BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
April 28, 2019
21 Sports ... 1 Team ... WE ARE HOBART!
After facing some adversity and getting knocked down last week, spring sports have had their own "RETURN TO GLORY" over the last 7 days as our kids have picked themselves (and each other) up and BATTLED back! Baseball, softball, and tennis all got in on the action ... and with more PR performances on the track and golf course, BRICKIE PRIDE was on FULL DISPLAY! Unified track joined the fun as well with their 1st meet of the year!
Be sure to touch the "Play Like A Champion" sign when exiting the locker room ... it's time for BricksCenter!
Girls Tennis
Tuesday, the Lady Brickies were on the road in NCC action against the Highland Lady Trojans. Our girls have been close multiple times this spring, but just hadn't been able to get over the hump and win a tough, close match. Well ... RETURN TO GLORY! Hobart picked up their 1st win of the regular season in defeating the Lady Trojans by the final score of 3-2! All 3 singles players ... #1 sophomore Addison Kasch, #2 sophomore Lauren Cicillian, and # 3 freshman Emma Novak ... WON in straight sets! The #1 doubles team of senior Amanda Cicillian and sophomore Ruthie Sutliff lost a heart-breaker in the 3rd set tie-breaker after an extremely well-played game.
1st team win = soft-serve grin :)
On Wednesday, East Chicago Central traveled to the Friendly City for an afternoon of 'RACKETeering' ... however, the only ORGANIZED CRIME was how bad Hobart beat up the Lady Cardinals! The final score was 5-0 as the Lady Brickies gave up only 8 total points in the entire match!
Thursday, Hobart traveled to Munster to take on the defending NCC Champions and the area's #1 team. In a tough contest, the tables were turned and the Mustangs overpowered our girls and won big 5-0. Despite the one-sided result, the Lady Brickies got a chance to see how they measured up to the very best Da Region has to offer. As much as no one likes to lose, it was probably a good lesson to learn with IHSAA Sectional play beginning in 3 weeks.
On Saturday, the Lady Brickies traveled to New Prairie High School for an all-day tournament. I know ... I know, it snowed ... but not before #1 singles sophomore Addison Kasch and #3 singles freshman Emma Novak qualified for the finals! Unfortunately, play was suspended due to deteriorating weather conditions. The girls are hoping to go back and win some hardware before sectional play begins!
#LOVESERVING
Baseball
After a 1-3 start, the Brickie baseball team won 5 straight to climb as high as #4 in the area. Then, just when it seemed things were 'rolling', the bottom fell out a week ago and our guys lost 4 in a row to dip back below .500 at 6-7. What's our theme this week? Oh ya ... RETURN TO GLORY! This week was just that for the Bricks as they SHINED BRIGHT ON THE DIAMOND (stole that from Rihanna) and WON 4 IN A ROW including wins at the RailCats stadium over Highland and at home over defending class 2A state champion Boone Grove and area #6 Chesterton!!
On Monday night, it was SHOWTIME in Gary as Hobart participated in the 17th Annual RailCats High School Challenge! After a 30min lightning delay, the game was on against NCC rival Highland. The first 2 innings took over an hour as the strike zone seemed to be microscopic and both teams took advantage resulting in a 6-5 Hobart lead. As the evening grew later and the Brickies leading 10-9 heading into the 5th inning, it was decided that the game would not continue after 10:30pm, which basically meant that this was the last inning. With 2 out and the winning run on 2nd base, junior Austin Kunkle struck out the final Highland batter and Hobart celebrated by storming the field after the dramatic win!
The Brickies manufactured 10 runs on only 6 hits, but drew 11 walks to keep the bases occupied throughout the night.
Tuesday offered a rematch of the previous night ... only this time, the game was in Hobart ... and Michael Jackson would be proud because it was another THRILLER! After the 10-9 Monday night slugfest on dirt, this one ended up being a pitcher's duel as junior Tyler Schultz was MAGNIFICENT in going the distance striking out 5 and only surrendering two walks as the Brickies defeated the Trojans 2-1! Schultz added the only RBI for Hobart as well with his sacrifice to score junior Brandon Marciniak in the 5th, which proved to be the game-winner.
