Andrean shuts out Hanover Central 10-0 in 6-innings

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

5-08-2008

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
HANOVER CENTRAL (10-5)	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	0	4	2
ANDREAN (17-1)	3	3	1	0	0	3	-	10	7	1

WP - Tony Hoolehan (5-0) 4K, 1 walk (5 innings)
LP - Mark Furman (1-2) 1K, 2 walks (2 inning)

HANOVER (10-5)
Adam Warn (LF) 0-for-3
Erik Leinbengood (2B) 0-for-3
Andrew DeYoung (SS) 1-for-2, walk
Jordan Rizo (1B) 0-for-2
Brian Jager (C) 0-for-2
Cody Howarth (CF) 1-for-2
Jesse Hernandez (3B) 1-for-2, double
Neal Kallay (DH) 1-for-2
Zac Burns (RF) 0-for-2

ANDREAN (17-1)
Kyle Kovach (CF) 0-for-1, HBP
Thomas Polus (RF) 1-for-3, double, RBI
Adam Norton (SS) 0-for-2, walks, RBI
Ken Mahala (3B) 3-for-4, 4 RBIs
Mike Pokers (1B) 1-for-2 double, walk
Kevin Franchetti (C) 0-for-3
Ryan Dineen (2B) 0-for-2, HBP
Cam Panther (LF) 0-for-3
Kevin Corbett (DH) 2-for-2, double, single

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Hammond Clark (11-5)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
ANDREAN (16-1)	1	0	1	0	3	1	-	6	11	0

WP - Dale Sjoerdsma (3-3) 7Ks, 0 walks (5 innings)
SP - Andy Wellswerts (HC) 6K, 3 walks
LP - Larry Spore (1-3) 4K, 1 walks (3.7 innings)
SP - Chris Stalbaum (Heb) 2K, 2 walks (4.3 innings)

Hebron (2-8)
Larry Spore (P) 2 doubles, RBI
Justin Brindley (OF) Double, single RBI

HANOVER CENTRAL (10-4)
Andrew DeYoung (SS) Triple, 2 singles, 2 runs scored
Erik Leibengood (2B) 2 singles, 3 stolen bases
Zac Burns (RF) 2 singles, run scored

MERRILLVILLE, IN (5-06-2008) - I'd bet that secretly the 10-0 Andrean victory over Hanover Central wasn't even the way the 59ers would have liked this first meeting of the decade between Andrean and Hanover would end.

Top-ranked Andrean, with 600-win coach Dave Pishkur and Hanover with second year coach and former Andrean pitching coach Jim Nohos might both have likeD Tuesday's matchup in 80-degree sunshine to be a little closer. But Andrean is the No. 1 team in the state. The 59ers (17-1) showed the whole package in a 10-0 win over a Hanover team, that is a main contender for the Porter County Conference (PCC) as well as 2A sectional and regional titles.

Senior left-hander Tony Hoolehan (5-0) was strong for five shutout innings and he left with a 7-0 lead.

"That kid is the most improved player in the area," said Pishkur. "This was probably his weakest game of the year. He probably didn't win a game his sophomore or junior year. He got hammered against Griffith his sophomore year. It might have been Bishop Noll. It might have been both. Then we pitched him against (2007 state champ) Norwell and they bounced and knocked his socks off. He lost confidence."

"But he persevered and now, he's been great," continued Pishkur. "He throws the ball a lot harder than he did today. Maybe he has a tired arm. But his earned run average is 0.50. He's pitched well in every game. He holds runners. He fields his position well. Coming in this year, I thought he might be our sixth best pitcher. Now, he's up there to be the ace of the staff."

The Cats (10-4) got just four hits off Hoolehan and while that's been a season-long problem, HC's 10-9 loss at Lake Central last month contributed to hope that they might compete with the top-rated 59ers. But the Niners, who won their 16th game in a row, got started early when sophomore clean-up hitter Ken Mahala smacked a two-run single off HC senior lefty Mark Furman. Mike Pokers then grounded a hard double down the left field line to make the score 3-0.

