Tigers Rip Warriors 9-1
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE -ÊAfter being off for six days due to weather problems, the Warsaw Tigers traveled to Wawasee for their first Northern Lakes Conference baseball game of the season and came home with a 9-1 win.
After one inning the game was scoreless, but Steve Siebenmorgen jumpstarted the second inning with a double, and Craig Lankford walked to put runners on first and second. The runners advanced to second and third on a fielder's choice, and Don Kennedy hit a single to drive in the first Warsaw run of the game.
Lankford stole home to score Warsaw's second run, and Brandon Grubbs hit a sacrifice bunt to send Kennedy across the plate for Warsaw's third and final run of the inning.
"We played well in the first inning, but we had some mental lapses in the second that led to runs," said Wawasee coach John Blunk.
After a 1-2-3 bottom of the second, Warsaw was ready to step back into the batter's box. Jason Barrett led off the inning with a single, and proceeded to steal second and third. He then scored after Craig Lankford reached first on a two-out error by the Warriors.
After Lankford reached second base on a wild pitch, John Leininger hit a single to drive him in. Derrick Richardson was put in the game to pinch run and stole two bases to reach third, and then scored on a catcher's error to put Warsaw up 6-0.
"Our running game was on today," said Warsaw coach Will Shepherd. "We were aggressive and ran the bases well. We got caught a few times, but we didn't hesitate."
Lankford walked Kyle Swihart to start the third inning for the Warriors, but the Tigers turned a double play to stop the Wawasee drive.
Warsaw scored two more runs in the fourth to take an 8-0 lead, but Wawasee refused to give in.
Brent Berkeypile got a one-out single to start a Warrior rally in the fourth inning. Berkeypile's hit was followed by a Luke Baker double, and a walk for Tony May. The Warriors had the bases loaded with one out, and the next batter popped a fly ball up to the first baseman for the second out. John Szynal earned the only Wawasee RBI of the game when he was walked by Lankford to bring the only Wawasee run across home plate.
Wawasee and Warsaw remained scoreless for the next two innings until Warsaw scored one run in the top of the seventh to give the Tigers a 9-1 lead.
Wawasee was unable to score in the bottom of the seventh, and the Tigers went home with a 9-1 NLC victory.
"Craig Lankford has pitched better," said Shepherd. "He had some trouble early in a couple innings, but he came back and did what he needed to do. He gave up some walks, and when you give up walks to other teams, you put a lot of pressure on the defense."
"Drew (Gradle) pitched well," said Blunk, "but we didn't make the plays to go with it. We just always seem to find a way to shoot ourselves in the foot. We are a much better baseball team than we have shown."
Warsaw is 5-2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the conference, while Wawasee is 3-5 and 0-1 in the NLC.
"We started the conference the way we wanted to, 1-0," said Shepherd. "We have two big home games this week. We play Goshen Wednesday and Plymouth Friday. If we want to win the conference, we need to toughen up. To win a championship in baseball, we need to win against great teams."
WARSAW 9, WAWASEE 1
Warsaw ab r h rbi
Riley cf 4 0 2 1
Barrett rf 4 2 1 0
Stanley 3b 4 0 1 1
Siebenmorgen c 2 1 1 0
Sherman c 2 1 1 0
Lankford p 2 2 1 2
Leininger dh 2 0 1 2
Richardson pr 0 1 0 0
Kennedy lf 3 1 2 1
Vanlaeken ph 1 0 1 0
Nelson 3 1 1 0
Grubbs 2 0 0 1
Totals 29 9 12 8
Wawasee ab r h rbi
Coy 2b 2 0 0 0
Wilson 1b 2 0 0 0
Adkins 3b 3 0 1 0
Gradle p 4 0 0 0
Berkeypile cf 2 1 2 0
Baker 1b 2 0 1 0
May ss 2 0 0 0
Shock rf 3 0 0 0
Szynal c 1 0 0 1
Black c 1 0 0 0
Swihart lf 1 0 0 0
Kelly lf 1 0 0 0
Totals 23 1 4 1
Wawasee 000 100 0 - 1 4 4
Warsaw 033 200 1 - 9 12 0
E - Gradle, Coy, Syznal (2). 2B - Baker, Riley, Stanley, Siebenmorgen, Vanlaeken, Nelson. CS - Riley, Kennedy, Lankford. SB -ÊBarrett (2), Richardson (2), Lankford, Kennedy, Riley.
IP H R ER BB SO
Wawasee
Gradle, L 5 9 8 3 3 3
Shock 2 3 1 1 0 1
Warsaw
Lankford, W 5 4 1 1 4 7
Nelson 2 0 0 0 0 1
WP - Gradle. HB -ÊNelson (2). PK -ÊGradle (3). [[In-content Ad]]
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SYRACUSE -ÊAfter being off for six days due to weather problems, the Warsaw Tigers traveled to Wawasee for their first Northern Lakes Conference baseball game of the season and came home with a 9-1 win.
