Tigers Look To Atone For Tie
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
It's Friday afternoon on Memorial Day weekend and Warsaw baseball coach Will Shepherd is doing anything but vacationing.
The fourth-year Tiger skipper is in his office scribbling numbers on the back of a piece of paper. He adds the numbers and comes up with 68-47-1. This is his coaching record at Warsaw High School. Do the math and that's an average of 17 wins and 12 losses per year. But it's the "1" that Shepherd is answering questions about.
That one represents a 5-5 tie with Elkhart Central earlier this season. Warsaw's next opponent will be those same Blue Blazers in Monday's Elkhart Memorial Sectional at 1 p.m.
"It (sectional draw) worked out great in a lot of respects," said Shepherd. "One way or another, whether it's positive or not so positive, somebody is going to come out of Monday without a tie. They want to know who is the best team that day."
As if he were a history teacher, Shepherd remembers the previous meeting with Elkhart Central all to well.
"They had one big inning," said Shepherd. "(Steve) Siebenmorgen pitched in that game, the only game he's pitched in all year, and one kid got a hold of the ball with the bases loaded and scored three runs on one play. That was their only push of the game. Except for five to seven minutes, we played good. We need to finish."
And finishing is another thing Shepherd is answering questions about.
Shepherd had said earlier in the year that his goal for each of his teams is to finish the season with 20 wins. In his first year, 1996, the Tigers went 18-13. The next two years Warsaw went 13-16 and 20-8. To this date the Tigers are 17-10-1.
"In a 28-game schedule that's winning seven out of 10 games," said Shepherd. Anything above 70 percent in my mind is a quality year. I told the kids to break the season down to segments - pre-conference and conference, pre-sectional and sectional. Twenty out of 28 is in reach for our teams if we play good."
If Warsaw is to win 20 games this season, that would mean first getting through Elkhart Central and the sectional championship, and then the Tigers would have the regional championship on their home field.
"We've talked about it before," said Shepherd. "We got a good draw and then we host the regional. It's layed out in front of this team. We have to take advantage of it, there's no excuses. We have to beat some quality teams in the sectional and then we would play the winner of the Fort Wayne Sectional, where there's some quality teams. It's up to the kids to decide to do that."
Warsaw's last sectional championship came in 1997.
1999 BASEBALL SECTIONALS
Listed below are the records and first-round sectional oppenents for seven local schools.
Warsaw (17-10-1) vs. Elkhart Central at 1 p.m. Monday in Elkhart Memorial Sectional
Tippecanoe Valley (5-18) vs. Fort Wayne Elmhurst at 10 a.m. Monday in Carroll Sectional
Wawasee (7-18) vs. Angola 11 a.m. Monday in Wawasee Sectional
Triton (17-11) vs. game one winner at 9:30 a.m. June 5 in South Central Sectional
Manchester (17-9) vs. Southwood at 4:30 p.m. Monday in Wabash Sectional
Whitko (1-18) vs. Carroll at 1 p.m. Monday in Carroll Sectional
NorthWood (7-17) vs. Lakeland at 9:30 a.m. June 5 in Wawasee Sectional [[In-content Ad]]
It's Friday afternoon on Memorial Day weekend and Warsaw baseball coach Will Shepherd is doing anything but vacationing.
The fourth-year Tiger skipper is in his office scribbling numbers on the back of a piece of paper. He adds the numbers and comes up with 68-47-1. This is his coaching record at Warsaw High School. Do the math and that's an average of 17 wins and 12 losses per year. But it's the "1" that Shepherd is answering questions about.
That one represents a 5-5 tie with Elkhart Central earlier this season. Warsaw's next opponent will be those same Blue Blazers in Monday's Elkhart Memorial Sectional at 1 p.m.
"It (sectional draw) worked out great in a lot of respects," said Shepherd. "One way or another, whether it's positive or not so positive, somebody is going to come out of Monday without a tie. They want to know who is the best team that day."
As if he were a history teacher, Shepherd remembers the previous meeting with Elkhart Central all to well.
"They had one big inning," said Shepherd. "(Steve) Siebenmorgen pitched in that game, the only game he's pitched in all year, and one kid got a hold of the ball with the bases loaded and scored three runs on one play. That was their only push of the game. Except for five to seven minutes, we played good. We need to finish."
And finishing is another thing Shepherd is answering questions about.
Shepherd had said earlier in the year that his goal for each of his teams is to finish the season with 20 wins. In his first year, 1996, the Tigers went 18-13. The next two years Warsaw went 13-16 and 20-8. To this date the Tigers are 17-10-1.
"In a 28-game schedule that's winning seven out of 10 games," said Shepherd. Anything above 70 percent in my mind is a quality year. I told the kids to break the season down to segments - pre-conference and conference, pre-sectional and sectional. Twenty out of 28 is in reach for our teams if we play good."
If Warsaw is to win 20 games this season, that would mean first getting through Elkhart Central and the sectional championship, and then the Tigers would have the regional championship on their home field.
"We've talked about it before," said Shepherd. "We got a good draw and then we host the regional. It's layed out in front of this team. We have to take advantage of it, there's no excuses. We have to beat some quality teams in the sectional and then we would play the winner of the Fort Wayne Sectional, where there's some quality teams. It's up to the kids to decide to do that."
Warsaw's last sectional championship came in 1997.
1999 BASEBALL SECTIONALS
Listed below are the records and first-round sectional oppenents for seven local schools.
Warsaw (17-10-1) vs. Elkhart Central at 1 p.m. Monday in Elkhart Memorial Sectional
Tippecanoe Valley (5-18) vs. Fort Wayne Elmhurst at 10 a.m. Monday in Carroll Sectional
Wawasee (7-18) vs. Angola 11 a.m. Monday in Wawasee Sectional
Triton (17-11) vs. game one winner at 9:30 a.m. June 5 in South Central Sectional
Manchester (17-9) vs. Southwood at 4:30 p.m. Monday in Wabash Sectional
Whitko (1-18) vs. Carroll at 1 p.m. Monday in Carroll Sectional
NorthWood (7-17) vs. Lakeland at 9:30 a.m. June 5 in Wawasee Sectional [[In-content Ad]]