Hanover's Melissa Balkema (1) waits to start the first inning of Saturday's semsitate game in Monticello. Balkema had 55 hits in 116 at bats this season, a .474 batting average. (All photos by Mark Smith)

Leo's Lindsey Bowers (14) fires away against Hanover Central. Bowers has 22 pitching victories for the defending state champion Lions.

HC third baseman Sophia Barbosa grabs a Leo bunt Saturday in the Twin Lakes semsitate semfinals. Leo used the bunt significantly and had four bunt singles.

HC's Alyssa Gill leads off first base behind Lindsey Bowers in the fourth inning of Saturday's game. Gill was on base three times with two base hits.

HC shortstop Melissa Balkema grabs a soft line drive in the fifth inning. Hanover played Leo at the Twin Lakes semistate for the second year in a row.

HC's Alexis Mokos leads off third base as third baseman Hannah Risser watches the pitch to the plate HC left the bases loaded in the sixth inning of the 4-2 loss to Leo.  (All photos by Mark Smith)

Copyright © 2015 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved. Revised: June 07, 2015.

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
LEO (28-2)	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	4	7	1
HANOVER CENTRAL (22-11)	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	6	2

 

MONTICELLO (6-06-2015) When Leo defeated Hanover Central 3-0 in a relatively close Class 3A Semistate semifinal game in June of 2014, there was a feeling that Hanover could have and should have won. When Leo, now the defending 3A state champion, defeated Hanover last Saturday in the 2015 Class 3A Twin Lakes Semistate, there was much less of that feeling.

In two games against Leo, a public school, about 10 miles from the Ohio state line in suburban Fort Wayne, Hanover Central has never led and they haven't won. Leo moved on Saturday afternoon with a 4-2 victory.

Leo (29-2), which won a school-record 29th game of the season, scored first in the fourth inning after Robyn Hall singled and stole second base with one out. The next batter, Abbie Heisman hit a ground ball to third baseman Sophia Barbosa. Instead of throwing to first base for the second out, Barbosa tried to tag Hall sliding into third base. All runners were safe. Lindsey Bowers was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and Morgan Fenton singled in two runs. Next batter Hannah Riser laid down a quality squeeze bunt scoring Bowers from third for a 3-0 lead.

Hanover appeared to get a break when 21-game winner Lindsey Bowers (21-2, 1.03 ERA) was hit on her non-pitching elbow with a pitch in the top of the fourth inning. Hanover (22-11) scored twice in the bottom of the fourth when Alexis Mokos doubled and Alyssa Gill was hit by a pitch. Barbosa sacrificed both runners along before Skylar Barnett and Dakota Ward smacked run scoring singles. Leo coach Ben Shappell moved Bowers to first base after she hit Gill and put first baseman and No. 2 pitcher Brooke Imel in at pitcher.

"Lindsey only has three or four complete games," said Shappell. "Brooke has seven saves. She's finished most of our games this year. She does a great job for us. Throws the ball different places. Has a bit more velocity. Not quite the movement Lindsey has. But it's a great change of pace for us. We have great confidence with her."

After the run scoring singles, Imel pitched the final three innings allowing just one base hit. Hanover ended the fourth inning with three hits and a hit batter but just two runs.

HC didn't seem to get quick starts on the bases. Runners moved up one base at a time. Long time coach Larry McMillen was more blunt. "No, we didn't hesitate on the bases. We (the coaches) stopped them. We're just slow," McMillen said. "We really only have three girls who can run and two of them are graduating now."

The Lions scored a fourth run in the fifth inning when Alexa Allen doubled and Morgan Poeppel singled. Hall grounded out to second base, scoring Allen to make it 4-2. While there was no more scoring, Leo embarrassed Hanover in the sixth when they laid down three consecutive bunt singles. Marley Hanlon, who allowed 10 base hits including four bunt singles, got Poeppel to pop up for the third out with the bases loaded.

"We looked at them in warm ups," said Shappell, "and I thought their third baseman played back a bit. So we thought we'd test her a bit. I knew with our speed we had a great chance to get an infield single. They didn't make errors on the bunts. It was all our girls' speed and getting the bunts in the right places."

Hanover needed to score something in the bottom of the sixth inning when Alysa Gill led off with a single and Leo shortstop Abbie Heisman dropped the relay throw on what could have been a double play.

Leo expected HC's Skylar Barnett (35 of 104, .336) to bunt the tying runs in to scoring position, but Barnett swung at the first pitch and flied out to left field. Hanlon hit a ground ball to shortstop that was turned into a force play at second base, but Dakota Ward walked to fill the bases. Abby Thompson put a 1-0 pitch into play but she grounded out to Leo third baseman Hannah Risser to end the inning.

"We couldn't field the bunt," McMillen said. "They put the bat on the ball a lot better than we did. We made some good plays in the field. They made some, too.

"We played hard all year long. We lost some games we shouldn't have lost to Kokomo, KV, Andrean and Chesterton. We could have won all of those."

But it you call a 22-11 season unsatisfying, McMillen would argue with you.

"Not to me," he said. "Our pitching was unproven and it came through. We had ups and downs with defense and offense. We just didn't get enough hits today in key situations."

Hanover has a reality to face. The Lady Cats return seven starters and Hanlon, an improving left-handed pitcher. But Leo graduates just four seniors. Brooke Imel, the pitcher that got the victory Saturday and a .525 hitter, is back for 2016. So is Alexa Allen, who had 53 hits in 81 at bats before Saturday. For Hanover to get past Leo and get to the state finals next year, they're going to have to get significantly better, because Leo seems very likely to be at the semistate again in 2016.

But if Hanover plays Leo at the Twin Lakes next June, McMillen won't be there. The 24-year Hanover coach says his retirement will be final this month.

"I've just got to go in and submit my resignation," he said, laughing at thoughts he might reconsider. "No way that's going to happen."

McMillen finishes his coaching career with unofficial totals of 411 wins and 133 losses and he likes where his program is.
"We've got good kids in junior high that could be excellent ballplayers. We've got some pitching down there. And some good athletes. Softball's not going to go away. It'll be in good hands next year if they do it right."

SEMISTATE NOTES: Leo advanced to the state finals again late Saturday with a 4-3 win over 3A No. 5 South Bend St. Joseph's (26-4).

Boone Grove advanced to the 2A state finals with a 1-0 win over Elwood at the LaVille Semistate. Lake Central reached the 4A state finals with a 7-2 win over top-ranked Penn at the Harrison Semistate.

Senior shortstop Melissa Balkema finished with 55 hits in 116 at bats (.474) with eight home runs and 27 RBIs. Hanover's sophomore catcher Alexis Mokos (44 of 114) and sophomore center fielder Skylar Barnett (34 of 103, .330) played in all 33 games this season.

Hanover's retirng coach Larry McMillen wants assistant coach, 2005 grad and former North Newton coach Amanda (Wendlinger) Suarez to be the next coach.

Suarez pitched a perfect game in the 2004 Class 2A state title game and won 62 games as a right-handed pitcher for McMillen.

"That's who it should be," said McMillen. "That was the idea when she came here. It's not my decision. I don't know if that's what will happen. It's not up to me."

McMillen will also retire as vice president of the Cedar Lake softball organization.

"I'm going to step down from there, too. I've been vice president there for over 20 years. But I live too far away. I want that (his association with Cedar Lake softball) to be a situation where if I get there I get there and if I don't, I don't."

"I'm going to fish a lot and make sure my lawn is looking as good as it can."

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