Baseball Sectionals Start Today
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Wawasee opens things up with a home game against West Noble in Class 3A Sectional 21 play, while the rest of the local squads begin Thursday and Friday.
Class 4A, Sectional 4
Injuries have hit the Warsaw Tigers this season, but they must fight to overcome them in Sectional 4 action at Elkhart Memorial.
“We are heading into the sectional on an eight-game losing streak,” Warsaw coach Mike Hepler said. “That will be tough to overcome mentally, but we have played well enough many times to get it done.”
The Tigers open play Thursday against Goshen, following the 5 p.m. game between Northridge and Concord.
The winner of each of those games meet Monday at 9 a.m., followed by No. 10 Elkhart Central and Elkhart Memorial, with the championship taking place at 7:30 p.m.
In order to reach Monday’s semifinal, the Tigers must first deal with the Goshen Redskins.
During the regular season, Warsaw defeated Goshen 2-1 on April 18 in Goshen, but lost 10-4 on May 4 at home.
“Playing Goshen for the third time will be a challenge, and I anticipate a hard fought game between both teams,” Hepler said.
In all, the six-team sectional is comprised of five Northern Lakes Conference teams, including champion Northridge.
If Warsaw does manage to get by Goshen, the Tigers will be facing a team it lost to twice in the regular season.
Against Concord, Warsaw fell 4-0 and 20-4, while Northridge has 7-3 and 19-8 wins over the Tigers.
And in their one meeting with Elkhart Central, Warsaw lost by a 19-8 count.
“Elkhart Central and Northridge are the two favorites to come out of the tournament, and most likely we would have to beat them both should we advance past Goshen,” Hepler said. “For us to be successful, our pitching and defense have to be consistent. That has let us down in our lopsided losses lately.”
Given their struggles lately, compounded with season-ending injuries to Brady Ousley and Austin Moore, expectations may be low for the Tigers.
However, in a game like baseball, anything can happen.
“I feel that our team can turn it around with good practices this week,” Hepler said. “Like the old cliche states — throw all the records out at tournament time. “
Class 3A, Sectional 21
With the top pitcher and some of the top bats in Sectional 21, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings look primed for a deep postseason run.
“When our bats come alive, and we get good pitching, it’s fun baseball,” first-year Valley coach Ryan Moore said.
Following the sectional’s opening game between the hosting Wawasee Warriors and West Noble Wednesday at 5 p.m., Valley takes on Fairfield Thursday at 5 p.m.
The winners of those two games then play Monday at 9 a.m., followed by NorthWood and Lakeland.
The sectional title game will take place at 5 p.m. Monday in Syracuse.
Before worrying about a title game, Valley coach Ryan Moore is first worried about Fairfield.
However, the worries cease a little bit knowing senior pitcher James Hackworth on the mound.
“He’s been a great pitcher for us this season, maybe even better than before, because of his competitiveness and his desire to win,” Moore said about Hackworth. “When you have a great pitcher like that, the others really feed off of it.”
In eight games, the Indiana State-bound Hackworth is carrying a 0.33 ERA, striking out 16.5 batters per seven innings.
And with a game taking place Thursday and the semifinal on Monday, Hackworth may have enough time in-between to start twice, but Moore isn’t leaning that way.
“I don’t see him starting Monday, but he may come in if we need some relief (pitching),” Moore said.
At the plate, Hackworth is also hitting .441 with seven stolen bases and two home runs, but he isn’t the only one providing offense.
Also for Valley, sophomore Tanner Andrews is hitting .391 with six doubles, 14 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
Also, in just seven games, senior Brody Andrews has two home runs, two doubles and 12 RBIs.
Brody Andrews missed much of the season recovering from knee surgery, but made an immediate impact in his return, hitting a home run in his first at-bat against Rochester on May 3.
“Brody has been great,” Moore said.
For Wawasee coach John Blunk, he’s putting a couple others in the hunt for the title along with Valley.
“Fairfield, Tippecanoe Valley and NorthWood,” Blunk said about the dangerous teams in the tournament. “All of them.”
Wawasee actually ended its season with the same team it will play in the first round — the West Noble Chargers, winning 7-1 Monday evening at home.
“We won’t pitch the same pitchers we will (in the sectional),” he said about the game plan for the season finale.
