-7)
4-19 (L) 2-3 at WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (6-5)
4-21 (W) 9-3 at MORGAN TOWNSHIP (7-7)
4-24 (L) 0-10 (5) at Beecher, Ill
4-24 (W) 7-4 at Beecher, Ill.
4-26 (W) 9-3 BOONE GROVE (5-9)
4-27 (W) 11-9 at Hammond (2-13)
4-29 (W) 5-3 at Gary West Side (2-4)

5-3-4 (M) South Newton
5-4-4 (Tu) Wirt
5-6-4 (Th) East Chicago (3-10)
5-7 (F) at KOUTS (9-2-1)
5-10 (M) HEBRON
5-11 (Tu) at Calumet
5-12 (W) at LaCROSSE
5-13 (Th) Morton (11-4)
5-15 (S) SOUTH CENTRAL (3-9)
5-17 (M) North Newton (9-3)
5-18 (Tu) Lew Wallace
5-21 (F) at River Forest

PCC Championship - at Boone Grove
5-22 (S) Kouts (9-2-1)
5-24 (M) PCC semifinals - 4:30 p.m.
5-26 (W) PCC Championship - 4:30 p.m.

5-27 (Th) Lake Station

Boone Grove (2A) Regional
5-31-4 (M) quarterfinal
6-2-4 (W) semifinals
6-4-4 (F) Championship

2A Regional (home site)
6-8-4 (Tu) one game

2A Jimtown Semistate
6-12-4 (S) semifinals
6-12-4 (S) championship

2A State Championship (at Victory Field - Indianapolis)
6-19-4 (S) 12 noon.