Hanover Central Girls Softball 2004 Season Preview

2004 Season Preview: Hanover Central High School Girls

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith
(3-25-2004)

Class 2A Softball (preseason)
Indiana Girl Sports Coaches Association (IGSCA)
School's hometown in parenthesis

1. (Greentown) Eastern (defending 1A champ)
2. (Walton) Lewis Cass
3. (Butler) Eastside
4. (Cedar Lake) HANOVER CENTRAL
5. (Ferdinand) Forest Park
6. Clarksville, Ind.
7. Bremen, Ind.
8. (Marion) Eastbrook
9. (Elkhart) Jimtown
10. (Middletown) Shenandoah

Class 1A Softball (pre-season)
Indiana Girl Sports Coaches Association (IGSCA)
School's hometown in parenthesis

1. (Lynnville, Ind.) Tecumseh
2. (Montezuma, Ind.) Riverton Parke
3. (Indianapolis) Lutheran
4. WHITING, IND.
5. (Frankfort, Ind) Clinton Prairie
6. (Royal Center, Ind.) Pioneer
7. (Union Mills) SOUTH CENTRAL
8. (Indianapolis) Ritter
9. (Farmersburg) North Central
10. (Jasonville) Shakamak

CEDAR LAKE (3-24-2004) - When you go to the state finals, you come back the next year as a target. Lake Central knows all about it. But Whiting and Hanover Central don't. It's something that Hanover Central has never been through in the 12 year-history of HC softball. But, after winning sectional and regional championships in 2003, a lot of teams want to play Hanover in 2004.

The question is, will Hanover be ready.

"The team that won 1A last year (Eastern) moved up to 2A," said Hanover coach Larry McMillen, who could see Eastern and Lewis Cass at the Twin Lakes Invitational in March. "Two of the three teams ranked ahead of us were 1A last year. "The other is Eastside." Plus Lewis Cass is ranked ahead of us. They were here last summer with their junior varsity and they are pretty darn good. Everybody thinks we're a shoe-in to go back to the state finals. It's not that easy."

What troubles the fourth ranked Lady Cats is the injury to star pitcher Amanda Wendlinger (24-6, 285 strikeouts, 16 walks), who had major knee surgery in December. Wendlinger (35 of 93, .376) was released to play ahead of schedule last week but she isn't going to be pitching every day like she can when totally healthy in warm weather.

"Amanda's going to pitch this (April) month," said McMillan. "She'll probably pitch all our conference games. That's the only thing I'm striving for right now. Everything is frosting on the cake after that."

Hanover Central won't be undefeated very long because they have a very heavy early schedule.

"We played the first, second and third of April and we really don't want to do that. Lou Ann Hopson at Chesterton is in the same boat. She plays the first, second and third too. We play 15 games in April. There's 31 days in April and four of them are Sundays. So, you can see how many practices we have. At the start of the year you need to practice more than you need to play."

Can Megan Meyers (left, Catcher) and Amanda Wendlinger (right, Pitcher) repeat last year's performances? (Photo by Mark Smith, April - 2003)

"We've got a month of open dates in May but some of those will be make-up dates."

But overall, for a small school, Hanover is about to start a two-year period when, player-wise, they are at a peak. The Lady Cats were a little ahead of schedule as regional champs last season. With seven seniors and five juniors returning off last year's team, the future is definitely now.

"We only lost two seniors from last year's team," McMillan said. "I'll probably have Christie Wick (15 of 63, .238) at first base. Jacklyn Kienzle at second. Or Krystina Davis. But right now, Jacklyn's been the one who's been here. Stephanie Skarwecki (6 of 17, .352) is going to be my opening day shortstop because Bess Copak (44 of 94, .466, 35 RBIs) isn't here (spring break). I've got a rule that if you go on spring break without your parents, you have to sit out one game for every day you miss here."

"It's not fair to the players who are here every day for players who go on spring beak to come back and start ahead of them."

The biggest hole from last year is third base, where Cathy Holmoka (18 of 60, .300) graduated. McMillen feels he has an able replacement out of the sophomore class.