In the second inning, back-to-back doubles by Kevin Corbett and Thomas Polus upped the count to 4-0. An error by HC shortstop Andrew DeYoung made it 5-0 before a wild pitch upped the count to 6-0.

HC junior Neal Kallay pitched the next three innings and allowed just one unearned run, but Hoolehan escaped the Hanover fifth inning when Jesse Hernandez and Cody Howarth reached second and third with nobody out.

In the sixth, HC submarine style relief pitcher Erik Leibengood came in to face the heart of the Andrean batting order and walked all-stater Adam Norton with the bases full. Mahala's second two-run single then invoked the 10-run rule and ended the game.

"This is a better learning experience for us than to beat somebody 25-2," said Jim Nohos. "Mark Furman learned he can't just ignore any runner because they're gone. You can do it in other games but not against Andrean. Playing a bigger school, a great team. You see their preparation. Hopefully that opens our eyes to see that we can do that in (Class) 2A. Why cant we do that in 2A?"

Nohos spent half the game coaching in the third base box in front of the Andrean dugout full of his former team, their coach and a lot of players he coaches during the summer with the Hammond Chiefs Senior Babe Ruth state champs.

"Everyone in that program are really good players," said Nohos. "You have to sacrifice to come to a school like Andrean. They work very hard and that's why they're No. 1 in the state. I can't say enough about coach Pishkur and what he taught me. Unfortunately, we didn't show a lot of those things here today."

"They've had a good year," said Pishkur. "I hope they go on and win their league and their tournament. He's doing a really good job with them. I really wish them the best. Jim was with us for three years and all the kids know him. He's a really good guy."

Nohos said he coached most of the Andrean players with the Chiefs or he's given them off season instruction.

"Pokers, Polus, (Kevin) Franchetti. I know all of them," said Nohos. "They're all great kids. It's weird seeing them in another uniform. It was a little embarrassing to get beat like that, but we have to move on."

CAT NOTES: Hanover Central had their game with Bishop Noll at Riverside Park in Hammond rained out on May 3.

"We're playing on May 20 at 8:00 p.m.," said Nohos. "We don't have an opponent yet. We're trying to get Illiana Christian. They're having a really good year. We need to get on that field. It's a different game at night out there."

Andrean senior Jeff Strbjak missed the Clark and Hanover games with a leg injury.

"Its day-to-day," said Andrean coach Dave Pishkur. "He says he could play, but we're probably not going to use him the rest of the week. We have prom this weekend."

"If it was the playoffs and he was Michael Jordan, he could play. But I want to give him time off and rest him. I just hope it's not a high ankle sprain. But even if it is, we could hide him at first base and run for him. He's a captain and our No. 5 hitter. We need him."

With Andrean and Crown Point both presently ranked No. 1 in their respective classes, the obvious question is: Why don't they call each other and get together for a non-conference game?

"If I could pick up one team in the area to play, it would be Crown Point," said Andrean's Dave Pishkur. "We played them 3 years ago and we beat them there (at CP). Then they signed up for the Plymouth tournament. This year, they had an open date and they picked up Hanover instead of us."

Coaches have a lot of pride and they often won't call each other to ask for a game. The days when CP had to worry about good players from the city playing for Andrean are gone. Andrean star Matt Polus is out of the CP Little League, but the Bulldogs have so many players on the varsity and junior varsity, it's hard to say they'd have a better record (they are 47-5 the last two seasons) with different players. You get the impression that if one side or another made the call, the game would be scheduled.

Being ranked No. 1 is not something Andrean shies away from.

"I like it," Pishkur said. "I hope the kids like it. It's an honor. Let's go for it. They've done the work. They've played the schedule. They beat the No. 1 team and the defending state champion. They should be No. 1. If they can't handle being No. 1, that's something I want to know now."

Former Hanover coach Alan Myszkowski is now the pitching coach for Andrean, ironically enough, the position Jim Nohos held before he became Hanover's head coach. Myszkowksi, who played for Hanover in the late 90s, is having a great time with the state's top 3A team.

"Our team ERA is about 0.88," said Myszkowski. "We're doing great. You can't beat it. A 16-game winning streak.