Class 3A, Sectional 23
At Bellmont High School, the Whitko baseball team enters the postseason a little differently this year.
“In past years, we’ve been the hunter, but now, we’re on the flip side of that,” Whitko coach Erik Hisner said. “We’re not going to surprise anyone this year.”
Coming in at 20-8, the Wildcats will be one of the favorites to win the sectional, which is something they’ve never done.
Sectional 23 begins Wednesday with Heritage and Eastbrook playing at 5:30 p.m., followed by Mississinewa and Bellmont.
The winners of those two games square off Friday at 5:30 p.m., with Whitko and Norwell to follow.
The championship will take place Monday at 1 p.m.
The Whitko/Norwell game is a rematch of the April 11 game in Ossian, when Whitko fell 5-4 in 12 innings to the then-No. 1 ranked Knights.
“Norwell has strong pitching and plays good defense,” Hisner said. “They bunt, run, steal and just put the ball in play.”
The prospect of drawing Norwell isn’t scaring off Hisner. Instead, its what he prefers.
“Anytime you get a bye in the draw, it’s a good thing,” he said. “Norwell is probably the favorite to win (the sectional). So, if you’re probably going to have to play them sometime, it might as well be early.”
The draw also allows Hisner enough time off between Monday’s game at Bethany Christian and the sectional to use any pitcher he’d like.
“We’ll talk about it as a staff, but right now, we’re probably leaning toward (Alex) Stoddard,” he said. “We’ll see how Wes (Gensch) pitches (Monday) and we also have Ethan (Nicodemus), who’s 7-0. Whoever we go with, there’ll be a quick hook because we have three good ones.”
Class 2A, Sectional 37
The Manchester Squires enter Sectional 37 at 6-18, but also have one of the best pitchers in the area.
Being played at Wabash, the sectional kicks off Wednesday when Lewis Cass and Southwood play at 6 p.m.
The action continues Thursday with Wabash and No. 1 Northfield meeting at 5 p.m., followed by Manchester and Oak Hill.
The semifinals will be Monday, beginning at 11 a.m., with the championship set for 7:30 p.m. that night.
Against Oak Hill, the Squires get a crack at a team it lost to 7-0 on April 11 in North Manchester.
In that loss, senior pitcher Connor McLaughlin went all seven innings, striking out 12 and giving up just five hits.
However, despite the IPFW-bound McLaughlin’s effort, the Squires’ defense struggled, committing eight errors, allowing six unearned runs.
“Connor threw the ball really well, allowing just one earned run,” Manchester coach Jack Rupley said.
Errors have been a problem for Manchester all season, and Rupley is hoping something will begin to click by Thursday.
“We still struggle with (errors) a little bit,” Rupley said. “Our concentration level doesn’t stay as high as it needs to be. We have a couple of days to try to clean that up.”
On the season, McLaughlin has a slim 0.32 ERA, but has just a 4-3 record because of a lack of offense.
“He’s doing pretty good with it,” Rupley said about McLaughlin’s mindset given the run support he’s been given. “He gets frustrated, which is understandable, but he handles it well.”
And it’s not the amount of hits the Squires have been getting, but when they’re getting them.
“Our biggest thing is the bottom four in the lineup,” Rupley said. “They’ve had plenty of at-bats. Now, it’s time to step up and put the ball in play with authority with people on base.”
If they can do that, Rupley sees his team getting the win this time and advancing to Monday’s semifinal.
“We had opportunities in the game, we just couldn’t get the hit when we needed it,” Rupley said about the regular-season loss to Oak Hill.
Class 1A, Sectional 51
At the seven-team Sectional 51 at Culver Community High School, the Triton Trojans have the first couple of days off.
Opening with Argos and South Central Wednesday, the action continues with Culver and Westville Thursday.
The Trojans take to the field Friday against Michigan City Marquette Catholic.
Competition continues Monday, with Oregon-Davis awaiting the winner of the Argos/South Central game at 10 a.m., followed by the winners of the Culver/Westville and Marquette Catholic/Triton contests.
The championship will be later in the day at 5:30 p.m.
South Central enters as the defending three-time defending champion, having beaten Triton 8-7 in last season’s title game at South Central.
