Nelson, Tigers Swat Valley 13-0
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
AKRON -ÊZach Nelson was the man of the evening for the Warsaw Tigers when they played Tippecanoe Valley Monday night. Not only did he play a flawless game at first base, but he also hit two multi-run homers to send five of 13 Tiger runs across the plate in Warsaw's 13-0 five-inning win over the Vikings.
"Zach has had a couple big nights with more than one home run," said Warsaw coach Will Shepherd. "He knows his job is to provide RBIs for us, and he did a good job of that tonight. He was aggressive at the plate and provided some good leadership for us."
The Tigers wasted no time as they faced the county-rival Vikings. In the first inning, Jon Walmer hit a one-out solo home run to start a run for the Warsaw squad. Steve Siebenmorgen followed with a single, and Adam Augustine reached first on an error.
Then Nelson stepped to the plate. He hit a first-pitch home run over the center field fence to drive in three Warsaw runs and put the Tigers up 4-0 going into the bottom of the first.
After Valley had a 1-2-3 trip to the plate, Warsaw was up again. Brandon Grubbs got to first on a walk, and a double to the right field fence by Gabe Koser sent Grubbs across the plate for the only Warsaw run of the inning.
Caleb Shewman started Valley's half of the second inning off on the right foot with a double. However, he was thrown out at third on a fielder's choice by Matt Shilling. The third out of the inning came as Shilling was thrown out trying to run to second on the play.
Siebenmorgen started the third inning off with a a slow rolling hit down the third baseline that died in the infield to allow him to get to first. Augustine was hit by a pitch, and Zach Nelson was walked to load the bases as Trent Martin stepped to the plate. Martin was hit by a pitch to send Siebenmorgen across the plate Augustine and Nelson crossed the plate when an error by the third baseman allowed Derrick Richardson to reach first base.
Going into the bottom of the fourth, Warsaw held a 9-0 lead, and Valley was itching to score a run. Derek Eby hit a two-out single and moved to second and third on two passed balls.
After Shewman reached first on a walk, Valley had runners on first and third with two outs. But again Warsaw shut the Valley squad down when Trent Martin caught Wes Backus' fly ball to right field to end the inning.
In Warsaw's half of the fifth inning, Augustine reached second base when his fly ball to left was dropped.
Enter Nelson again. He stepped to the plate, took one strike and then hit another home run to put two more Warsaw runs on the scoreboard.
But Warsaw was not finished. Grubbs and Nate Milton hit one-out singles to put runners on first and second. Another error by the left fielder allowed Grubbs and Milton to score and Warsaw went up 13-0.
The Vikings had one last chance to score four runs to keep the game from ending in five innings. Matt Shilling led off the inning with a single, but he was stalled there as the next three Valley batters got outs.
"Coming into the game, I told the guys we needed three things - attitude, effort, and hustle," said Valley coach Scott Backus.
"We had very little of all three. I think we were ready to play from the get-go, but one bad thing happened and we just gave up. For some reason, that's the way it has been this week."
Michael Barger gets the win for the Tigers, pitching all five innings with three hits, a walk and two strikeouts.
"Our kids played hard (Tuesday) against Plymouth, and it was a tough loss," said Shepherd. "I was anxious to see how the kids would respond. They responded well. Our seniors provided great leadership right from the start."
Warsaw is now 13-10 overall and 9-3 in the Northern Lakes Conference, while Valley falls to 8-15.
WARSAW 13, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 0
5 innings
Warsaw 414 04 - 13 8 0
Valley 000 00 - 0 3 5
Warsaw ab r h rbi
Koser cf 3 0 1 1
Stogsdill cf 1 0 0 0
Walmer ss 4 1 1 3
Siebenmorgen c 3 2 2 0
Lankford rf 2 0 0 0
Golden rf 1 0 0 0
Augustine dh 2 3 0 0
Nelson 1b 2 3 2 5
Martin 3b 2 1 0 1
Grubbs 2b 2 2 1 0
Richardson lf 2 0 0 0
Milton lf 1 1 1 0
Totals 25 13 8 10
Valley ab r h rbi
Sausaman 2b 2 0 0 0
Jackson ss 2 0 0 0
Eby cf 2 0 1 0
Shewman 1b 1 0 1 0
Backus c 2 0 0 0
Shilling dh 2 0 1 0
Swanson p 1 0 0 0
Deardorff ph 1 0 0 0
Snyder rf 1 0 0 0
Mitterling ph 1 0 0 0
Haney lf 1 0 0 0
Day ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 17 0 3 0
E -ÊCunningham 2, Jackson, Haney 2. LOB -ÊWarsaw 2, Valley 3. 2B -ÊKoser, Shewman. HR -ÊNelson (2), Walmer. CS -ÊKoser. DP -ÊWarsaw 1, Valley 0.
ip r er h bb k
Warsaw
Barger, W 5 0 0 3 1 2
Valley
Swanson, L 5 13 4 8 2 4
HBP -ÊAugustine (by Swanson), Martin (by Swanson). PB -ÊBackus 3, Siebenmorgen 2. [[In-content Ad]]
AKRON -ÊZach Nelson was the man of the evening for the Warsaw Tigers when they played Tippecanoe Valley Monday night. Not only did he play a flawless game at first base, but he also hit two multi-run homers to send five of 13 Tiger runs across the plate in Warsaw's 13-0 five-inning win over the Vikings.
