MENTONE - For four innings, the Tippecanoe Valley and Wawasee softball teams locked up in a good old-fashioned pitcher's duel Wednesday afternoon. Valley led 3-2, a drastic change from the 20-15 scores coaches so often call in.

Then the fifth inning came along. Eleven Viking hitters marched to the plate as they battered Wawasee pitching for six runs en route to the 9-2 win.

The six-run inning was Valley's biggest inning of the season.

Brandy Manns delivered a big two-run triple, Valley's only extra-base hit of the game, that put the Vikings up 8-2.

Valley center fielder Kara Tucker, who batted twice in the inning, singled both times and scored a run.

She also spearheaded a stellar day by the Viking outfield defense, which chased down nearly everything hit in the air.

Valley starter Sabrina Newsome struck out only two, so the Warriors put balls in play. Problem was, they were hit to Tucker, left fielder Amy Jo Nellans and right fielder Amy Heckaman, who caught solid line drives by Wawasee hitters.

"Kara bailed us out several times," Valley coach Lori Busenberg said. "There were a couple of times she was in left field and a couple of times she was in right field.

"I'd say this was our best effort on defense this year."

O'Dell liked the way some of his players swung the bat. Now, only if they can get them to start falling in.

"We had some people step up and hit the ball," Wawasee coach Bo O'Dell said. "Sara Frantz drove the ball every time. Danielle Powell hit the ball hard whenever she was in there. It's just a matter of we hit too many infield popups against a pitcher like that. We had eight infield flies.

"It's been this way all year. We face somebody who is quicker then somebody who's a lot slower. It's been hard for us to make the adjustment. We end up getting our hands too far out and the bat head down."

Defense was also the story for Wawasee. The Warriors committed seven errors in the game, leading to five unearned runs. The Warriors had two errors in Valley's six-run inning.

The Warriors haven't been able to stay out of the big inning. They played Warsaw on Monday. Same thing. Warsaw sent several hitters to the plate and scored several runs. The Warriors were stuck standing in the field all too often.

"Until we get something going offensively, I don't know if we will be able to pick up the defensive intensity, because we're always playing defense," O'Dell said. "That makes it harder to focus, when your out there standing by yourself rather than being on the bench with your team when you're hitting."

Newsome, a right-hander who pitched a no-hitter earlier this year, picked up the complete-game win. She allowed six hits and two earned runs in seven innings.

"Sabrina just needs confidence," Busenberg said. "She doesn't have much varsity experience. The more confidence she gets, the better she pitches."

Right-hander Angie Hoover started and took the loss. She allowed eight hits and eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.

The loss dropped Wawasee to 0-5. Wawasee is at Elkhart Memorial at 4:30 this afternoon.

Valley, 2-4, hosts a 10 a.m. Saturday doubleheader with Wabash.

"Every win is important to us right now," Busenberg said. "It doesn't matter who it is." [[In-content Ad]]