On Thursday, defending class 2A state champion Boone Grove was next on the list of unfortunate teams facing the Brickies this week. Hobart was AWESOME against the Wolves ... completely shutting them down with some outstanding D-D-D-DEFENSE and getting plenty of offense, scoring 2 runs in both the 1st & 6th innings, to support freshman pitcher Ivan Balboa (insert Rocky theme "Gonna Fly Now" here) in the 4-0 WIN! Like Schultz on Tuesday, Balboa pitched the complete game and recorded 9 strikeouts, 0 walks and allowed only 3 hits in 7 innings of work. Juniors Matthew Benton and Jack Huber ... along with senior Ryan Earp ... were clutch at the plate contributing an RBI each for Hobart.
FINALLY IT'S FRIDAY and the Brickies welcomed another Trojan mascot to the Friendly City ... this time from #6-ranked Chesterton. This time, it was Chesterton who got it going early - scoring 2 runs in the top of the 1st and another in the 3rd to take a 3-0 lead. Hobart answered with one of their own in both the bottom of the 3rd and 6th innings to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Trojans added an insurance run in the top of the 7th and took a 4-2 lead into the last frame for Hobart. The Brickies STUCK TOGETHER and showed great RESILIENCY and MENTAL TOUGHNESS in staying the course and cutting the lead to 1.
Then the magic happened.
With the bases loaded and 1 out, junior Matthew Benton slapped a ground ball to the 2nd baseman in what could have been a game-ending double play with Hobart losing 4-3 .... but after the force out at 2nd base, the throw back to 1st was wide and the Brickies scored 2 runs to WIN 5-4 in another DRAMATIC FINISH!
Sophomore Bobby Babcock had 2 hits and pitched 2 solid innings for the Bricks ... sophomore Gavin Gallagher kept Chesterton off-balance at the plate as he scattered 6 hits and recorded 4 strikeouts in 4 innings of work on the mound. Junior Austin Kunkle gets the W after working the 7th inning and AGAIN striking out the last batter of the game for Chesterton.
Hobart drew 9 walks to go with 6 hits and had runners on base ALL DAY - finally capitalizing at the opportune time with 3 runs in the 7th for the come-from-behind victory!
Hobart is now 10-7 on the year and 4-2 in NCC play. The Brickies travel to face #1-ranked Andrean on Monday and welcome the 59ers to Hobart on Tuesday - BE THERE!
#DONTSTOPNOWBOYS
Boys Golf
"If Hobart can continue improving as a team each time out, it'll be fun to see how far under 200 (per 9 holes as a team) these guys can shoot!"
Well, this week our guys CONTINUED to stay the COURSE and improved yet again!
Monday against Andrean, we shot a new season-low score of 195! Junior DJ Lipke led the way with a team-best 46 ... followed closely by the Schammert brothers - junior Nathan with a 47 and freshman Trevor with an even 50 ... and senior Jacob Vode rounded out Hobart's top 4 with a 52. The 59ers ultimately won the match 175-195, but the Brickies are getting better and better!
On Wednesday over at Wicker Park, Hobart laced them up against the Highland Trojans in another NCC match-up. It was a beautiful day on the golf course and the Brickies DID IT AGAIN! For the 5th consecutive match, Hobart improved ... this time shooting a blistering 192 as a team!! Junior DJ Lipke was again the "leader of the pack" with a season-best 43, which was 1-stroke better than junior teammate Nathan Schammert for the 2nd time in a row. Fellow junior Jayden Wible and freshman Trevor Schammert filled out the other varsity spots for the Brickies in what was our best outing of the season to date. Unfortunately, Highland put together a score of 177 and won the match by putting all 4 golfers under 48.
