Wheeler upsets Hanover hopes 8-4 to capture 2A Baseball Sectional Championship

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

6-01-2008

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
HANOVER CENTRAL (20-9)	0	0	1	0	3	0	0	4	11	1
WHEELER (20-11)	3	5	0	0	0	0	-	8	8	1

Friday, 5-30-2008 - 68 degrees, humid, Bishop Noll (2A) Sectional Championship at Riverside Park, HAMMOND, IN

WP - Tyler Nader (9-2) CG, 7K, 4 walks, HBP
LP - Jesse Hernandez (5-3) 1K, 2 walks (1 inning)

HANOVER CENTRAL (20-9)
Andrew DeYoung (SS) 1-for-4
Brian Jager (C) 2-for-2, HBP, walk, stolen base
Adam Warn (LF) 0-for-2, 2 walks
Jordan Rizo (1B) 2-for-4, double
Cody Howarth (CF) 1-for-4, double
Neal Kallay (3B) 0-for-1
Erik Leibengood (2B) 1-for-4
Jesse Hernandez (P-3B) 4-for-4, double, 2 stolen bases
Zac Burns (RF) 0-for-1

WHEELER (20-11)
Corben Lee (RF) 2-for-3, walk
Thomas Wilk (2B) 1-for-4
Spencer Blaney (SS) 1-for-3, walk
Matt Plankey (1B) 0-for-1, Sac Fly, walk, RBI
Chuck Wilk (LF) 2-for-3, double, 3 RBIs
Eric Hibbard (3B) 0-for-3
Danny White (DH) 0-for-3
Craig McCall (C) 2-for-3, double
James Schaffer (CF) 0-for-2, walk

HAMMOND (5-30-2008) - Both Hanover Central and Wheeler put themselves in position to win Friday night's Class 2A Bishop Noll Sectional championship game in Hammond, but one team seemed ready to win from Day One, to steal a political phrase. Wheeler won the nomination for president of the 2A Sectional, while Hanover Central will have to settle for the vice presidential nod until the 2009 election.

Wheeler clinched the nomination with eight runs in first two innings and even though the Wildcats were 'in it to win it' and valiantly staying in the race till the end, the Bearcats won their first sectional baseball championship in 19 years with an 8-4 victory at picturesque Riverside Park.

The Bearcats, who won very few sectional championships of any sort in the 20th Century, added the 2008 baseball sectional to the 2007 softball sectional, the 2007 football sectional, the 2007 boys basketball sectional and three girls basketball sectional (2004, 2006, 2007) titles, all in the last four years.

For Hanover, a team that has never won a sectional baseball title and hasn't won a boys basketball title in over 20 years, they just didn't rise to the moment of the championship game. It was a major disappointment and there was no hiding that fact. A team that won 20 games for the first time ever against a strong schedule just cannot be down 8-0 after two innings. They just can't be.

"We've been competitive playing a competitive schedule all year," said coach Jim Nohos. "I don't know what happened today. I don't think they came out expecting to win the ball game. We're trying to rebuild the program. But we were looking around waiting for something to happen. I don't know why we don't come out and set the tone instead of waiting for the tone to be set."

Nohos almost apologized for not being more clear but that pretty much covers it. What separated Hanover from Wheeler Friday night on the smooth Riverside playing surface was not physical, it was mental. Hanover outplayed Wheeler for five innings. Unfortunately they were the final five innings after the boys, stung by the eight-run deficit, played with great urgency.

Hanover had the bases loaded in the first, but could not score when Wheeler lefty Tyler Nader struck out Cody Howarth and got Neal Kallay to ground out to short. Wheeler's first five batters reached base in the first inning against Hanover right-hander Jesse Hernandez. Eric Hibbard grounded into a double play, but Wheeler still built A 3-0 lead.

The first three Wheeler batters reached base in the second inning as well. Spencer Blaney's bases loaded single made the score 4-0 against relief pitcher Dale Sjoerdsma and Chuck Wilk's two run double made it 7-0. Freshman right-hander Andy Wellwerts finally got the side out.

Sjoerdsma (6-4, a curve-balling senior, had pitched most of the big games (CP, Boone Grove twice) all season so it was somewhat of a surprise that Hernandez (4-2), who did start against Wheeler in a 4-2 five-inning win in April, started the sectional championship. Sjoerdsma, who pitched two innings three days earlier in the 14-0 Hanover sectional semifinal win over Lake Station, was warming up as the bottom of the first inning began. Nohos seemed to be playing a hunch.

"Jesse's a good pitcher," said Nohos. "He was probably our No. 1 guy all year. Certainly, they (Hernandez and Sjoerdsma) were 1A AND 1B. Not that we were looking ahead but that would set up our pitching for Tuesday. I had total faith in Jesse."

The Bearcats hit both of them, scoring all eight runs off HC's top two pitchers before freshman Andy Wellwerts pitched four shutout innings. While Wheeler senior lefty Tyler Nader (9-1) slipped in and out of jams, Hanover Central (20-9) tried everything they could to create runs and rally with three bunt singles and four stolen bases.