Hanover's Dale Sjoerdsma (3-3) pitched five innings of relief as HC beat Hebron 6-5 in 10 innings Monday afternoon. Hebron pushed across the tying run in the top of the seventh, but Sjoerdsma pitched three shutout extra innings, striking out a total of seven. The senior was a spectator Tuesday but he liked playing Andrean.

"It's good for us," he said. "Its better than playing a Gary team you can just kill. There's no point in that."

"It was cool," said Furman, who intentionally walked Adam Norton in an effort to get out of the first inning. "It was fun. It was a good experience to carry forward into the playoffs."

3A Andrean (17-1, 10-0 NWC)
Coach: Dave Pishkur (29th season season) 2007: 24-10

4-3 (W) 6-1 Gavit
4-5 (L) 2-4 at Penn
4-9 (W) 14-1 at Lowell
4-12 (W) 9-1 Kankakee Valley
4-14 (W) 10-3 Bishop Noll
4-16 (W) 25-2 (5 innings) Griffith
4-18 (W) 7-2 Highland
4-22 (W) 7-3 Munster
4-24 (W) 10-0 Hobart (5 innings)

Brebeuf Tournament
4-25 (W) 14-2 Norwell
4-26 (W) 13-2 Brebeuf
4-26 (W) 12-2 Providence

4-28 (W) 10-0 Lowell (6 innings)
4-30 (W) 1-0 Griffith
5-1 (W) 2-0 at (Chicago Heights) Marian Catholic
5-2 (W) 4-1 at Kankakee Valley
5-3 (Rain) Elmhurst Tournament in Fort Wayne
5-5 (W) 6-0 Clark
5-6 (W) 10-9 Hanover Central
5-7 (Wed) Lemont, Ill.- 4:30 p.m.
5-8 (Thu) at Highland - 4:30 p.m.
5-12 (M) Munster - 4:30 p.m.
5-14 (W) at Hobart - 4:30 p.m.
5-16 (F) Portage - 4:30 p.m.
5-20 (Tu) at Merrillville - 7 p.m.
5-22 (Th) at Northwood - 4 p.m. (5 p.m. EST)
5-23 (F) Clay - 5 p.m.

ANDREAN (3A) Sectional
5-26 (M) quarterfinal (TBA)
5-28 (W) semifinals (TBA)
5-30 (F) semifinal (TBA)
6-1 (S) championship

2A Hanover Central (10-4, 4-1 PCC)
Coach: Jim Nohos (2nd season) 2007: 14-13 PCC champs
PCC games in CAPS - weekday games start at 4:30 - unless otherwise indicated

4-2 (W) 4-1 at Calumet
4-3 (rain) North Newton
4-5 (W) 3-2 Lowell
4-7 (L) 0-5 Crown Point
4-8 (rain) Clark
4-10 (rain) at Whiting
4-14 (W) 15-5 at WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
4-17 (W) 8-3 at MORGAN TOWNSHIP
4-19 (W) 7-0 Beecher, Ill.
4-19 (L) 6-7 Beecher, Ill
4-21 (L) 5-7 BOONE GROVE
4-24 (W) 4-2 Wheeler
4-25 (W) 14-3 (5 innings) Gavit
4-26 (L) 9-10 at Lake Central
4-28 (M) South Newton
4-29 (Tu) Highland
5-2 (W) 11-6 at KOUTS
5-3 (rain) at Bishop Noll at Riverside Park - Hammond
5-5 (W) 5-4 (10 innings) HEBRON
5-6 (L) 0-10 at Andrean (16-1)

5-7 (W) at La CROSSE
5-8 (Th) Morton
5-9 (F) at Griffith
5-16 (F) at River Forest

PCC Championship (at South Central)
5-17 (S) quarterfinals (TBA)
5-19 (M) semifinals
5-21 (W) PCC championship

Wheeler (2A) Sectional
5-26 (M) quarterfinals
5-28 (W) semifinals
5-30 (F) championship

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
HEBRON (2-8)	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	7	7
HANOVER CENTRAL (10-4)	1	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	5	11	2