"Zach has had a couple big nights with more than one home run," said Warsaw coach Will Shepherd. "He knows his job is to provide RBIs for us, and he did a good job of that tonight. He was aggressive at the plate and provided some good leadership for us."
The Tigers wasted no time as they faced the county-rival Vikings. In the first inning, Jon Walmer hit a one-out solo home run to start a run for the Warsaw squad. Steve Siebenmorgen followed with a single, and Adam Augustine reached first on an error.
Then Nelson stepped to the plate. He hit a first-pitch home run over the center field fence to drive in three Warsaw runs and put the Tigers up 4-0 going into the bottom of the first.
After Valley had a 1-2-3 trip to the plate, Warsaw was up again. Brandon Grubbs got to first on a walk, and a double to the right field fence by Gabe Koser sent Grubbs across the plate for the only Warsaw run of the inning.
Caleb Shewman started Valley's half of the second inning off on the right foot with a double. However, he was thrown out at third on a fielder's choice by Matt Shilling. The third out of the inning came as Shilling was thrown out trying to run to second on the play.
Siebenmorgen started the third inning off with a a slow rolling hit down the third baseline that died in the infield to allow him to get to first. Augustine was hit by a pitch, and Zach Nelson was walked to load the bases as Trent Martin stepped to the plate. Martin was hit by a pitch to send Siebenmorgen across the plate Augustine and Nelson crossed the plate when an error by the third baseman allowed Derrick Richardson to reach first base.
Going into the bottom of the fourth, Warsaw held a 9-0 lead, and Valley was itching to score a run. Derek Eby hit a two-out single and moved to second and third on two passed balls.
After Shewman reached first on a walk, Valley had runners on first and third with two outs. But again Warsaw shut the Valley squad down when Trent Martin caught Wes Backus' fly ball to right field to end the inning.
In Warsaw's half of the fifth inning, Augustine reached second base when his fly ball to left was dropped.
Enter Nelson again. He stepped to the plate, took one strike and then hit another home run to put two more Warsaw runs on the scoreboard.
But Warsaw was not finished. Grubbs and Nate Milton hit one-out singles to put runners on first and second. Another error by the left fielder allowed Grubbs and Milton to score and Warsaw went up 13-0.
The Vikings had one last chance to score four runs to keep the game from ending in five innings. Matt Shilling led off the inning with a single, but he was stalled there as the next three Valley batters got outs.
"Coming into the game, I told the guys we needed three things - attitude, effort, and hustle," said Valley coach Scott Backus.
"We had very little of all three. I think we were ready to play from the get-go, but one bad thing happened and we just gave up. For some reason, that's the way it has been this week."
Michael Barger gets the win for the Tigers, pitching all five innings with three hits, a walk and two strikeouts.
"Our kids played hard (Tuesday) against Plymouth, and it was a tough loss," said Shepherd. "I was anxious to see how the kids would respond. They responded well. Our seniors provided great leadership right from the start."
Warsaw is now 13-10 overall and 9-3 in the Northern Lakes Conference, while Valley falls to 8-15.
WARSAW 13, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 0
5 innings
Warsaw 414 04 - 13 8 0
Valley 000 00 - 0 3 5
Warsaw ab r h rbi
Koser cf 3 0 1 1
Stogsdill cf 1 0 0 0
Walmer ss 4 1 1 3
Siebenmorgen c 3 2 2 0
Lankford rf 2 0 0 0
Golden rf 1 0 0 0
Augustine dh 2 3 0 0
Nelson 1b 2 3 2 5
Martin 3b 2 1 0 1
Grubbs 2b 2 2 1 0
Richardson lf 2 0 0 0
Milton lf 1 1 1 0
Totals 25 13 8 10
Valley ab r h rbi
Sausaman 2b 2 0 0 0
Jackson ss 2 0 0 0
Eby cf 2 0 1 0
Shewman 1b 1 0 1 0
Backus c 2 0 0 0
Shilling dh 2 0 1 0
Swanson p 1 0 0 0
Deardorff ph 1 0 0 0
Snyder rf 1 0 0 0
Mitterling ph 1 0 0 0
Haney lf 1 0 0 0
Day ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 17 0 3 0
E -ÊCunningham 2, Jackson, Haney 2. LOB -ÊWarsaw 2, Valley 3. 2B -ÊKoser, Shewman. HR -ÊNelson (2), Walmer. CS -ÊKoser. DP -ÊWarsaw 1, Valley 0.
ip r er h bb k
Warsaw
Barger, W 5 0 0 3 1 2
Valley
Swanson, L 5 13 4 8 2 4
HBP -ÊAugustine (by Swanson), Martin (by Swanson). PB -ÊBackus 3, Siebenmorgen 2. [[In-content Ad]]