Believe it or not, the Brickies actually played in the Kankakee Valley Invitational yesterday at Sandy Pines down in DeMotte. Apparently no one told them it was SNOWING ... or maybe a certain greenskeeper named Carl Spackler suggested the following, ""I'd keep playing. I don't think the heavy stuff's gonna come down for quite awhile." At any rate, our boys PLAYED THROUGH and ended up placing 15th out of the 19 teams in attendance. No individual scores were available, but just finishing on a day like yesterday is pretty darn awesome!
In 3 weeks, the Bricks have gone from 207 to 192 ... talk about a RETURN TO GLORY! Can't wait to see what the next 3 weeks bring!
#BETHEBALL
Softball
Also, remember those "peaks and valleys"? Well, after starting 0-2, Hobart won 4 in a row ... then lost 3 straight and held a 4-5 record going into this week. RESILIENT ... MENTALLY TOUGH ... TOGETHER ... guess what happens ... RETURN TO GLORY!
Monday over at Merrillville, it was the Lady Brickies who made the Pirates WALK THE PLANK! Hobart scored early (up 7-3 after 2 innings) and often (in EVERY inning except the 5th) racking up 21 runs (... or 3 touchdowns) in the lopsided affair and WON BIG by the score of 21-11!
Hobart pounded out 16 hits in the contest - led by sophomores Hannah Camarena (5-for-6 with 5 doubles, 5 runs & 3 RBIs), Saylem Smith (2-for-4 with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs), Alejandra Arauz (2-for-4 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBIs), and Alyssa Peterson (2 hits, 2 RBIs)! Juniors Abby Grusak (2 hits, 3 runs, 1 RBI) and Lauren Bernhardt (2 hits, 1 run) also made positive contributions at the plate.
On Tuesday, Hobart got to stay home for an NCC match-up against area #7-ranked Kankakee Valley. The Lady Brickies jumped out to an early 4-2 lead after 1 inning and added 3 more in the 4th on sophomore Saylem Smith's 3-RUN BLAST to regain the lead at 7-5. Unfortunately, KV was able to put together a rally in the 5th, scored 6 in the frame and ended up leaving town with a 21-10 win. Hobart was in position halfway through, but couldn't quite close the deal against one of NWI's top teams. Junior Abby Grusak led Hobart at the plate going 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Sophomore Hannah Camarena also notched 3 hits and scored twice. Classmate Saylem Smith finished with a team-high 4 RBIs. Every girl in the line-up had at least 1 hit against KV's best pitcher ... a victory in defeat no doubt.
Wednesday, the Lady Brickies were ON THE ROAD AGAIN (thank you Willie Nelson) ... this time for a rematch with the Lady Kougars in DeMotte. There would be no repeat performance from Tuesday ... different night = different result. Hobart scored 8 runs in the 2nd-4th innings and HELD ON for a THRILLING 8-7 victory! Sophomore Hannah Camarena was LIGHTS OUT on the mound as she pitched a complete game, striking out 7 in the WIN. Freshman Olivia Garcia led Hobart with 3 hits and 2 RBIs ... sophomore Saylem Smith belted ANOTHER HOMERUN and contributed a team-high 3 RBIs ... and junior Lauren Bernhardt notched 2 hits and 2 RBIs in the contest. This was Hobart's 2nd win over a top-10 team this year!
On Thursday, Griffith was the destination for our ROAD WARRIORS and the Lady Panthers were poised to pounce. Unfortunately for them, BRICKS DON'T FLINCH! After each team got on the board with a run in the 1st, the Lady Brickies EXPLODED for 7 runs in the 2nd inning and led 12-3 through 5! Griffith rallied for 2 in the 6th and 4 more in the 7th, but it wasn't enough as Hobart came home with another VICTORY ... winning 12-9 over the Lady Panthers. Sophomore Saylem Smith was TERRIFIC on the mound for Hobart - limiting Griffith to only 3 runs through the 1st 5 innings!
Friday, our girls were without a doubt RUNNIN' ON EMPTY (Jackson Browne) ... in fact, before the bus came to pick them up for the 1st game of the LaPorte tournament, the Lady Brickies were laid out on the concrete in the softball complex trying to catch some Z's! Our 1st round opponent was class 3A #3-ranked South Bend St. Joseph and their NCAA Division 1 pitcher.
