Warriors Face No. 13 South Bend LaSalle
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
It looks like a daunting task.
Wawasee, 9-15 this season, against 22-6, No. 13 in the state South Bend LaSalle.
LaSalle senior Leslie Kwiatkowski, the Northern Indiana Conference player of the year, against any pitcher Wawasee dares put on the mound.
Wawasee, a team that struggled in the Northern Lakes Conference, against South Bend LaSalle, a team that went 8-0 in the NIC. The NLC has sent only two teams to a regional. The NIC has sent three.
Even though the odds look stacked against the Warriors, head coach Bo O'Dell is still fairly optimistic about his team's chances.
"I don't think we can match up with them," O'Dell said. "It's a totally different style of ball game. It's going to be a matter of whichever team can follow through with their game plan. They have the speed plus the power, and we just have good role players. If we can get our roles down, we can be just as competitive as any other team."
Wawasee scored first in its upset of Warsaw in the sectional final. The Tigers fought back to tie the game twice, but could never take the lead against Wawasee. O'Dell feels like that will be the key again on Saturday.
"Whichever team scores first has the advantage," he said. "That's the big difference in the way we've been playing. We've been scoring first. We cannot play catch- up (against LaSalle). We can't get behind by more than two runs and expect to be in the ball game because we really have to work hard to get four runs a ball game."
Another big key will be keeping Kwiatkowski from getting on base and creating havoc.
"If we keep her off the basepaths," O'Dell said, "we have a pretty good chance. Once she gets on, she's pretty much on third before you know it. If we can get her out each time she's up, it will bring a little momentum our direction."
Even though Wawasee advanced to the regional last year, this team is different from that one. For one, this team was not expected to be here. Last year, they were. At 9-15, this year's version may be a major underdog, but they have experience that was missing last year.
"Last year was the first time," O'Dell said. "There was a lot of anticipation to see what it was going to be like. This year, most of the girls know what it's like."
Don't expect Wawasee to change much from what they have done during the season. O'Dell has learned what this team does well and will try to put his team in situations to do that. That means bunting, moving runners over and doing the little things that make a team successful.
"We will put a few things in for defensive purposes," O'Dell said. "But basically we're just going to continue to play the same style of ball game."
Wawasee will meet South Bend LaSalle at Mishawaka's Twin Branch School Saturday at 11 a.m.
Mishawaka Softball Regional
11 a.m. - Wawasee (9-15) vs. SB LaSalle (22-6)
1 p.m. - Elkhart Central (8-15) vs. Penn (19-9)
7 p.m. - Championship [[In-content Ad]]
It looks like a daunting task.
Wawasee, 9-15 this season, against 22-6, No. 13 in the state South Bend LaSalle.
LaSalle senior Leslie Kwiatkowski, the Northern Indiana Conference player of the year, against any pitcher Wawasee dares put on the mound.
Wawasee, a team that struggled in the Northern Lakes Conference, against South Bend LaSalle, a team that went 8-0 in the NIC. The NLC has sent only two teams to a regional. The NIC has sent three.
Even though the odds look stacked against the Warriors, head coach Bo O'Dell is still fairly optimistic about his team's chances.
"I don't think we can match up with them," O'Dell said. "It's a totally different style of ball game. It's going to be a matter of whichever team can follow through with their game plan. They have the speed plus the power, and we just have good role players. If we can get our roles down, we can be just as competitive as any other team."
Wawasee scored first in its upset of Warsaw in the sectional final. The Tigers fought back to tie the game twice, but could never take the lead against Wawasee. O'Dell feels like that will be the key again on Saturday.
"Whichever team scores first has the advantage," he said. "That's the big difference in the way we've been playing. We've been scoring first. We cannot play catch- up (against LaSalle). We can't get behind by more than two runs and expect to be in the ball game because we really have to work hard to get four runs a ball game."
Another big key will be keeping Kwiatkowski from getting on base and creating havoc.
"If we keep her off the basepaths," O'Dell said, "we have a pretty good chance. Once she gets on, she's pretty much on third before you know it. If we can get her out each time she's up, it will bring a little momentum our direction."
Even though Wawasee advanced to the regional last year, this team is different from that one. For one, this team was not expected to be here. Last year, they were. At 9-15, this year's version may be a major underdog, but they have experience that was missing last year.
"Last year was the first time," O'Dell said. "There was a lot of anticipation to see what it was going to be like. This year, most of the girls know what it's like."
Don't expect Wawasee to change much from what they have done during the season. O'Dell has learned what this team does well and will try to put his team in situations to do that. That means bunting, moving runners over and doing the little things that make a team successful.
"We will put a few things in for defensive purposes," O'Dell said. "But basically we're just going to continue to play the same style of ball game."
Wawasee will meet South Bend LaSalle at Mishawaka's Twin Branch School Saturday at 11 a.m.
Mishawaka Softball Regional
11 a.m. - Wawasee (9-15) vs. SB LaSalle (22-6)
1 p.m. - Elkhart Central (8-15) vs. Penn (19-9)
7 p.m. - Championship [[In-content Ad]]