By Dennis Bowling
The Hanover Central Wildcats came out fired up, they were ready to play Class 1A state power Beecher. The Bobcats didn’t put their best foot forward and that did led to a rare Bobcat loss on April 26th.
Beecher freshman Liliana Irwin, a promising all-around player, hit a fly-out, and drove in Kendall Kasput, for their only run in the seventh frame. But it just wasn’t enough.
Hanover Central, an Indiana power, upended Beecher 3-1 in a nonconference clash in Cedar Lake, Indiana.
Beecher falls to 20-2 overall. They had their eleven-game winning streak snapped. The Bobcats losing pitcher Ava Lorenzatti (11-1) fanned 12 batters and walked four. The Wildcats are 12-0 overall.
Hanover Central’s winning pitcher, Elle Mowry, allowed six hits. Beecher stranded six runners on base. The Bobcat senior Abby Sippel summarized the loss to the Hoosier power Wildcats.
“They just outplayed us,” she said. “We just didn’t have the energy at the beginning of the game. It proved detrimental to us.”
“We didn’t get any clutch hits,” she said. “Losing is just a part of the game. It just makes us want to work harder. This loss was a shock to all of us.”
In the top of the seventh frame, the Wildcats did had a 3-0 lead. Beecher’s Alexa Gliva walked and Kasput did a pinch run. Beecher’s Ava Olson’s single moved Kasput to second base. A Wildcats wild pitch advanced Kasput to third base.
An Irwin flyout plated Kasput which cut the Hanover Central score to 3-1. The Bobcats Tayiah Scanlan singled. Lorenzatti grounded into a game ending double play.
The Bobcats Kylie Cook, a talented third baseman, had a single against the Wildcats.
“We will learn from this,” she said. “We just need to be more enthusiastic. It was a humbling moment for us. Their energy was amazing. We need to cheer more.”
After two outs in the sixth inning, Beecher’s Cook singled and Sippel dropped a bloop single into right field. The Bobcats Kamryn Koontz infield groundout ended the possible rally.
“They just wanted it,” said Koontz. “They had more energy than we did. They deserved to win. We have to live and learn from this.”
The Wildcats scored two runs in the third frame. They added one run in the fifth inning.
After one out in the fifth inning, Beecher Elena Kvasnicka singled. Cook and Sippel each made outs to end the possible rally.
Look for Beecher to rebound quickly from the loss to Hanover Central.