Hawks explode in winning first regional title since 2005

As far as seniors Laine Denton and Austin Erb and their Hanover High teammates are concerned, no more backseat to the team they have heard about constantly the past four years.

The 2005 Hanover team claimed the school's first Central Region baseball championship.

"The coaches have always talked about the 2005 team has done this and done that," Denton said. "It was kind of getting on our nerves a little bit."

Hanover's staff can use the 2009 version for future motivation about resiliency and comebacks. Down 6-1 to Deep Run in the fourth inning, the Hawks scored 13 unanswered runs to claim a 14-6 victory and a matching region title at RF&P Park.

Hanover (22-1) will be at home against the Northern Region runner-up, Lake Braddock, Tuesday in the first round of the state Group AAA tournament. Deep Run (14-9) will be on the road against West Springfield, the Northern Region champ.

"That 2005 team was kind of the standard," Erb said. "When we talked about greatness, we talked about that team, what that team did, how they carried themselves. We wanted to reset that bar so that after this year . . . we'd be remembered."

Memorable will be the way Hanover handled falling behind yesterday. With both teams thin on pitching and Erb struggling on the mound, Deep Run built an early 4-0 lead behind homers from Jake Snyder and Tyler Benson.

Denton's homer made it 4-1, but RBI singles by Seth Greene and R.C. Orlan (three hits) pushed Hanover into a 6-1 hole.

"We know we can put up crooked numbers real quick," Erb said.

A five-run fourth commenced with a single from Erb and a double from Denton. Two errors, a walk, an infield single and another walk brought in three runs. The Hawks scored another run on a wild pitch. When the throw from the catcher sailed past the pitcher covering the plate, speedy Bryson Kemler wheeled around from second to tie the game.

Erb put Hanover ahead in the fifth with a homer to center field. The Hawks scored another run, then tacked on six more in the sixth.

Erb had three hits and finished 6 for 7 in the final two games of the regional. Denton had three hits and two RBI. Thornton Glazebrook homered, and Justin Thorn knocked in two runs with a double in his second at-bat of the season.

Thorn threw three innings of scoreless relief.

Deep Run, which won an 11-inning game in the quarterfinals and beat Thomas Dale 5-3 in the semifinals in a game that ended around midnight on Friday, went through six pitchers.

"Maybe we ran out of gas. Maybe we didn't," Deep Run coach Grant Odell said. "But we're going to fill up the tank for Tuesday."

Deep Run ------------------------- 311 100 0 -- 6 10 6
Hanover ------------------------- 010 526 x -- 14 14 0

Beightol, Renick (4), Benson (4), Griffith (6), Bruce (6), McGuire (6) and Snyder; Erb, Kane (4), Thorn (5) and Weymouth. W: Thorn: L: Benson. HR -- Snyder (DR), first, one on; Benson (DR), second, none on; Denton (H), second, none on; Erb (H), fifth, none on; Glazebrook (H), sixth, none on.