Warsaw Wins Big In NLC Opener At Wawasee
April 18, 2017 at 4:26 p.m.
Warsaw Wins Big In NLC Opener At Wawasee
By Mark [email protected]
Jared Hawley hit Wawasee starting pitcher Jacob Garcia’s first pitch for a single, and Warsaw kept the line moving, scoring three runs in the first frame. Collin Marshall capped the onslaught with a two-run single.
The Tigers put some distance between themselves and the Warriors with a five-run second that was aided by two Wawasee errors on consecutive hitters and a pair of walks. Garcia didn’t retire a hitter in the second inning before being pulled.
Hawley had four hits, and Alex Miller had four more in the No. 3 spot. Braxton Tennant had two doubles among his four hits, and the Tigers had five two-baggers among their 17 hits on the night.
“We had some timely hits,” Warsaw coach Mike Hepler said. “We hit the ball and made them make a play. That’s what we needed and we weren’t getting (before Monday).
“It’s one of the things we focused on improving; getting the bat on the ball in RBI situations. If we go down swinging, we understand. It does happen. But we want to put the pressure on the other team. I felt like we did that repeatedly tonight.”
Jordan Jones was the beneficiary on the mound, and the senior took advantage of the Tiger defense to keep Wawasee in check.
“He works quickly, keeps the pitch count down, pitches to contact and changes speeds,” Hepler said. “He’s not overpowering. He’s a pitcher that’s going to rely on his defense to help him, and he did a nice job.
“I think he’s putting a little bit too much pressure on himself; he needs to relax and compete and throw the ball across the plate. He’s got enough movement and enough change of speed that he’s hard to hit.”
In the other dugout, Wawasee coach Brent Doty took the responsibility for his team not being ready to go. He hoped Garcia could pitch his way through trouble, but had Josh Slabaugh up and warming in the bullpen in the first inning.
“I thought (Garcia) was going to be as good as he’s been all year. I didn’t want to spend him back out there with the new pitch count rules; it’s something we’ve been cognizant of,” Doty said.
“It was one of those things where we didn’t have it today, and that’s on me. I have to make sure we’re ready and prepared, and that falls back on me.”
Doty credited the Tigers for executing their game plan.
“You have to give them credit. They did exactly what they needed to do. We made a couple of errors, we walked a couple of guys and they capitalized on it ... good teams do that,” he said. “They were at the top of the conference last year for a reason, and they return some guys that have that experience of playing on a winning team. They drew the walks when they needed to, they put the ball in play and they hit it hard when they had the opportunity.”
In the junior varsity game, Warsaw’s Ian Glogovsky tossed a no-hitter and Matt Shoemaker hit for the cycle in the Tigers’ 16-0, five-inning win over Wawasee. Glogovsky struck out nine and walked none in the game.
Warsaw 3-3 (1-0 NLC) hosts Goshen on Wednesday. Wawasee (3-4, 0-1 NLC) hosts Elkhart Memorial Wednesday.
WARSAW 13, WAWASEE 2
War 340 200 4 – 13 17 2
Waw 001 000 1 – 2 6 2
Warsaw – Jordan Jones (W, 6-plus IP, 6H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 1K), Braxton Tennant (1 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 3K).
Wawasee – Jacob Garcia (1-plus IP, 5H, 6R, 4ER, 3BB, 1K), Josh Slabaugh (3IP, 5H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 0K), Cayden Wegener (2-plus IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 2K), Jeremiah Bess (1 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 0K)
2B – Blaine Greer (Waw), Rylan Kuhn (Waw), Tennant 2 (War), Alex Miller (War), Levi Brown (Waw), Bryce Sensibaugh (War), Luke Baker (War).
Records – Warsaw 3-3 (1-0 NLC), Wawasee 3-4 (0-1 NLC).
Jared Hawley hit Wawasee starting pitcher Jacob Garcia’s first pitch for a single, and Warsaw kept the line moving, scoring three runs in the first frame. Collin Marshall capped the onslaught with a two-run single.
The Tigers put some distance between themselves and the Warriors with a five-run second that was aided by two Wawasee errors on consecutive hitters and a pair of walks. Garcia didn’t retire a hitter in the second inning before being pulled.
Hawley had four hits, and Alex Miller had four more in the No. 3 spot. Braxton Tennant had two doubles among his four hits, and the Tigers had five two-baggers among their 17 hits on the night.
“We had some timely hits,” Warsaw coach Mike Hepler said. “We hit the ball and made them make a play. That’s what we needed and we weren’t getting (before Monday).
“It’s one of the things we focused on improving; getting the bat on the ball in RBI situations. If we go down swinging, we understand. It does happen. But we want to put the pressure on the other team. I felt like we did that repeatedly tonight.”
Jordan Jones was the beneficiary on the mound, and the senior took advantage of the Tiger defense to keep Wawasee in check.
“He works quickly, keeps the pitch count down, pitches to contact and changes speeds,” Hepler said. “He’s not overpowering. He’s a pitcher that’s going to rely on his defense to help him, and he did a nice job.
“I think he’s putting a little bit too much pressure on himself; he needs to relax and compete and throw the ball across the plate. He’s got enough movement and enough change of speed that he’s hard to hit.”
In the other dugout, Wawasee coach Brent Doty took the responsibility for his team not being ready to go. He hoped Garcia could pitch his way through trouble, but had Josh Slabaugh up and warming in the bullpen in the first inning.
“I thought (Garcia) was going to be as good as he’s been all year. I didn’t want to spend him back out there with the new pitch count rules; it’s something we’ve been cognizant of,” Doty said.
“It was one of those things where we didn’t have it today, and that’s on me. I have to make sure we’re ready and prepared, and that falls back on me.”
Doty credited the Tigers for executing their game plan.
“You have to give them credit. They did exactly what they needed to do. We made a couple of errors, we walked a couple of guys and they capitalized on it ... good teams do that,” he said. “They were at the top of the conference last year for a reason, and they return some guys that have that experience of playing on a winning team. They drew the walks when they needed to, they put the ball in play and they hit it hard when they had the opportunity.”
In the junior varsity game, Warsaw’s Ian Glogovsky tossed a no-hitter and Matt Shoemaker hit for the cycle in the Tigers’ 16-0, five-inning win over Wawasee. Glogovsky struck out nine and walked none in the game.
Warsaw 3-3 (1-0 NLC) hosts Goshen on Wednesday. Wawasee (3-4, 0-1 NLC) hosts Elkhart Memorial Wednesday.
WARSAW 13, WAWASEE 2
War 340 200 4 – 13 17 2
Waw 001 000 1 – 2 6 2
Warsaw – Jordan Jones (W, 6-plus IP, 6H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 1K), Braxton Tennant (1 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 3K).
Wawasee – Jacob Garcia (1-plus IP, 5H, 6R, 4ER, 3BB, 1K), Josh Slabaugh (3IP, 5H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 0K), Cayden Wegener (2-plus IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 2K), Jeremiah Bess (1 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 0K)
2B – Blaine Greer (Waw), Rylan Kuhn (Waw), Tennant 2 (War), Alex Miller (War), Levi Brown (Waw), Bryce Sensibaugh (War), Luke Baker (War).
Records – Warsaw 3-3 (1-0 NLC), Wawasee 3-4 (0-1 NLC).
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