LaSalle Ousts Wawasee
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
MISHWAKA - It wasn't any secret at the Mishawaka Softball Regional on Saturday. Wawasee had to play just about a perfect game to defeat its opponent, No. 13 South Bend LaSalle, in the first game of the regional.
Wawasee needed to bunt, move runners, play sparkling defense and pitch well to upset the Lady Lions. However, it did not take long to find that the Warriors would not be able to do those things with the same ease that they did at the Warsaw Sectional.
South Bend LaSalle defeated Wawasee 12-2 by scoring five runs in each of the first two innings to move on to the regional championship.
Kari Wortinger was hit by the first pitch of the game from LaSalle pitcher Colleen Knight. That set up a bunting opportunity for Sonya Beer, but after getting two strikes, she had to swing away. NIC player of the year Leslie Kwiatkowski made a diving catch of Beer's sinking liner in short center field to get the first out of the inning. Sara Frantz could not move Wortinger over either and after Jaime Conn singled, Carly Beer flew out to left field to end the scoring threat.
"Against LaSalle, you have to take advantage of every single scoring opportunity that comes your way," Wawasee coach Bo O'Dell said.
The Lady Lions got on the board quickly in the first. Conn began on the mound and got Kwiatkowski to pop out trying to bunt. Conn then walked three consecutive batters and O'Dell made a quick pitcher change. Angie Hoover went to the mound and allowed three consecutive singles. After Michelle Smith was thrown out trying to steal, Sarah Clark grounded out to end the five-run inning.
After Wawasee went down quickly in the top of the second, LaSalle came back with five more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Briana Hensley and Knight had back-to-back doubles in the inning. O'Dell continued to try to confuse the Lady Lion batters in the inning by having Frantz pitch for the first five batters, then Hoover for the final four. When the dust had cleared, LaSalle led 10-0.
In the bottom of the third, Chanda Najdek walked and Kwiatkowski tripled to drive home another run. She later scored as LaSalle went ahead 12-0.
Wawasee got its only runs in the top of the fourth. Megan King walked with one out and Jenny Szynal walked two batters later. Heather Levernier singled to load the bases and Wortinger got hit by a pitch for the 16th time this year. Sonya Beer followed with a single to drive in another run and make the score 12-2.
In the top of the fifth, Wawasee looked for one more run to keep the game going, but after Conn led-off with a single, Carly Beer grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Wawasee struggled to find the plate, throwing 101 pitches, 59 for balls. That control problem translated into eight walks. The Warriors also struggled in the field with four errors, all in the first three innings.
"The errors came because we didn't throw strikes," O'Dell said. "It's hard to keep the mental intensity on defense whenever they're not anticipating the ball being hit. We had a game plan to throw as many pitchers as we could, but we were hoping it was under different circumstances. Unfortunately, it wasn't out of what we were trying to do. It ended up being out of trying to find someone to throw strikes.."
After Wortinger got hit by a pitch twice on the game, O'Dell explained why she gets hit so often.
"It's just great character on her part, wanting to do whatever for the team. She doesn't intentionally get hit, but she's not going to back down from anything."
Coach O'Dell has a lot to build on for the future after seeing how his team battled this year.
"I'm pleased with the way the girls hung in there. They could have packed it in when they were 0-6 early in the year. That was against teams that were nowhere near this type of competition. We fell short of our potential today. We didn't do ourselves justice today, but there's nothing for us to feel bad about or ashamed of. There are more teams sitting at home today than are still playing, so we're proud of that."
Wawasee ends the season with a 9-16 record after winning its second consecutive sectional title. [[In-content Ad]]
MISHWAKA - It wasn't any secret at the Mishawaka Softball Regional on Saturday. Wawasee had to play just about a perfect game to defeat its opponent, No. 13 South Bend LaSalle, in the first game of the regional.
Wawasee needed to bunt, move runners, play sparkling defense and pitch well to upset the Lady Lions. However, it did not take long to find that the Warriors would not be able to do those things with the same ease that they did at the Warsaw Sectional.
South Bend LaSalle defeated Wawasee 12-2 by scoring five runs in each of the first two innings to move on to the regional championship.
Kari Wortinger was hit by the first pitch of the game from LaSalle pitcher Colleen Knight. That set up a bunting opportunity for Sonya Beer, but after getting two strikes, she had to swing away. NIC player of the year Leslie Kwiatkowski made a diving catch of Beer's sinking liner in short center field to get the first out of the inning. Sara Frantz could not move Wortinger over either and after Jaime Conn singled, Carly Beer flew out to left field to end the scoring threat.
"Against LaSalle, you have to take advantage of every single scoring opportunity that comes your way," Wawasee coach Bo O'Dell said.
The Lady Lions got on the board quickly in the first. Conn began on the mound and got Kwiatkowski to pop out trying to bunt. Conn then walked three consecutive batters and O'Dell made a quick pitcher change. Angie Hoover went to the mound and allowed three consecutive singles. After Michelle Smith was thrown out trying to steal, Sarah Clark grounded out to end the five-run inning.
After Wawasee went down quickly in the top of the second, LaSalle came back with five more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Briana Hensley and Knight had back-to-back doubles in the inning. O'Dell continued to try to confuse the Lady Lion batters in the inning by having Frantz pitch for the first five batters, then Hoover for the final four. When the dust had cleared, LaSalle led 10-0.
In the bottom of the third, Chanda Najdek walked and Kwiatkowski tripled to drive home another run. She later scored as LaSalle went ahead 12-0.
Wawasee got its only runs in the top of the fourth. Megan King walked with one out and Jenny Szynal walked two batters later. Heather Levernier singled to load the bases and Wortinger got hit by a pitch for the 16th time this year. Sonya Beer followed with a single to drive in another run and make the score 12-2.
In the top of the fifth, Wawasee looked for one more run to keep the game going, but after Conn led-off with a single, Carly Beer grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Wawasee struggled to find the plate, throwing 101 pitches, 59 for balls. That control problem translated into eight walks. The Warriors also struggled in the field with four errors, all in the first three innings.
"The errors came because we didn't throw strikes," O'Dell said. "It's hard to keep the mental intensity on defense whenever they're not anticipating the ball being hit. We had a game plan to throw as many pitchers as we could, but we were hoping it was under different circumstances. Unfortunately, it wasn't out of what we were trying to do. It ended up being out of trying to find someone to throw strikes.."
After Wortinger got hit by a pitch twice on the game, O'Dell explained why she gets hit so often.
"It's just great character on her part, wanting to do whatever for the team. She doesn't intentionally get hit, but she's not going to back down from anything."
Coach O'Dell has a lot to build on for the future after seeing how his team battled this year.
"I'm pleased with the way the girls hung in there. They could have packed it in when they were 0-6 early in the year. That was against teams that were nowhere near this type of competition. We fell short of our potential today. We didn't do ourselves justice today, but there's nothing for us to feel bad about or ashamed of. There are more teams sitting at home today than are still playing, so we're proud of that."
Wawasee ends the season with a 9-16 record after winning its second consecutive sectional title. [[In-content Ad]]