Some baseball players can get hot for a week or two and beat a team by themselves with their bat. Chicago's Sammy Sosa has done this before. So has Oakland's Mark McGwire. Eddie Murray did it in his heyday with the Baltimore Orioles.

"Carrying a team on your back," is the phrase you hear when this happens.

The Wawasee Warrior baseball team borrowed Rob Burke's back Wednesday evening.

The right-handed hitting senior homered in the seventh and eighth innings to lift Wawasee to an 8-4 win in eight innings over Warsaw at Tiger Field.

His solo homer with none out in the seventh tied the game at 4-4. His three-run homer in the eighth gave the Warriors the cushion they needed at 8-4.

Both homers went over the left-field fence, which is 350 feet away.

Has he had a game like this before, Wawasee coach John Blunk?

"Well, not like this," Blunk said. "Tuesday he had two triples and knocked in two runs. We don't usually hit home runs.

"He may have hit some in junior varsity, but I doubt it. Those are probably his first two home runs as a high school player."

Both homers came off Warsaw right-handed starter Sam Wihebrink. He had allowed three hits in the eighth inning before Burke batted. Warsaw coach Will Shepherd stuck with him then and would do the same again.

"He's been one of the few pitching bright spots we've had the last two weeks," Shepherd said. "He told me in the fifth inning he was ready to finish the thing. I have confidence in the kid. It was his to lose. There was never any question."

Warsaw jumped on Wawasee left-hander Rod Holterman to take a 4-0 lead after one inning. Matt Kloser, Craig Thomas and Joe Stanley hit consecutive singles with one out. Right-handed hitter Evan Miller stepped to the plate and crushed the first pitch he saw over the left-field fence for a grand slam, his second of the year.

"Warsaw's first five hitters are scary," Blunk said. "Craig Thomas and Evan Miller are two of the best hitters in the conference. It wasn't supposed to be a first-pitch fastball to Evan. It was supposed to be a curve in on his hands so he couldn't extend his hands.

"We sort of missed that signal. He got his arms extended."

After the first inning, the pitching took over. Holterman pitched like the guy who owns a no-hitter and a 6-1 record, allowing four hits in the last seven innings. Relying on a curve, change-up and fastball, he changed speeds and kept the ball down.

He struck out 10 and walked none. The bottom four hitters in Warsaw's lineup were a combined 0 for 11.

"He took control," Shepherd said. "He kept his composure. That's the second time we faced him, and he's done a nice job both times. I told our kids some guys had really good at bats against him, but then we had others who were hoping and praying.

"He's one of the best pitchers in the conference, no question about it."

Wihebrink was equal to the task. His defense wasn't. With two on and two out in the third, Wawasee's Jesse Leonard hit a fly ball that left fielder Sam Niccum misplayed into a double.

Shawn Johnson and Burke scored, and Leonard ended up at second. Wawasee pulled within 4-2.

The left-handed hitting Leonard made it 4-3 when his single in the fifth drove in Burke.

The Warriors had done what every coach hopes for after an early deficit: they chipped away at the lead and put themselves in a position to win the game.

"Wihebrink kept us off-balance early with a lot of off-speed stuff," Blunk said. "We were out in front, but we finally got our timing down. It was more like me throwing batting practice. Once they get a couple of swings at me, they tattoo me.

"If we can keep it close with Rod on the mound, we're OK."

Even with the 4-0 lead after one inning, Shepherd never felt safe. The loss dropped his team to 5-8 overall and 2-4 in the Northern Lakes Conference.

"We told our kids even though Evan hit the home run, it would be a long game," he said. "They knew it. It wasn't a matter of us getting overconfident. We just didn't play well enough with the lead. That's been our Achille's heel all year.

"Overall, we had enough quality at bats to beat Holterman. Defensively is where we need to shore it up. Until we do, we will struggle.

"Wawasee has too many weapons. The Johnson kid, the Burke kid ... they have three or four players who have played in this conference for two or three years. They're never out of it."

And that's why Blunk remains cautiously optimistic. His team improved to 8-5 overall, 5-1 in the NLC and 2-0 against Warsaw. After everyone else on his team boarded the bus, Blunk stood in the first-base dugout, talking, wondering and hoping.

Talking about the win. Wondering just how good his team is. Hoping the winning continues.

After all, he'd watched his team do just about everything right. Offense, defense. The bench? Pinch-hitters Jody VanLue and Randy Rucker batted in Wawasee's four-run eighth inning. VanLue singled, and Rucker doubled. VanLue scored on Johnson's two-out single to make it 5-3. Jeff Beer pinch ran and scored for Rucker on Burke's home run.

"This is scary for us," Blunk said. "We haven't been here before. We're 5-1 in the conference. That's unfamiliar territory for Wawasee baseball."

"I'm very happy with the win. Problem is, we have to come back down here for the sectional. I don't want to draw these guys again." [[In-content Ad]]