This one was TOUGH ... a HARD FOUGHT game at the end of a HARD FOUGHT week for our girls. Coach Moss asked them to find "2 more hours" of effort and the Lady Brickies delivered! Our girls played their HEARTS OUT against one of the top 3A teams in the state, but unfortunately came up short in a close 4-2 loss. Hobart actually had the tying run in scoring position in the 7th, but couldn't find the hit we needed to manufacture another exciting finish.
The rest of the tournament was canceled due to bad weather on Saturday - probably a blessing in disguise to give the Lady Brickies some rest :)
Hobart is currently 7-7 on the season and 2-2 in the NCC. LET'S GO!!
#GIRLPOWER
Unified Track & FIeld
On Thursday, our Unified Track & Field team traveled to Crown Point HS for their 1st meet of the season. No scores were kept, but both athletes and partners got an opportunity to compete against other area schools and earn qualifying marks for the state tournament series, which begins on May 18th. Our kids were TERRIFIC across the board and represented HHS with PRIDE!
Thank you to Coach Wesley and Coach Keefe for all your hard work preparing these kids to compete, to our partners for helping break down walls to enable true inclusion to occur, and to our athletes for having the courage to TRY! This is EXACTLY the kind of event that helps create a kind of school culture that we WANT to have - one where students from different backgrounds with different abilities all WORK WORK WORK TOGETHER in pursuit of a common goal - to become a part of something bigger than ourselves, to care about and serve others, and to help each other become the very best version of ourselves we can be!
#WEAREHOBART
Track & Field
Girls track & field had a relatively light week with only 1 meet on the schedule over at Highland on Tuesday night. Still, after getting beat up by Munster a week ago, it was an opportunity for our Lady Brickies to RETURN TO GLORY ... and they returned with vengeance!
It was a close meet throughout with each team scoring with winners and with depth ... so close that it came down the very last race of the night to determine the winner. Hobart's 1600m Relay team consisting of senior Olexia Brookshire, junior Addison Metts, sophomore Anisha Lewis and freshman Dominique Clemons WON the relay by 3 seconds in 4:21 and helped the Lady Brickies WIN THE MEET by 1 point overall! Incredible that these two teams would be separated by only 1 point after 16 different events!
Probably the biggest highlight belonged to senior Elena Polizotto who reached a new PR in the pole vault and BROKE HER OWN SCHOOL RECORD with a vault of 11'02"!
Here are some other results from Tuesday:
3200m Relay - juniors Hailey Kerlin, Lauren Romeo & Abby Haluska along with freshman Sydney Belk - 2nd
100m Hurdles - junior Addison Metts - 2nd, sophomore Faith Kietzman - 3rd
100m Dash - senior Olexia Brookshire - 1st, sophomore Anisha Lewis - 2nd, freshman Dominique Clemons - 3rd
1600m Run - freshman Sydney Belk - 1st
400m Relay - seniors Olexia Brookshire & Alanna Roggenkamp and sophomore teammates Lexi Williams & Anisha Lewis - 2nd
400m Dash - freshman Dominique Clemons - 1st, freshman Ja'Diah Belk - 3rd
300m Hurdles - junior Addison Metts - 1st, senior Alanna Roggenkamp - 3rd
800m Run - junior Lauren Romeo - 2nd, junior Abby Haluska - 3rd
200m Dash - freshman Dominique Clemons - 2nd, sophomore Anisha Lewis - 3rd
3200m Run - freshman Sydney Belk - 2nd
1600m Relay - senior Olexia Brookshire, junior Addison Metts, sophomore Anisha Lewis and freshman Dominique Clemons - 1st
High Jump - freshman Paige Solivais - 2nd, sophomore Maddie Slicker - 3rd
Long Jump - sophomore Lexi Williams - 1st, junior Addison Metts - 2nd
Pole Vault - senior Elena Polizotto - 1st (NEW SCHOOL RECORD), freshman Autumn Turley - 2nd
Discus - junior Charity Kirk - 3rd
Boys
After their HUGE WIN over Munster last week to remain UNDEFEATED in the NCC, boys track & field unfortunately ran into a buzz-saw over at Highland on Tuesday. The Brickies just never quite got it going the way they needed to and lost their 1st NCC meet 93-39. Still, the night was not void of highlights ... key performances for Hobart included a SWEEP in the 400m Dash by senior Devante Clemons (1st), junior Tyler Davis (2nd), and senior Connor Satmary (3rd) ... and a SWEEP of the pole vault with two PRs! Sophomore Riley Johnston continued his DOMINANT spring with another 1st place finish, junior Lance Skog (2nd) and sophomore Chad Tomaga (3rd) each vaulted to a new PR with heights of 11'6" and 11'0"! Junior Bryan Cherry also ran a lifetime best 4:39 in the 1600m Run!
