East Noble Second Inning Finishes Lady Tigers 29-5
April 13, 2023 at 12:19 a.m.
East Noble Second Inning Finishes Lady Tigers 29-5
By Chip Davenport-
The Lady Tigers tied the Knights 2-2 in the bottom of the first inning with some savvy baserunning by junior shortstop Kali Ousley followed by senior catcher Lauren Eastwood’s solo home run deep over the center field fence.
East Noble, however, was just warming their bats up when their turn came again at the top of the second inning.
The Knights batted through their lineup at least twice before finishing the top of the second frame with sixteen runs, including a grand slam by Sadie Helmkamp on their way to a 29-5 victory over Warsaw.
The game was called after five complete innings in accordance with the IHSAA mercy rule, and Warsaw’s collective heads remained high the entire contest.
“They were just finding gaps, and as a pitcher it's hard to stay in there and keep putting strikes over the plate,” first-year Warsaw head coach Sam Tew said. “(Freshman pitcher Addison Eastwood) was hitting her spots, throwing strikes. They were just hitting the ball so well. It's the hardest thing as a pitcher to stay in the game.”
Eastwood the Younger maintained her composure in Tuesday’s baptism under fire. Sophomore Kaitlyn O’Dell pitched two relief innings, and the duet showed control in the season opener comparably far greater than the entire effort among last season’s Lady Tiger pitching staff.
Tew, who earned the promotion to the varsity position after coaching the junior varsity squad the prior season, identified additional takeaways for her team.
“One goal for them was to come in with energy, and just have fun,” Tew continued. “They were really focused on helping each other, pushing each other. The girls corralled together, and said, ‘Hey we need to kick it up a notch and get our energy back’ and they did that in the fourth and fifth inning.”
Trailing 26-2 entering the fourth inning following East Noble’s second grand slam by Kylie Anderson, Warsaw’s Ousley and the elder Eastwood repeated their first inning offensive showing. Ousley picked up another run with opportunistic base running and a sacrifice grounder by sophomore Addy Williams, and Eastwood connected on an outside pitch sending the ball screaming over the right field fence for her second solo home run of the evening.
The Lady Tiger senior catcher punctuated her offensive output in the bottom of the fifth inning singling and scoring the Lady Tigers fifth and final run off O’Dell’s RBI single.
The elder Eastwood moved from third base last season to catcher this year, and she kept her less-experienced teammates focused, and fighting to the end.
“She accepted that (leadership) role naturally,” Tew remarked. “She's sick right now with a little left-over bronchitis, so when she hit the home runs, we joked with her, ‘You don't have to run if you just knock it over the fence.’”
Jade Walters added two stolen bases for Warsaw.
Warsaw continued its busy week with a Wednesday another home game against Carroll (to be reported in Friday’s edition), and they’ll continue their non-conference home stand against South Bend Riley Friday (5:45 p.m.), and finish with a Saturday doubleheader versus Fort Wayne Snider (first pitch 10 a.m.).
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The Lady Tigers tied the Knights 2-2 in the bottom of the first inning with some savvy baserunning by junior shortstop Kali Ousley followed by senior catcher Lauren Eastwood’s solo home run deep over the center field fence.
East Noble, however, was just warming their bats up when their turn came again at the top of the second inning.
The Knights batted through their lineup at least twice before finishing the top of the second frame with sixteen runs, including a grand slam by Sadie Helmkamp on their way to a 29-5 victory over Warsaw.
The game was called after five complete innings in accordance with the IHSAA mercy rule, and Warsaw’s collective heads remained high the entire contest.
“They were just finding gaps, and as a pitcher it's hard to stay in there and keep putting strikes over the plate,” first-year Warsaw head coach Sam Tew said. “(Freshman pitcher Addison Eastwood) was hitting her spots, throwing strikes. They were just hitting the ball so well. It's the hardest thing as a pitcher to stay in the game.”
Eastwood the Younger maintained her composure in Tuesday’s baptism under fire. Sophomore Kaitlyn O’Dell pitched two relief innings, and the duet showed control in the season opener comparably far greater than the entire effort among last season’s Lady Tiger pitching staff.
Tew, who earned the promotion to the varsity position after coaching the junior varsity squad the prior season, identified additional takeaways for her team.
“One goal for them was to come in with energy, and just have fun,” Tew continued. “They were really focused on helping each other, pushing each other. The girls corralled together, and said, ‘Hey we need to kick it up a notch and get our energy back’ and they did that in the fourth and fifth inning.”
Trailing 26-2 entering the fourth inning following East Noble’s second grand slam by Kylie Anderson, Warsaw’s Ousley and the elder Eastwood repeated their first inning offensive showing. Ousley picked up another run with opportunistic base running and a sacrifice grounder by sophomore Addy Williams, and Eastwood connected on an outside pitch sending the ball screaming over the right field fence for her second solo home run of the evening.
The Lady Tiger senior catcher punctuated her offensive output in the bottom of the fifth inning singling and scoring the Lady Tigers fifth and final run off O’Dell’s RBI single.
The elder Eastwood moved from third base last season to catcher this year, and she kept her less-experienced teammates focused, and fighting to the end.
“She accepted that (leadership) role naturally,” Tew remarked. “She's sick right now with a little left-over bronchitis, so when she hit the home runs, we joked with her, ‘You don't have to run if you just knock it over the fence.’”
Jade Walters added two stolen bases for Warsaw.
Warsaw continued its busy week with a Wednesday another home game against Carroll (to be reported in Friday’s edition), and they’ll continue their non-conference home stand against South Bend Riley Friday (5:45 p.m.), and finish with a Saturday doubleheader versus Fort Wayne Snider (first pitch 10 a.m.).
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