Howes lifts Hanover Central by Munster
Hanover Central junior was 0 for 4 with 2 Ks before walk-off hit in 8th
It hadn’t been a good day at the plate for junior Gunnar Howes, Hanover Central’s leadoff hitter, until his last at-bat.
It hadn’t been a good day at the plate for junior Gunnar Howes, Hanover Central’s leadoff hitter, until his last at-bat.
Howes turned it into a great day when he lined a hard single to center field in the eighth inning to give the Wildcats a 4-3 walk-off victory over Munster on Friday.
Howes was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and two fly-outs to center field before he batted in the eighth. He got a pitch that was a little up from junior Jake Thometz and ended a game that looked like it was going to end before Howes made it to the plate.
Hanover Central (22-3-1) had the bases loaded with no outs, but Munster (16-10) was able to get a force-out at home. Then Howes’ brother Gannon struck out. That set the stage for Howes’ heroics. He was happy to finish the game. “I had really struggled early,” Howes said. “I had an error in the field, and at the plate I wasn’t doing too hot. I knew I had it in me. I wasn’t trying to do anything big. I just did me, and that was the result.”
Said Hanover Central coach Ryan Bridges: “He had struggled early in the game. They had to pitch to him, and he got the biggest hit of the game.”
Despite a brisk wind blowing straight out, the game turned into a pitchers’ duel. Hanover Central senior Peyton Olejnik was solid, striking out seven and walking one in eight innings. He threw 101 pitches.
The Mustangs scored all three runs on two hits and an error in the second inning. Junior Tyler Lukowski cleared the bases with a double.
Other than that blip, Olejnik was really good. In four of his eight innings, the Mustangs didn’t have a base runner.
Olejnik’s curve was really breaking.
“I was just on today,” he said. “I was loose warming up in the pen. It was a good, hot day. I just felt good.”
The only issue Bridges had with his team was its defense. The Wildcats made four errors.
Hanover Central, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A in the state coaches poll, will have to play cleaner baseball to make a deep run in the postseason.
“Our defense has to be better,” Bridges said. “We made some mistakes early. We booted two balls. That’s going to lead to a quick exit for us in the postseason. We still found a way to prevail. It was fun.”
Munster junior Brady Ginaven was equally good on the mound over 6 ⅓ innings. He allowed six hits while striking out six and walking one.
Munster coach Bob Shinkan said he was “happy with Ginaven’s outing. It’s something to build on.”