Big Inning Leads Bulldogs To Win Over Tigers

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.


The Warsaw Tigers came out swinging.
The Crown Point Bulldogs responded with the knockout punch.
In a high school baseball game on a windy Tuesday afternoon, the host Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Class 4A No. 8 Bulldogs scored 11 runs in the third inning and went on to a 16-5 victory in five innings.
Warsaw, which lost 10-0 at 4A No. 7 Huntington North in six innings Monday, fell to 2-0 on the season. Crown Point is 1-0.
"It got away from us," said Warsaw coach Mike Hepler. "Crown Point is a good team. They're a good hitting ball club. They got some hits, and Kyle Gibbs took one off the leg. He said he was OK, but it bothered him."
Gibbs, a 6-foot-2 senior and Warsaw's starting pitcher Monday, retired the Bulldogs in order in the first inning and faced just eight batters through the first two innings.
The third inning was a different story, as Crown Point sent 15 batters to the plate in the frame, scoring 11 runs on nine hits.
Gibbs took a line drive off the inner part of his leg and was later replaced on the mound by classmate Austin Moore.
"I thought their pitcher was doing a nice job," Crown Point coach Steve Strayer said of Gibbs. "For a guy only throwing in the mid-60s, and not throwing many fastballs, I thought he was doing well. He did a nice job moving the ball around. He got hit in the leg, and he wasn't the same after that."
In all, Gibbs pitched 2-1/3 innings. He gave up nine runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out one.
Moore worked 1-2/3 innings on the mound, giving up nine hits and seven runs. He walked one and struck out one.
The Bulldogs, who committed three errors in the game, scored their 16 runs on 17 hits.
"I thought our guys came out and made a lot of mistakes, but our hitting was there," said Strayer, the brother of Whitko High School junior varsity basketball coach John Strayer.
After taking a 12-2 lead in the top of the third, Crown Point plated one run in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth.
The Tigers scored three runs in the fourth inning.
"We need to keep improving," said Hepler. "We made improvements from (Monday), and we need to improve from this game. I know we're better than the score shows. We have a lot of good baseball ahead of us. That's why we play these teams, we find out where we are. Playing teams like Huntington North and Crown Point helps us in the conference and in the tournament."
Warsaw is back on the diamond today, travelling to South Bend to play the Clay Colonials.
The Tigers pounded out six hits in Tuesday's loss. Moore had Warsaw's only extra-base hit, a double in the first inning.
Crown Point got doubles from Alex Nickla, Jake Jatis, Bobby Morgan and Zach Plesac – the nephew of former Major Leage pitcher Dan Plesac.
Plesac, Nickla and Kevin Brunski all had two hits for the Bulldogs.
Senior Jake Lindeman was credited with the win on the mound. He gave up four runs and three hits in three innings of work. He walked four and struck out three.
David Kepshire and Plesac pitched one inning each for the Bulldogs.

CROWN POINT 16, WARSAW 5 (5 innings)
CP    01(11)    13    –    16    17    3
War    200    30    –    5    6    1
Jake Lindeman (W, 3 IP, 3 K, 2 R, 3 H, 4 BB), David Kepshire (4th, 1 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 1 BB), Zach Plesac (5th, 1 IP 2 K, 1 BB) to Jake Carey
Kyle Gibbs (L, 2-1/3 IP, 1 K, 9 R, 7 H, 2 BB), Austin Moore (3rd, 1-2/3 IP, 1 K, 7 R, 9 H, 1 BB), Garrett Gruenewald (5th, 1 IP, 1 H) to Jared Lemler
2B – Alex Nickla (CP), Jake Jatis (CP), Bobby Morgan (CP), Plesac (CP), Moore (War)
Records: Crown Point 1-0, Warsaw 0-2
JV – Crown Point 10, Warsaw 7[[In-content Ad]]

The Warsaw Tigers came out swinging.
The Crown Point Bulldogs responded with the knockout punch.
In a high school baseball game on a windy Tuesday afternoon, the host Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Class 4A No. 8 Bulldogs scored 11 runs in the third inning and went on to a 16-5 victory in five innings.
Warsaw, which lost 10-0 at 4A No. 7 Huntington North in six innings Monday, fell to 2-0 on the season. Crown Point is 1-0.
"It got away from us," said Warsaw coach Mike Hepler. "Crown Point is a good team. They're a good hitting ball club. They got some hits, and Kyle Gibbs took one off the leg. He said he was OK, but it bothered him."
Gibbs, a 6-foot-2 senior and Warsaw's starting pitcher Monday, retired the Bulldogs in order in the first inning and faced just eight batters through the first two innings.
The third inning was a different story, as Crown Point sent 15 batters to the plate in the frame, scoring 11 runs on nine hits.
Gibbs took a line drive off the inner part of his leg and was later replaced on the mound by classmate Austin Moore.
"I thought their pitcher was doing a nice job," Crown Point coach Steve Strayer said of Gibbs. "For a guy only throwing in the mid-60s, and not throwing many fastballs, I thought he was doing well. He did a nice job moving the ball around. He got hit in the leg, and he wasn't the same after that."
In all, Gibbs pitched 2-1/3 innings. He gave up nine runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out one.
Moore worked 1-2/3 innings on the mound, giving up nine hits and seven runs. He walked one and struck out one.
The Bulldogs, who committed three errors in the game, scored their 16 runs on 17 hits.
"I thought our guys came out and made a lot of mistakes, but our hitting was there," said Strayer, the brother of Whitko High School junior varsity basketball coach John Strayer.
After taking a 12-2 lead in the top of the third, Crown Point plated one run in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth.
The Tigers scored three runs in the fourth inning.
"We need to keep improving," said Hepler. "We made improvements from (Monday), and we need to improve from this game. I know we're better than the score shows. We have a lot of good baseball ahead of us. That's why we play these teams, we find out where we are. Playing teams like Huntington North and Crown Point helps us in the conference and in the tournament."
Warsaw is back on the diamond today, travelling to South Bend to play the Clay Colonials.
The Tigers pounded out six hits in Tuesday's loss. Moore had Warsaw's only extra-base hit, a double in the first inning.
Crown Point got doubles from Alex Nickla, Jake Jatis, Bobby Morgan and Zach Plesac – the nephew of former Major Leage pitcher Dan Plesac.
Plesac, Nickla and Kevin Brunski all had two hits for the Bulldogs.
Senior Jake Lindeman was credited with the win on the mound. He gave up four runs and three hits in three innings of work. He walked four and struck out three.
David Kepshire and Plesac pitched one inning each for the Bulldogs.

CROWN POINT 16, WARSAW 5 (5 innings)
CP    01(11)    13    –    16    17    3
War    200    30    –    5    6    1
Jake Lindeman (W, 3 IP, 3 K, 2 R, 3 H, 4 BB), David Kepshire (4th, 1 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 1 BB), Zach Plesac (5th, 1 IP 2 K, 1 BB) to Jake Carey
Kyle Gibbs (L, 2-1/3 IP, 1 K, 9 R, 7 H, 2 BB), Austin Moore (3rd, 1-2/3 IP, 1 K, 7 R, 9 H, 1 BB), Garrett Gruenewald (5th, 1 IP, 1 H) to Jared Lemler
2B – Alex Nickla (CP), Jake Jatis (CP), Bobby Morgan (CP), Plesac (CP), Moore (War)
Records: Crown Point 1-0, Warsaw 0-2
JV – Crown Point 10, Warsaw 7[[In-content Ad]]
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