After one inning the game was scoreless, but Steve Siebenmorgen jumpstarted the second inning with a double, and Craig Lankford walked to put runners on first and second. The runners advanced to second and third on a fielder's choice, and Don Kennedy hit a single to drive in the first Warsaw run of the game.
Lankford stole home to score Warsaw's second run, and Brandon Grubbs hit a sacrifice bunt to send Kennedy across the plate for Warsaw's third and final run of the inning.
"We played well in the first inning, but we had some mental lapses in the second that led to runs," said Wawasee coach John Blunk.
After a 1-2-3 bottom of the second, Warsaw was ready to step back into the batter's box. Jason Barrett led off the inning with a single, and proceeded to steal second and third. He then scored after Craig Lankford reached first on a two-out error by the Warriors.
After Lankford reached second base on a wild pitch, John Leininger hit a single to drive him in. Derrick Richardson was put in the game to pinch run and stole two bases to reach third, and then scored on a catcher's error to put Warsaw up 6-0.
"Our running game was on today," said Warsaw coach Will Shepherd. "We were aggressive and ran the bases well. We got caught a few times, but we didn't hesitate."
Lankford walked Kyle Swihart to start the third inning for the Warriors, but the Tigers turned a double play to stop the Wawasee drive.
Warsaw scored two more runs in the fourth to take an 8-0 lead, but Wawasee refused to give in.
Brent Berkeypile got a one-out single to start a Warrior rally in the fourth inning. Berkeypile's hit was followed by a Luke Baker double, and a walk for Tony May. The Warriors had the bases loaded with one out, and the next batter popped a fly ball up to the first baseman for the second out. John Szynal earned the only Wawasee RBI of the game when he was walked by Lankford to bring the only Wawasee run across home plate.
Wawasee and Warsaw remained scoreless for the next two innings until Warsaw scored one run in the top of the seventh to give the Tigers a 9-1 lead.
Wawasee was unable to score in the bottom of the seventh, and the Tigers went home with a 9-1 NLC victory.
"Craig Lankford has pitched better," said Shepherd. "He had some trouble early in a couple innings, but he came back and did what he needed to do. He gave up some walks, and when you give up walks to other teams, you put a lot of pressure on the defense."
"Drew (Gradle) pitched well," said Blunk, "but we didn't make the plays to go with it. We just always seem to find a way to shoot ourselves in the foot. We are a much better baseball team than we have shown."
Warsaw is 5-2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the conference, while Wawasee is 3-5 and 0-1 in the NLC.
"We started the conference the way we wanted to, 1-0," said Shepherd. "We have two big home games this week. We play Goshen Wednesday and Plymouth Friday. If we want to win the conference, we need to toughen up. To win a championship in baseball, we need to win against great teams."
WARSAW 9, WAWASEE 1
Warsaw ab r h rbi
Riley cf 4 0 2 1
Barrett rf 4 2 1 0
Stanley 3b 4 0 1 1
Siebenmorgen c 2 1 1 0
Sherman c 2 1 1 0
Lankford p 2 2 1 2
Leininger dh 2 0 1 2
Richardson pr 0 1 0 0
Kennedy lf 3 1 2 1
Vanlaeken ph 1 0 1 0
Nelson 3 1 1 0
Grubbs 2 0 0 1
Totals 29 9 12 8
Wawasee ab r h rbi
Coy 2b 2 0 0 0
Wilson 1b 2 0 0 0
Adkins 3b 3 0 1 0
Gradle p 4 0 0 0
Berkeypile cf 2 1 2 0
Baker 1b 2 0 1 0
May ss 2 0 0 0
Shock rf 3 0 0 0
Szynal c 1 0 0 1
Black c 1 0 0 0
Swihart lf 1 0 0 0
Kelly lf 1 0 0 0
Totals 23 1 4 1
Wawasee 000 100 0 - 1 4 4
Warsaw 033 200 1 - 9 12 0
E - Gradle, Coy, Syznal (2). 2B - Baker, Riley, Stanley, Siebenmorgen, Vanlaeken, Nelson. CS - Riley, Kennedy, Lankford. SB -ÊBarrett (2), Richardson (2), Lankford, Kennedy, Riley.
IP H R ER BB SO
Wawasee
Gradle, L 5 9 8 3 3 3
Shock 2 3 1 1 0 1
Warsaw
Lankford, W 5 4 1 1 4 7
Nelson 2 0 0 0 0 1
WP - Gradle. HB -ÊNelson (2). PK -ÊGradle (3). [[In-content Ad]]