"Andria Trock (8 of 33, .242) will play third. She's been going to hitting lessons all year. To me, she's as good a third baseman as anybody else around here. She's got the glove and she's got the arm. All she has to do is have a couple of good games and there'll be no limit to what she can do."

"She's played a lot of summer ball. Her dad played for something like 32 lessons," recalled McMillen. "Trisha Sheehy (16 of 54, 296) in left. Rachel Williams (30 of 93, 322, 30 runs scored) in center. And Shannon Phillips in right. People don't believe me when I tell them this but Shannon Phillips is probably one of the top-5 people talent-wise that I've ever had. There's nobody who can handle a glove in the outfield like she can."

"Megan (Meyers) is the catcher and she needs to have a good year. Especially with Kelly (LaPota) pitching. She's got to build up Kelly's confidence. Kelly is in a tough spot but she can pitch. She pitched games last year. She's never going to be Amanda but she's a good pitcher. She's pitched all her life."

"When you come right down to it," McMillen says, "this is a short season. You play 30 games in two months. You've only got two months. "It's over before you know it."

NOTES: Junior first baseman Kelly Lapota (38 of 92, .413, 32 runs scored, 34 RBIs) was 2-1 as a pitcher last year with an 0.38 ERA in 18 innings. Hanover is 50-11-1 in the last two seasons.

The designated hitter will probably be Heather Rebeneck (8 of 21, .381), a back-up catcher who excelled in that role as a freshman last season.

"I've got 10 or 11 freshmen," said McMillan. "They can fly. I'm going to make slappers (left handed slice hitters) out of them."

Of all the teams on Hanover's schedule, the most improved squad may be Lowell, which started four freshmen last season.

"Lowell should be pretty good," said McMillan. "They've got everybody back. They've got that pitcher. She (Cristin Just) was one of the best we saw all year. "

2004 HANOVER CENTRAL Softball
Larry McMillen     25-8 in 2003, 24-5 in 2002,    116-26-1 (last 5 years)
All games - 4:30 p.m. unless otherwise indicated

4-1-2004 (Th)   River Forest
4-2-2004 (F) at Chesterton   -    5 p.m.
4-3-2004 (S) Munster   -   11 a.m.
4-10-2004 (S) at Bishop Noll -   11 a.m.
4-13-2004 (Tu) North Newton
4-14-2004 (W) at MORGAN TOWNSHIP - 4:45 p.m.
4-16-2004 (F) at Clark
4-17-2004 (S) HEBRON
4-19-2004 (M) Wheeler
4-21-2004 (W) Lowell
4-22-2004 (Th) at Beecher, Ill. - 4:15 p.m.
4-24-2004 (S) at LaCROSSE - 11 a.m.
4-28-2004 (W) at Morton
4-29-2004   (Th) South Newton
4-30-2004 (F) KOUTS
5-1-2004 (S) at Crown Point - 10 a.m.
5-3-2004 (M) Rensselaer - 5 p.m.
5-4-2004 (Tu) SOUTH CENTRAL - 5 p.m.
5-5-2004 (W) Griffith   -     4:30 p.m.
5-6-2004 (Th) BOONE GROVE

Twin Lakes Invitational (in Monticello)
5-7-2004 (F) 1st round game - 6:30 or 8 p.m.
5-8-2004 (S) 2nd and 3rd round games (a.m.)

5-11-2004 (Tu) WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

Porter County Conference (PCC) Tournament (at LaCrosse)
5-14-2004 (F) quarterfinals (home sites)
5-15-2004 (S)   semifinals (11 a.m.)
5-15-2004 (S)   championship (4 p.m.)

5-19-2004 (W) at Gavit
5-21-2004 (F) at Whiting - 5 p.m.

Lake Station (2A) Sectional
5-24-2004 (Tu) quarterfinals
5-27-2004 (F)   semifinals
5-28-2004 (S) championship

LaVille (2A) Regional
6-5-2004 (S) semifinals (10 a.m.)
6-5-2004 (S) championship (7 p.m.)

State (2A) Finals
6-11-2004 (F) at North Central (6:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.)
6-12-2004 (S) at Carmel (1:30 p.m.) championship