Inspired KV blanks Niners

Updated: May 3, 2011 11:32PM

MERRILLVILLE — Inspiration and superstition come in different shapes and sizes.

So if players in any sport believe they’re winning because they’re dedicating their season to a former player and former coach, who has the right to argue with them?

In this case, it’s the way the Kankakee Valley softball team is playing as the Kougars remember former teammate Taylor Cavinder, who died last year in a car accident, and former assistant coach Mike Hart, who died in July after fighting cancer and suffering a heart attack.

And if the players believe it was those two fallen Kougars peeking through the clouds just before Tuesday’s game at Andrean when the sun shined for just a few seconds, then maybe it was the reason KV defeated the 59ers 4-0.

It’s the first time the Kougars (14-2, 8-2 NCC) have beaten Andrean during the regular season and only second time overall (they edged the 59ers 1-0 in the 2006 sectional).

“It started with T-Cav (last season) and we’ve said we’re playing games for Coach Hart,” said KV shortstop Hillary Hoffman. “So when we saw the sun peek through the clouds ... It brought us closer together on the field.”

She wouldn’t confirm or deny if inspiration from above helped her scald a pitch from Andrean’s Nikki Steinbach for an opposite-field two-run home run in the first inning to give the Kougars an early 2-0 lead.

“I thought we needed to jump out to a lead, especially against a really strong team and good pitcher,” KV coach Brian Flynn said. “Andrean has usually been the team getting early leads on us and we’d have to crawl back into the game.”

Hoffman added an insurance run in the sixth inning when she blasted another hard-hit ball down the right field line that eluded a diving attempt from Andrean’s Mary DeBartolo, and bounced farther toward the corner — almost as if it was being pushed from above — allowing Hoffman to round the bases for her second homer of the day, this time an inside-the-parker.

“I had two home runs (in a game) once in travel ball, but never in high school,” she said.

Actually, KV pitcher Ashley Dobson had a lot to do with the victory too. Her team got her an early lead, and then every time the 59ers (9-2, 6-1) got runners on base, she battled her way out of the jams.

“We left too many runners on base, especially in facing a pitcher like Ashley,” Andrean coach Henry Ryan said.

Flynn added: “She got some big strikeouts when we needed them.”

Dobson finished with 11 strikeouts, seven of them coming with 59ers on base. Twice she struck out consecutive batters to end threats.

Steinbach struck out 10 in the loss.

Hoffman’s 3-for-3 day with three runs batted in not only gave the Kougars 14 wins, the same amount they had all of last season, it led to Flynn giving his squad a much-deserved respite today.

“It was a senior request if we won, and if I’m in a good mood,” he said. “We’ve been going hard in the last couple weeks, and we have a tough 21/2 weeks ahead. We need a day just to rest.”

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