Hanover goes 5-0 to win big at Twin Lakes Invitational 5-14-2009
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

Twin Lakes Invitational
May 8-9, 2009 at Twin Lakes High School - Monticello, Indiana

FRIDAY, May 8
POOL (1) ONE
MUNSTER 7, Western 1;  Harrison 10, Frontier 0 (5 innings)
POOL (2) TWO
Eastern 3, McCutcheon 2;  LOWELL 11, Benton Central 1 (5 innings)
POOL (3) THREE
Twin Lakes 12, Maconaquah 1;  CROWN POINT 8, Pioneer 1
POOL (4) FOUR
Lewis Cass 5, (Lafayette) Jefferson 1; HANOVER CENTRAL  6,  ANDREAN  3

SATURDAY, May 9
POOL (1) ONE
MUNSTER 9, Frontier 2,
Harrison 6, MUNSTER 4,
Harrison 6, Western 1,
Frontier 3, Western 2

POOL (2) TWO
Benton Central, 4, Eastern 0;
Benton Central 2, McCutcheon 1;
LOWELL 6, Eastern 1,
McCutcheon 4, LOWELL 2

POOL (3) THREE
CROWN POINT 11, Maconaquah 0;
Maconaquah 2, Pioneer 1;
Twin Lakes 20, Pioneer 0 (5);
Twin Lakes 2,  CROWN POINT 1 (8 innings)

POOL (4) FOUR
ANDREAN 15, Jefferson 3;  HANOVER CENTRAL 4, Lewis Cass 3 (8 innings)
ANDREAN 9, Jefferson 1;  HANOVER CENTRAL 6, Jefferson 1

SEMIFINALS
Harrison 2, LOWELL 1;  HANOVER CENTRAL 2, Twin Lakes 0

CHAMPIONSHIP
HANOVER CENTRAL 2, Harrison 1 (title)

McCutcheon (11-9), CROWN POINT (18-3)
Harrison (16-3), LOWELL (15-8),
Twin Lakes (15-7) HANOVER CENTRAL (16-3)

Friday, 5-08-2009  -  62 degrees & cloudy, pool play at MONTICELLO, IN

WP - Jessica Toth (5-2)  CG, 3K, 0 walks
LP - Nicole Steinbach (3-1) 2K, 4 walks (4 earned runs)

ANDREAN (13-5)
Alyssa Moseley (1B) 2-for-4, run scored
Sammy Serrato (2B) 2-for-4, RBI
Audrey Bickel (SS) 2-for-3, triple, 2 RBIs
Kelly Ryan (C) 0-for-3
Morgan Moseley (3B) 1-for-3, double
Cari Fleming (LF) 0-for-4
Amy Rodish (PH) 0-for-2
Meg Bridgeman (DP) 0-for-1
Allison Emmett (PH) 0-for-1
Julie Hoolehan (RF) 1-for-3

HANOVER CENTRAL (12-3)
Morgan Austgen (3B) 1-for-3, sac bunt
Kara Gilbert (SS) 1-for-4
Kelsey Jankowski (1B) HR, walk, Sac, Fly, 3 RBIs
Jessica Toth (P) 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBIs
Tiffany Gibson (RF) 1-for-3, walk, RBI
Lindsay Thompson (2B) 1-for-3, walk
Katie Klopp (C) 0-for-2, sac bunt
Kasey Stenger (CF) 0-for-2, sac bunt
Danielle Nowak (LF) 0-for-2, walk
 

Saturday, 5-09-2009  -  Semifinal at MONTICELLO, IN

WP - Jessica Toth (8-2) CG, 1K, 1 walk
LP - Abby Dilling (7-2) CG, 1k  0 walks

HANOVER CENTRAL (15-3)
Morgan Austgen (3B) 2-for-4
Kara Gilbert (SS) 0-for-2, sac bunt
Kelsey Jankowski (1B) 0-for-2, Sac Fly, RBI
Jessica Toth (P) 1-for-3, run scored
Tiffany Gibson (RF) 0-for-3
Lindsay Thompson (2B) 0-for-3
Katie Klopp (C) 1-for-3, RBI
Kelsey Stenger (CF) 1-for-3
Danielle Nowak (LF) 0-for-2, sac bunt, run scored