"He was our best pitcher last year," said Shimanski, who has 500 career wins, but won a post-season title for the first time in Wheeler. "But his record was about 2-5. Hanover does a lot of things to try to upset you but he held it together."

"I coached a long time in Illinois at Joliet Catholic," added Shimanski. "They had a lot of great players and we sent guys to pro ball. But it's no different here. Just getting the kids to believe in themselves."

Nohos paid tribute to Shimanski, who is second only to Andrean's Dave Pishkur in total wins in Northwest Indiana.

"Coach does a great job at Wheeler," said Nohos, who coached under Pishkur from 2003-2006. "For a guy who has coached in this area for years to win his first sectional. He's a standup coach and an even better person. I wish him nothing but the best. We said it last Friday that at least some here hasn't won a sectional."

The win clearly meant a lot to Wheeler, which was seen as an underdog to both Hanover and Bishop Noll (even though all three had similar records) before defeating both of them at Riverside Park. The Bearcats were especially happy with the prospect of facing arch-rival Boone (the school districts share a common border) in the 2A regional championship game.

"Its all about keeping your composure," said Shimanski. "Their coach does a great job of trying to rattle you. Stealing bases. Stepping out of the batters' box. Our pitcher tries to pitch fast. He (Nohos) did a real nice job of making Tyler slow down. But he kept his composure. He's been outstanding. Just outstanding."

It was a tough finish for Hanover Central. But it was a game that left no doubt that Hanover still has improvement to make before they are among the top teams in their area. They did not look like a team that had won two out of every three games all year.

"There's a big difference between our program and Andrean's program," said Nohos. "There they go out on the field (in a championship game) and they know they're going to kick somebody's butt. We came out thinking, what's going to go wrong? What do we have to adjust to? We had the bases loaded in the first inning, but we didn't take advantage of it. We should have set the tempo right there. Their kid (Nadel) hadn't been scored on in 25-innings and we had a perfect opportunity to set the tone and we just didn't."

SECTIONAL NOTES: Wheeler's Corbin Lee, who stole home in the Bearcats' 3-0 sectional quarterfinal win over Bishop Noll on May 26, wrote his name down on an empty page in Wheeler history when he became the first Bearcat ever to play on three sectional championship teams. The win Friday added the 2007 football title to the 2007 basketball championship to Friday's sectional baseball title.

Wheeler had a solid fan following with over 100 fans, including a half dozen boys who body-painted themselves in Wheeler school colors orange and green. Hanover fans included members of the HC softball team that was scheduled for regional play 24 hours later. The HC fans stayed until the end as the Wildcats constantly threatened to score. The game was delayed 30 minutes by light rain, which held off for the two hours of the game.

Jesse Hernandez had a season-high four hits, including two bunt singles. Senior Brian Jager, who was spiked on a first-inning, two base hit, was also on base four times. Jager played with a bandaged left arm after the injury and it seemed to have no effect on his play.

2A Hanover Central (20-9, 6-1 PCC)
Coach: Jim Nohos (2nd season); 2007: 14-13, PCC champs
4-2 (W) 4-1 at Calumet
4-5 (W) 3-2 Lowell (14-16)
4-7 (L) 0-5 Crown Point (26-5-2)
4-8 (rain) Clark (18-10)
4-10 (rain) at Whiting (18-12)
4-14 (W) 15-5 at WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (11-14)
4-17 (W) 8-3 at MORGAN TOWNSHIP (8-13)
4-19 (W) 7-0 Beecher, Ill.
4-19 (L) 6-7 Beecher, Ill
4-21 (L) 5-7 BOONE GROVE (25-3-1)
4-24 (W) 4-2 Wheeler (20-11)
4-25 (W) 14-3 (5 innings) Gavit (10-15)
4-26 (L) 9-10 at Lake Central (21-7-2)
4-28 (M) South Newton

5-2 (W) 11-6 at KOUTS (12-10)
5-3 (rain) at Bishop Noll (15-12) at Riverside Park
5-5 (W) 5-4 (10 innings) HEBRON (5-15)
5-6 (L) 0-10 at Andrean (29-1)
5-7 (W) 6-0 at La CROSSE (15-12)
5-8 (W) 7-3 Morton (13-11)
5-9 (L) 3-5 at Griffith (18-12)
5-12 (W) 4-3 at South Central (9-14)
5-14 (W) 7-2 North Newton (12-10)
5-16 (W) 10-4 at River Forest (4-20)
PCC Championship
5-17 (W) 1-11 (5 inn.) South Central (9-14)
5-19 (W) 2-1 Kouts (12-10)
5-21 (L) 5-6 Boone Grove (25-3-1) title

5-22 (L) 6-11 Highland (17-11)
5-23 (W) 9-7 Hobart (13-18)
5-24 (W) 2-1 Portage (12-17)

Bishop Noll (2A) Sectional
5-26 (W) 14-0 (5 innings) Lake Station (4-20)
5-30 (L) 4-8 Wheeler (20-11)