MORGAN TWP. | Hanover Central coach Doug Nelson has been preaching to his players the need for increased discipline at the plate.
Those words of advice came to fruition Friday night, as the Wildcats drew 10 walks and pounded out 10 hits in an 11-7 win against Morgan Township in Porter County Conference action. The win gives the Wildcats (11-7, 6-1 PCC) the PCC round robin championship.
"We're really working on fixing our approach at the plate right now,"
Nelson said. "It hasn't been very good the last couple games. When you play a good team like Morgan, you've got to take advantage of your opportunities."
One player who took advantage of his opportunities was No. 6 hitter Dan Nowak, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, including a walk and hit by pitch to reach base in four of his five appearances.
"I was feeling all right my first couple at bats, and I just settled down and felt pretty good up there," Nowak said.
Nelson said he was pleased with Nowak's performance from the plate.
Dan Stum and Nick Bollenbacher added two RBIs to help the Wildcats' attack.
Morgan Twp. (12-4, 4-2) jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings and seemed to have all the momentum.
The Wildcats would put up three runs in the third inning to slash the lead 4-3 before a three-run fourth inning, featuring a two-run homer from Brandon Murphy, put the Cherokees up 7-3.
However, after that point it was all Hanover Central. Nowak stepped up in the sixth and seventh innings, belting an RBI-double followed by a two-run single to help the Wildcats outscore the Cherokees 8-0 after Murphy's home run.
"We've been throwing strikes all year, but not today," Morgan Twp. coach Jason Dorshorst said. "As good of a hitting team as they are, you feel nervous going right after them. Then you get behind them and walks can kill you.
"It's a bump in the road. We've got a doubleheader (today) and we're going to get right back on the horse and get after it. There's no time to pout."
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