Trojans take charge in NCC

Updated: April 25, 2011 6:24AM

HIGHLAND - This time, the celebration was joyful, but muted. This time, Highland was glad, not giddy. 

That's because this time, nobody was terribly surprised.

"We expected to win," Highland senior Jordan Minch said after the Trojans' taut, 3-2 victory over Andrean on a frigid Thursday afternoon. "We're playing some pretty good baseball."

Indeed, Minch and the Trojans served early notice to the rest of the Northwest Crossroads Conference that the road to the league title no longer goes through Andrean.

For now, at least, it goes through Highland.

"This was a big game in terms of the conference," 59ers coach Dave Pishkur said. "And I don't know who's going to beat them in conference. With Minch and (Keith) Mahler pitching, that's an awfully good 1-2. Unless they get three games in a week, I don't know who's going to beat them."

Highland coach Dan Miller downplayed the significance of the win, pointing out how early in the season it came. But he didn't downplay how confident his team is after an 8-2 start, including 3-0 in NCC play.

"We feel good about how we're doing right now," Miller said.

That confidence was evident in the Trojans' demeanor after the win. When Highland won at Andrean last April on an eighth-inning home run by Mahler, it was cause for momentous celebration, as if a huge weight had been lifted off the Trojans' back. They had become the first Northwest Indiana team to beat the 59ers in nearly three years.

This year? A big win, to be sure. The 59ers are the two-time Class 3A state champions, after all. But it was business as usual, at the same time.

"I think we're the team to beat," Minch said, matter-of-factly.

Minch has plenty to do with that, of course. The Purdue-bound lefty was masterful through six innings on Thursday, allowing one run on three hits through that point. He also was 2-for-3 with a double.

His biggest play came with his glove, however - and it was a mistake. With Andrean up 1-0 on a second-inning RBI single by Zach Goldasich, the 59ers put runners on the corners with one out in the top of the fifth. Pishkur called for a safety squeeze, but Jeremy Wright popped up the bunt. Minch ran in to grab it, but turned to throw to third too quickly, dropping the ball. He quickly grabbed it and started an untraditional 1-3-6 double play to get out of the inning unscathed.

"That was the key," Pishkur said. "We got nothing out of that inning. We could have done some things there."

Highland immediately took advantage, scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by Mike Gamaleri and an RBI single by Jake Klocek. A leadoff walk by Will Kerber got the rally started.

Highland added an insurance run in the sixth on a two-out, pinch-hit single by Kyle Stephens, which drove home Michael Urban to make it 3-1.

That proved huge, as Andrean's Zak Ryan led off the seventh with a monster home run to left, right into the teeth of a stiff wind. After Minch walked Goldasich, hit Cody Haver with a pitch and threw two quick balls to Jordan Falls, Miller pulled his ace in favor of closer Matt Knesek.

Knesek shut the door in a hurry, striking out Falls on three pitches and inducing Cam Cooper into a game-ending groundout to second base.

"We've got eight wins and (Knesek) has four saves, so we trust him to do that," Miller said. "I put him in a bad situation, and he came up big."

Miller's two unorthodox moves - inserting Stephens as a pinch-hitter with a 1-0 count and changing pitchers with a 2-0 count - both paid off.

"They made me look smart," he said. "I got lucky. Let's go to the boats."

Mike Hanchar was the hard-luck loser for Andrean (6-2, 3-1). He went toe-to-toe with Minch, allowing just the two runs in five sharp innings.

Hanchar is one of many in a long line of Andrean standouts from Highland, having transfered his sophomore year after spending much of his career playing alongside Minch and the other Trojans.

As if this rivalry needed any more juice. Might want to circle May 12 for the rematch at Andrean.

"It definitely means more," Minch said. "Especially because they took all those other Highland kids like (Ken) Mahala, (Adam) Norton and (Kevin) Franchetti. We don't like when kids go over to Andrean, and it just makes it that much sweeter to beat them."

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