SYRACUSE - Though he's an avid New York Yankees fan, Warsaw baseball coach Will Shepherd's team looked more like the Oakland Athletics of the late 1980s Tuesday afternoon against Northern Lakes Conference rival Wawasee.

While the aforementioned Oakland teams had Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, commonly known as the Bash Brothers, the Tigers got Hercules-like hitting performances from senior Tyler Stouder and sophomore Derek Freds.

Powered by five towering home runs - two each from Stouder and Freds and one from junior Matt Ransbottom - and a solid outing on the mound by senior hurler Jordan Williams, the Tigers blasted host Wawasee 17-3 in five innings Tuesday.

The game was the NLC opener for both teams, with Warsaw improving to 2-4 overall on the season and the Warriors dropping to 2-6.

"When the conditions are like they were today, with the wind blowing out like it was, you need to take advantage at the plate," said Shepherd. "We were able to take advantage of the conditions."

All totaled, the Tigers scored their 17 runs on 16 hits.

Warsaw wasted no time in abusing Warrior starting pitcher Aaron Hoover, as they started the game by loading the bases on singles from Kyler Mylin, Stouder and Ryan Cox. Junior Mark Sudhoff then drew a walk from Hoover, putting the Tigers up 1-0, and Freds quickly cleared the bases with a towering shot into the wind over the 320-foot sign in leftfield.

Williams kept the momentum rolling for the Tigers with a single, the first of his three hits on the day, and Warrior head coach Mike Hedman responded by pulling Hoover and replacing him with junior Tyler Shell.

Shell didn't fare much better, giving up a two-run homer to Ransbottom, the first batter he faced, as the Tigers took a 7-0 lead with no outs.

After the first out of the game, junior Evan Lancaster and Mylin pounded out singles, and then Stouder stepped to the plate for the second time in the first inning and sent a shot soaring over the leftfield fence that gave the Tigers a 10-0 lead and ended Shell's day on the mound.

When all was said and done in the first inning, the Tigers tallied 10 runs on nine hits.

Sophomore pitcher Nick Sommers came in to replace Shell after Stouder's three-run blast and was able to get Cox and Sudhoff to ground out.

The Warriors put three runs on the board in the third inning, but it wasn't enough as the Tigers' first-inning display of power dug a hole too deep for Wawasee to climb out of.

Leading 11-3 in the top of the fifth inning, Stouder blasted his second three-run homer of the game, another shot over the 320-foot sign in leftfield.

Three batters later, Freds did the same thing, pushing the Tigers' advantage to 17-3.

Stouder finished the game with three hits and six RBI, while Freds had two hits and seven RBI in the 14-run win.

"That's impressive," Shepherd said of the RBI totals by Freds and Stouder. "They really had quality at-bats. I liked their aggressiveness. What Stouder gives this team is toughness and leadership behind the plate. He's put a lot of time in and deserved to have a big night."

Mylin had four hits for the Tigers, including a double, and scored three runs.

Williams had three hits for Warsaw and picked up the win on the mound. He pitched all five innings, giving up two hits, three runs and two walks while striking out six.

"I was pleased with Jordan Williams' outing," said Shepherd. "We needed a complete game out of a pitcher. I think this is the first time this year we've had a pitcher go more than 3-1/3 innings. We're not going to overpower people. We need to get people out, that's how you win baseball games, and we did that today."

Ethan Drent had a double for Wawasee, while Steve Dingeldein pounded out a single for the Warriors' only other hit. [[In-content Ad]]