Twin Lakes (15-7)
Ashley Keil (CF) 0-for-3
Abby Dilling (P) 0-for-3
Katie Reiff (SS) 1-for-3, RBI
Sarah McIlrath (C) 0-for-3
Jesse Berry (1B) 2-for-3
Tabby Bonnell (DP) 1-for-3
Savanna Gaumer (3B) 1-for-3
Presley Estes (LF) 0-for-2, walk
Hillary Banks (2B) 0-for-3
 

Saturday, 5-09-2009  -  Semifinal at MONTICELLO, IN

WP - Morgan Stephens (10-2)  CG, 8K, 2 walks
LP -  Lauren Wells (8-5)  CG, 5K, 3 walks  (6 2/3 in.)

LOWELL (15-8)
Jacki Fletcher (2B) 1-for-3, walk, RBI
Nicole Sgouroudis (CF) 0-for-3
Lauren Wells (P) 1-for-2, walk
Megan Bolanowski (SS) 0-for-3
Nina Iaokimidis (C) 1-for-3, double
Katherine Allert (3B) 0-for-1, 2 walks
Amanda Underwood (RF) 0-for-2, sac bunt
Jessica Schiessle (DP) 0-for-3
Stevie Schilling (LF) 0-for-3

HARRISON (16-2)
Ashley Courtney (C) 1-for-3, walk, double, RBI
Jordan DeBoy (RF) 0-for-3
Brooke Jordan (1B) 0-for-1, sac bunt, walk
Morgan Stephens (P) 0-for-2, sac bunt
Megan Mitchell (SS) 1-for-3
Jordan Spitznagle (2B) HBP
Molly Spitznagle (PH) 0-for-2
Kristen Fuller (LF) 0-for-3
Megan Huston (3B) 0-for-3
Haley Baker (CF) 1-for-2, walk
 

Saturday, 5-09-2009  -  Twin Lakes Invitational Championship Game, 51-degrees at MONTICELLO, IN

WP - Jessica Toth (8-2)  CG, 6K, 1 walk
LP -  Morgan Stephens (10-3) 8K, 1 walk (4 innings)*
* Stephens pitched to two batters in the eighth inning

HARRISON (16-3)
Ashley Courtney (C) 1-for-1, walk, run scored
Jordan DeBoy (RF) 0-for-1, 2 sac bunts
Brooke Jordan (1B) 1-for-3, 2 stolen bases
Morgan Stephens (P) 1-for-3, stolen base
Megan Mitchell (SS) 0-for-3
Ashley Scowden (DP) 0-for-3
Kristen Fuller (LF) 0-for-3
Molly Spitznagle (PH) 0-for-3
Haley Baker (CF) 0-for-3

HANOVER CENTRAL (16-3)
Morgan Austgen (3B) 3-for-4
Kara Gilbert (SS) 0-for-3, sac bunt
Kelsey Jankowski (1B) 0-for-4
Jessica Toth (P) 0-for-4
Tiffany Gibson (RF-CF) 1-for-4, 2 RBIs
Lindsay Thompson (2B) 0-for-2, walk
Katie Klopp (C) 1-for-3
Kasey Stenger (CF-RF) 0-for-3
Danielle Nowak (LF) 0-for-2, walk
 

Saturday, 5-09-2009  -  pool play- Twin Lakes Invitational at MONTICELLO, I

WP - Abby Dilling (7-3)  CG, 4K, 0 walks
LP - Taylor Perry (9-1) CG, 12K, 0 walks

CROWN POINT (17-3)
Tori Connelly (LF) 3-for-4
Gabrielle Raspopovich (CF) 0-for-4
Jessica Martinez (2B) 0-for-4
Taylor Perry (P) 1-for-4
Katrina Klingberg (C) 1-for-3, double, RBI
Jackie Beilfuss (DP) 0-for-3
Kara Gulvas (3B) 2-for-3
Jessica Palm (SS) 0-for-2 sac bunt
Allison Amodeo (RF) 1-for-3, double