If Triton was able to win the three games needed for a championship, it would be its fourth all-time and its first since 2008, the last time South Central didn’t win it.[[In-content Ad]]
Wawasee opens things up with a home game against West Noble in Class 3A Sectional 21 play, while the rest of the local squads begin Thursday and Friday.
Class 4A, Sectional 4
Injuries have hit the Warsaw Tigers this season, but they must fight to overcome them in Sectional 4 action at Elkhart Memorial.
“We are heading into the sectional on an eight-game losing streak,” Warsaw coach Mike Hepler said. “That will be tough to overcome mentally, but we have played well enough many times to get it done.”
The Tigers open play Thursday against Goshen, following the 5 p.m. game between Northridge and Concord.
The winner of each of those games meet Monday at 9 a.m., followed by No. 10 Elkhart Central and Elkhart Memorial, with the championship taking place at 7:30 p.m.
In order to reach Monday’s semifinal, the Tigers must first deal with the Goshen Redskins.
During the regular season, Warsaw defeated Goshen 2-1 on April 18 in Goshen, but lost 10-4 on May 4 at home.
“Playing Goshen for the third time will be a challenge, and I anticipate a hard fought game between both teams,” Hepler said.
In all, the six-team sectional is comprised of five Northern Lakes Conference teams, including champion Northridge.
If Warsaw does manage to get by Goshen, the Tigers will be facing a team it lost to twice in the regular season.
Against Concord, Warsaw fell 4-0 and 20-4, while Northridge has 7-3 and 19-8 wins over the Tigers.
And in their one meeting with Elkhart Central, Warsaw lost by a 19-8 count.
“Elkhart Central and Northridge are the two favorites to come out of the tournament, and most likely we would have to beat them both should we advance past Goshen,” Hepler said. “For us to be successful, our pitching and defense have to be consistent. That has let us down in our lopsided losses lately.”
Given their struggles lately, compounded with season-ending injuries to Brady Ousley and Austin Moore, expectations may be low for the Tigers.
However, in a game like baseball, anything can happen.
“I feel that our team can turn it around with good practices this week,” Hepler said. “Like the old cliche states — throw all the records out at tournament time. “
Class 3A, Sectional 21
With the top pitcher and some of the top bats in Sectional 21, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings look primed for a deep postseason run.
“When our bats come alive, and we get good pitching, it’s fun baseball,” first-year Valley coach Ryan Moore said.
Following the sectional’s opening game between the hosting Wawasee Warriors and West Noble Wednesday at 5 p.m., Valley takes on Fairfield Thursday at 5 p.m.
The winners of those two games then play Monday at 9 a.m., followed by NorthWood and Lakeland.
The sectional title game will take place at 5 p.m. Monday in Syracuse.
Before worrying about a title game, Valley coach Ryan Moore is first worried about Fairfield.
However, the worries cease a little bit knowing senior pitcher James Hackworth on the mound.
“He’s been a great pitcher for us this season, maybe even better than before, because of his competitiveness and his desire to win,” Moore said about Hackworth. “When you have a great pitcher like that, the others really feed off of it.”
In eight games, the Indiana State-bound Hackworth is carrying a 0.33 ERA, striking out 16.5 batters per seven innings.
And with a game taking place Thursday and the semifinal on Monday, Hackworth may have enough time in-between to start twice, but Moore isn’t leaning that way.
“I don’t see him starting Monday, but he may come in if we need some relief (pitching),” Moore said.
At the plate, Hackworth is also hitting .441 with seven stolen bases and two home runs, but he isn’t the only one providing offense.
Also for Valley, sophomore Tanner Andrews is hitting .391 with six doubles, 14 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
Also, in just seven games, senior Brody Andrews has two home runs, two doubles and 12 RBIs.
Brody Andrews missed much of the season recovering from knee surgery, but made an immediate impact in his return, hitting a home run in his first at-bat against Rochester on May 3.
“Brody has been great,” Moore said.
For Wawasee coach John Blunk, he’s putting a couple others in the hunt for the title along with Valley.
“Fairfield, Tippecanoe Valley and NorthWood,” Blunk said about the dangerous teams in the tournament. “All of them.”
Wawasee actually ended its season with the same team it will play in the first round — the West Noble Chargers, winning 7-1 Monday evening at home.
“We won’t pitch the same pitchers we will (in the sectional),” he said about the game plan for the season finale.