Here are some other results from Tuesday:
3200m Relay - seniors Logan Reid & Lucas VanWijngaarden, sophomore Ben Ward and freshman Ian Freimuth - 2nd
100m Hurdles - sophomore Harley Potter - 2nd, freshman Jaden Camacho - 4th
100m Dash - senior Devante Clemons - 1st
1600m Run - junior Bryan Cherry - 2nd, sophomore Bruce Leipart - 3rd
400m Relay - senior Wyatt Decanter and sophomores Avione Lane, Zach Vode and Dylan Wright - 2nd
400m Dash - senior Devante Clemons - 1st, junior Tyler Davis - 2nd, senior Connor Satmary - 3rd
300m Hurdles - sophomore Harley Potter - 3rd
800m Run - sophomore Ben Ward - 2nd
3200m Run - junior Bryan Cherry - 3rd
1600m Relay - junior Matt Hylek and seniors Wyatt Decanter, Zach Romano, and Lucas VanWijngaarden - 2nd
Long Jump - sophomore Zach Vode - 2nd, senior Wyatt Decanter - 4th
High Jump - sophomore Zach Vode - 3rd
Pole Vault - sophomore Riley Johnston - 1st, junior Lance Skog - 2nd, sophomore Chad Tomaga - 3rd
Shot Put - senior Max Salazar - 3rd, junior Jay'Juan Rodriguez - 4th
Discus - junior Jay'Juan Rodriguez - 3rd, senior Cannon Briggs - 4th
On Friday night, the Hobart boys traveled to Warsaw to compete in the prestigious Max Truex Invitational against some of the best competition in Northern Indiana. Of the 9 schools represented, the Brickies placed 8th overall. Coach A said, "the kids had fun and represented well." Some OUTSTANDING performances that showed how our boys RETURNED TO GLORY after a stumble on Tuesday were provided by sophomore Bruce Leipart in the 1600 (PR of 4:40.75), senior Devante Clemons placing 2nd in the 400m dash (50.70 seconds), and sophomore Riley Johnston WINNING the pole vault with a height of 15'0"!
With the NCC Championship a little over a week away, both our boys and girls are in 2nd place with a 2-1 record. A HUGE meet against KV and Lowell this Tuesday will determine final standings going into the championship meet. GOOD LUCK!
#WERUNTHISTOWN
Throwback Sunday? Since "It's Gonna Be May" this week ... thought I would share this gem :)
Sports Schedule This Week
Girls Tennis vs. Whiting
Boys Golf vs. Lowell *
Softball vs. Gavit
Baseball @ Andrean *
Unified Track & Field @ Valparaiso
Tuesday
Girls Track & Field @ KV/Lowell *
Boys Track & Field @ KV/Lowell *
Girls Tennis vs. Griffith
Boys Golf vs. Wheeler
Softball @ Highland *
Baseball vs. Andrean *
Wednesday
No Events Scheduled
Thursday
Softball vs. Andrean *
JV Baseball vs. Morgan Twp
Girls Tennis vs. Andrean *
Unified Track & Field @ Michigan City
Friday
Softball @ Michigan City
Saturday
Baseball vs. Hanover Central
* = NCC Opponent