Twin Lakes (13-6)
Ashley Keil (CF) 0-for-3
Abby Dilling (P) 0-for-3
Katie Reiff (SS) 0-for-2, sac bunt
Sarah McIlrath (C) 0-for-3
Jesse Berry (1B) 2-for-3
Tabby Bonnell (DP) 0-for-2 sac bunt
Chelsea Hicks (3B) 0-for-3
Savannah Gaumer (LF) 2-for-3, double, 2 RBIs
Hillary Banks (2B) 0-for-2

MONTICELLO (5-9-2009) The days when Hanover Central's softball program didn't think they could win something have long since been over.  This is the school that made back-to-back state finals appearances in 2003 and 2004 and won the Class 2A state crown in 2004.  Hanover almost always wins their 2A sectional and the Porter County Conference (PCC) championship.  But I don't know how many of Hanover Central's girls actually thought they'd win the 16-team Twin Lakes Invitational last weekend in Monticello.

In nine previous trips to 'Indiana Beach', the Lady Cats had never even advanced beyond the three-pool play' games.  They'd never even reached the semifinals.

So when Hanover swept all five games, including a 2-0 semifinal win over the host Twin Lakes Indians and a 2-1 extra-inning win over powerful Harrison in the title game, it was almost too big for words.

"I didn't even think about winning this tournament," said sophomore Tiffany Gibson, whose eighth-inning single off Harrison star Morgan Stephens scored pinch runner Abby Schweitzer with the game and tourney winning run under the artificial light late Saturday night.  "I didn't think about it at all.  We just took one game at a time.  I am so excited.  We're ready for the state (the state tournament) now."

This wasn't a huge upset.  Hanover Central was ranked 10th state wide in Class 2A and they had already defeated quality teams like Munster and Boone Grove.  But they never win this tournament.  Ten years.  So long, they didn't even think about it anymore.  Never is a long, long time.  You assume something that has never happened never will.

"It didn't bother me that we never got out of pool play," head coach Larry McMillen said in the post game celebration.  "It was disappointing.  We'd come down there with very good teams and one thing would go wrong.  But yes, this is about the only thing I'd never done as a coach."

The Lady Cats, who lost three times at the Crown Point Invitational on April 25, defeated Andrean 6-3 with the help of home runs by Jessica Toth and Kelsey Jankowski Friday night.  They were lucky to beat Lewis Cass 4-2 in eight innings Saturday morning and they were just OK in a 5-1 Saturday afternoon win over Lafayette Jefferson (1-17).

But when the HC girls left Voight Park (where all their pool play games were set) and moved over to Twin Lakes high school for the semifinals, something changed.  HC, even as they tired from the marathon tourney, was almost flawless defensively in a 2-0 win over Twin Lakes and they battled on even terms with Harrison (16-3), which was anchored by tall right-handed pitcher Brooke Jordan (6-0) and Morgan Stephens (10-3).  Harrison, which has lost only to Avon (18-2) and Lake Central (21-2), scored in the first inning on three singles.  The Raiders would have scored more except for two hard hit balls that were fielded by Toth, who pitched a complete game shutout 2-0 over Twin Lakes in the semifinals.

Hanover tied the game immediately when Harrison right fielder Jordan DeBoy dropped Tiffany Gibson's two-out, first-inning fly ball.  No one scored the next six innings.  Whether it was fatigue, strong pitching or both, Harrison did not get a base hit over the next six innings, while Hanover had three singles and a walk without scoring.

All extra inning games at Twin Lakes utilize the so-called 'international tiebreaker', which starts every inning with a runner at second base and nobody out.  In the Harrison eighth inning, Toth struck out Molly Spitznagle and Holly Baker before getting catcher Ashley Courtney to pop up to shortstop Kara Gilbert.  Courtney had earlier hit a grand slam home run Saturday in a 6-4 pool play win over Munster.

In the HC eighth-inning, Toth struck out against Stephens, a 5-foot-10 hard thrower, before Gibson hit a line drive into left center field, scoring pinch-runner Abby Schweitzer.  Toth had her best day of the season.  She held Twin Lakes to five singles and stopped Harrison on three base hits in the final two games of a five-game weekend.