Class 3A, Sectional 23
At Bellmont High School, the Whitko baseball team enters the postseason a little differently this year.
“In past years, we’ve been the hunter, but now, we’re on the flip side of that,” Whitko coach Erik Hisner said. “We’re not going to surprise anyone this year.”
Coming in at 20-8, the Wildcats will be one of the favorites to win the sectional, which is something they’ve never done.
Sectional 23 begins Wednesday with Heritage and Eastbrook playing at 5:30 p.m., followed by Mississinewa and Bellmont.
The winners of those two games square off Friday at 5:30 p.m., with Whitko and Norwell to follow.
The championship will take place Monday at 1 p.m.
The Whitko/Norwell game is a rematch of the April 11 game in Ossian, when Whitko fell 5-4 in 12 innings to the then-No. 1 ranked Knights.
“Norwell has strong pitching and plays good defense,” Hisner said. “They bunt, run, steal and just put the ball in play.”
The prospect of drawing Norwell isn’t scaring off Hisner. Instead, its what he prefers.
“Anytime you get a bye in the draw, it’s a good thing,” he said. “Norwell is probably the favorite to win (the sectional). So, if you’re probably going to have to play them sometime, it might as well be early.”
The draw also allows Hisner enough time off between Monday’s game at Bethany Christian and the sectional to use any pitcher he’d like.
“We’ll talk about it as a staff, but right now, we’re probably leaning toward (Alex) Stoddard,” he said. “We’ll see how Wes (Gensch) pitches (Monday) and we also have Ethan (Nicodemus), who’s 7-0. Whoever we go with, there’ll be a quick hook because we have three good ones.”
Class 2A, Sectional 37
The Manchester Squires enter Sectional 37 at 6-18, but also have one of the best pitchers in the area.
Being played at Wabash, the sectional kicks off Wednesday when Lewis Cass and Southwood play at 6 p.m.
The action continues Thursday with Wabash and No. 1 Northfield meeting at 5 p.m., followed by Manchester and Oak Hill.
The semifinals will be Monday, beginning at 11 a.m., with the championship set for 7:30 p.m. that night.
Against Oak Hill, the Squires get a crack at a team it lost to 7-0 on April 11 in North Manchester.
In that loss, senior pitcher Connor McLaughlin went all seven innings, striking out 12 and giving up just five hits.
However, despite the IPFW-bound McLaughlin’s effort, the Squires’ defense struggled, committing eight errors, allowing six unearned runs.
“Connor threw the ball really well, allowing just one earned run,” Manchester coach Jack Rupley said.
Errors have been a problem for Manchester all season, and Rupley is hoping something will begin to click by Thursday.
“We still struggle with (errors) a little bit,” Rupley said. “Our concentration level doesn’t stay as high as it needs to be. We have a couple of days to try to clean that up.”
On the season, McLaughlin has a slim 0.32 ERA, but has just a 4-3 record because of a lack of offense.
“He’s doing pretty good with it,” Rupley said about McLaughlin’s mindset given the run support he’s been given. “He gets frustrated, which is understandable, but he handles it well.”
And it’s not the amount of hits the Squires have been getting, but when they’re getting them.
“Our biggest thing is the bottom four in the lineup,” Rupley said. “They’ve had plenty of at-bats. Now, it’s time to step up and put the ball in play with authority with people on base.”
If they can do that, Rupley sees his team getting the win this time and advancing to Monday’s semifinal.
“We had opportunities in the game, we just couldn’t get the hit when we needed it,” Rupley said about the regular-season loss to Oak Hill.
Class 1A, Sectional 51
At the seven-team Sectional 51 at Culver Community High School, the Triton Trojans have the first couple of days off.
Opening with Argos and South Central Wednesday, the action continues with Culver and Westville Thursday.
The Trojans take to the field Friday against Michigan City Marquette Catholic.
Competition continues Monday, with Oregon-Davis awaiting the winner of the Argos/South Central game at 10 a.m., followed by the winners of the Culver/Westville and Marquette Catholic/Triton contests.
The championship will be later in the day at 5:30 p.m.
South Central enters as the defending three-time defending champion, having beaten Triton 8-7 in last season’s title game at South Central.
If Triton was able to win the three games needed for a championship, it would be its fourth all-time and its first since 2008, the last time South Central didn’t win it.[[In-content Ad]]
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