No matter how much Hanover Central junior Kaden Poppe invested, defense remained her greatest nemesis.
Instead of having Poppe spend more time on a part of her game that wasn’t clicking, Wildcats coach Sam Antkiewicz gave her a different option: forget about defense altogether and become the designated player.
For Poppe, the move worked.
“It made me focus on hitting,” she said. “That’s all I had to do, just hit. I didn’t have to worry about anything else. I just had to do this for the team because that’s where they needed me.”
Poppe delivered Tuesday night with a pair of hits, kick-starting Hanover Central’s 5-1 victory against host Highland in a Class 3A regional championship game.
Poppe and the Wildcats (15-12) will play Columbia City (19-5) in the Twin Lakes Semistate semifinal on Saturday after steadily pulling away from the Trojans (19-12) with runs that were not easy to come by, according to Antkiewicz.
“We knew we were going to get a game and we had to be firing on all cylinders,” he said. “We were struggling for runs early, but we kept getting good pitching and were able to scratch some runs across.”
That quality pitching came from freshman Jillian DeYoung, who allowed one unearned run, four hits and two walks while striking out nine.
Batting sixth, Poppe got Hanover Central’s offense going in the second inning, when she reached base with a single and scored on a bases-loaded walk drawn by junior catcher Sienna Stilley, a Jacksonville State commit. Poppe also singled in the fifth before being replaced by a pinch runner, sophomore Jordan Varble, who scored to extend the lead to 3-0.
Poppe’s hits were the result of a simple approach at the plate.
“I was just thinking about getting a base hit,” she said. “We just had to get base runners. We didn’t need any big hits. It was a good team effort because everyone was putting the ball in play.”
Putting the ball in play wasn’t as easy for Poppe earlier this season, when she was trying to nail down a position at third base.
“I struggled with my glovework for a long time, and then I would carry my errors into my at-bats,” she said. “I was even putting in work outside of practice, but I just wasn’t getting it. Sometimes that happens.”
A solution arrived midseason when sophomore Kendall LaReau was promoted from Hanover Central’s junior varsity team and provided a reliable glove at third base. Poppe was moved to designated player to focus solely on hitting while LaReau handled third.
Poppe had no issue with the new role.
“I knew that somebody I trusted and somebody who was able to do the job was going to take that spot,” Poppe said.
LaReau also didn’t have any reservations.
“We’re a good duo,” she said. “We both do our jobs very well.”
Until the Wildcats scored a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning, including Stilley’s 15th homer, their lead was built by the bottom four spots in the batting order.
“Anyone on this team can hit,” Antkiewicz said. “We’re not just a one-player team.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