"They didn't touch her after the first inning,"' said coach Larry McMillen.  "They didn't get anything off her at all."

"I wasn't surprised that Jessica came back strong tonight," said Gibson.  "I have total confidence in her."

Gibson bats fifth in the Hanover batting order and she sees a lot of base runners batting behind Toth and Kelsey Jankowksi.

"I was just looking for a pitch outside," Tiffany said of her final at bat against Stephens, who averages almost two strikeouts an inning.  "Because that's what she usually does.  I was trying to hit it down the right field line.  But it's okay.  I'll take it."

Hanover would not have reached the semifinals if they had not scored in the seventh-inning against Cass, which led 1-0 most of the game.  Senior Lindsay Thompson, playing in her fourth Twin Lakes Tournament, tripled to right center with one out and scored on a two-out hit by Danielle Nowak to send the game to extra innings.

In the eighth, Hanover scored three times, including an RBI single by Thompson.

"Sometimes I go for weeks without being able to hit anything," Thompson said Saturday night.  "Then all of a sudden it comes back.  Maybe I'm finally back in that streak."

"We knew Andrean was going to be a big obstacle," said Jankowski, who thought the team was building some confidence at the plate.  "We thought we could beat them after we played them at Crown Point.  Especially because how close that game (a 3-1 Andrean win on April 25) was.  We have all hit pretty well the last couple of games and it carries over when we play somebody good like Andrean.  We haven't beaten them since 2004."

Hanover will walk a tightrope of personnel situations in the upcoming games.  Schweitzer and Ashley Hahn are really the only Hanover substitutes.  There are Lady Cats JV girls in uniform on the bench, but those girls are only for emergency situations.  Hanover started the same nine girls in four of the five games of the tournament.  But among those girls are three, three-year starters and two, four-year starters (infielders Kara Gilbert and Lindsay Thompson) in what is easily the most experienced starting lineup in Northwest Indiana.  If you don't notice the lonely bench, Hanover looks as good as anybody they play.

"Hanover just looks like a solid team all the way around," said Lowell coach Pete Iussig, whose team lost 2-1 to Harrison in the semifinals.  "A lot of times you look at them and they just have a bunch of little skinny girls.  But this time, they have a lot of athletes."

Lowell split four games, advancing to the semifinals with an 8-1 win over Benton Central.  Nina Iaokimidis had three hits and two RBIs, while winning pitcher Lauren Wells smacked a two-run single.

In the semifinals, Lowell faced Stephens, who had not allowed more than two runs in any game all season until a 4-0 loss on the road at top-ranked Avon Thursday night.

The Devils were shutout on one hit through six innings and Harrison took a 1-0 lead on a throwing error by Iaokimidis in the sixth.  In the seventh, Iaokimidis lined a long double to right center.  Katherine Allert walked and when Amanda Underwood laid down a good sacrifice bunt, Harrison hesitated making a play and the bases were loaded.  Stephens retired the next two hitters, but Jacki Fletcher lined an RBI base hit to left.  Pinch runner Brittany Carlson scored easily, but Harrison left fielder Kristin Fuller threw out Allert at home plate to end the seventh-inning.

"That was a very questionable decision on my part," said Iussig, who is also Lowell's third base coach.  "But we had a slapper up next and we weren't getting anything off her (Stephens).

Crown Point should have made the semifinals.  After easy wins over small schools Maconaquah and Pioneer, CP lost 2-1 in eight innings to the host school.  The Bulldogs, who stayed one game back of first place Lake Central in the DAC when they beat LaPorte 4-1 Thursday, left the bases loaded in the fifth-inning against Twin lakes and left runners at second and third in the sixth.

"The middle of our lineup really struggled today," coach Brett Crutchfield said before CP left for home.  "We got great pitching.  We just left runners all over the bases."

Taylor Perry, who pitched a complete-game win over Maconaquah on opening night, gave up the game-winning hit to Twin Lakes outfielder Savannah Gaumer in the bottom of the eighth inning after the 'international tiebreaker' rule put a runner at second base with nobody out.

"We didn't bring our offense this weekend," said Crutchfield.  "I'm not sure I know where the adjustment needs to be made.  But we didn't hit that well in all three games here."

Maconaquah and Pioneer did not have hard-throwing pitchers and there was a thought that might have slowed up CP's bats before facing Twin Lakes right hander Abby Dilling.

"That shouldn't have mattered," Crutchfield said.  "We weren't selective.  We swung at bad pitches.  I don't know if we were thinking about hitting the ball over the fence.  I'm not sure what it is, but we're not hitting the top half of the ball.  We left a lot of runners on base."

"When you get your leadoff batter (Tori Connelly) on base three times, you've got to score runs.  Our 2-3-4 struggled more.  Tough way for Taylor to lose her first game.  She hit her spots and made good pitches.  The girl just put a good swing on her in the extra inning.  That's what you are supposed to do."

TWIN LAKES NOTES:  Lowell coach Pete Iussig didn't feel his team played well overall.

"We lost a game to McCutcheon we should have won," he said.  "This was just a good game where they came out on top.  But against McCutcheon, we must've left 15 runners on base.  Very frustrating.  We left two or three on base every inning.  The experience?  That was good.  But our performance?  We lost a game to McCutcheon we should have won."

Hanover led Lowell 3-0 last Thursday in the two schools' annual non-conference game when rain sent everybody home.  With just two weeks left in the regular season, it's not a sure thing that game will be made up.  There was talk that if HC and Lowell had both reached the Twin Lakes' finals, that since the tournament ran late into Saturday evening, that the Devils and Lady Cats would simply go home and play the game on the next open date.  The title game, scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. did not end until just before 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Hanover's Danielle Nowak, thought to be out for the year with a leg injury, was back in the outfield in Monticello.  Her presence is crucial to HC, which has only 11 varsity players.  Both of Hanover Central's home runs in the 6-3 win over Andrean were inside-the-park homers.

Hanover's Lindsay Thompson said that her team isn't looking forward to late season non-conference contests with sectional rivals Bishop Noll or Wheeler so much as they are to a home game with 1A No. 3 Whiting (11-3) on Friday, May 22.  Most region teams do not get to face Whiting star Mel Dumezich, who was 33-0 last year, but Hanover plays the Oilers every year and they are eager to face Dumezich, who led Whiting to 1A state titles in 2006 and 2008.

"We really want to beat Whiting," Lindsay said.  "We haven't beaten them (0-3 in the last three years) and we should have.  We really want to play them."

Crown Point, which hosts Lake Central (21-2) on Wednesday, May 13, has added a game with Wheeler (15-2) on Wednesday, May 20.

"We'll play at night," said CP coach Brett Crutchfield.  "They needed a game and it's pretty much a done deal."

Crutchfield, who came to the Twin Lakes Invitational several times as an assistant at Andrean, liked CP's first trip to Twin Lakes.  He said the Bulldogs will be back in 2010.

"Definitely," he said.  "No doubt.  Great tournament.  We'll be back and we hope we'll take it a step further.  If you get to that single-elimination round, there's a definite state tournament atmosphere here."

Andrean was hampered because top pitcher Alyssa Moseley was ill and they tried to limit her innings.  But when coach Russ Serrato started freshman right-hander Nicole Steinbach, who had defeated Hanover 3-1 on April 25, the Lady Cats scored six runs in four innings against her.  Andrean rallied with a two-run triple by junior Audrey Bickel, but they could not score again against wining pitcher Jessica Toth.  Bickel might have batted in the seventh, but when Sammy Serrato reached base on a bunt single with two out, Moseley was thrown out trying to go to third base.  Bickel (11 HRs this year) was the next hitter.

The 59ers won the next the pool play games 15-3 over Jefferson (1-17) and 9-1 over Lewis Cass (6-7).  Catcher Kelly Ryan drove in six runs against Jeff, which has lost 17 games in a row.  Bickel and Morgan Moseley each had three hits against Cass.  Moseley pitched two complete games on Saturday.  The 59ers will take on Mishawaka Marian (16-2) in the Bishop's Cup tournament in Mishawaka on May 23.

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