Warsaw Hangs On For Softball Victory Over Tippecanoe Valley
May 18, 2019 at 3:39 a.m.
Warsaw Hangs On For Softball Victory Over Tippecanoe Valley
By Mark Howe-
The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead after the first frame, and led 5-1 after five innings. Valley rallied with a run in the sixth and a pair in the seventh to make the ending very interesting.
Lindsey Bradley had a pair of doubles among her three hits, scoring twice and driving in a run. Courtney Chookie, Hailey Locke and Isabelle Dittmar also had doubles in the game, with Chookie and Dittmar adding a pair of RBIs each.
Warsaw head coach Kevin Dishman said that his team is jelling at the right time, just before sectional play. The Tigers have one last regular-season game this morning at Manchester, then open postseason play at home against Elkhart Central.
“We’re starting to really drive the ball well,” Dishman said. “We had nine hits tonight, so that’s good. Everybody contributed tonight.
“We’ve been stroking the ball pretty well, but losing a lot of one-run games, so it’s nice to finally win one.”
And it’s not just the one victory that the program, on the build for several seasons under Dishman, that adds to the cause.
“Every win helps us build confidence. What we’ve done this week is work on hitting techniques that we needed to change with each person,” said Dishman. “It’s really starting to pay off and now they’re looking forward to swinging the bat. I can see they’ve got a little extra pep in their step, and that’s good.”
The Vikings had doubles from Sydney Howard and Alex Gomez. Howard also singled and drove in two runs. Amy Baca singled and scored twice for the visitors.
Overall, Viking coach Daryl Shoemaker has been happy with the progress of his team, and is looking to make its mark in the Lakeland Sectional at LaGrange, beginning Monday against West Noble.
“We’ve run into some teams that have shut us down. But we’ve been playing better ball, and a lot of the things we’ve been working on, the small ball stuff, has been a lot better; getting the bunt down, taking the extra base, playing better defense, some of those types of things,” Shoemaker said.
Any coach in any sport will say they’d like to have more practices before heading into the postseason. While Shoemaker isn’t any different in that line of thinking, he believes his team is ready to go into the postseason.
“I think we’re ready,” he said. “Even with the losses, we’re playing a lot better lately. We’re about as ready as we’re going to be. Obviously, a string of wins going in would be better, but I think we’re in a good spot with where we’ve been and who we have to go against.”
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The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead after the first frame, and led 5-1 after five innings. Valley rallied with a run in the sixth and a pair in the seventh to make the ending very interesting.
Lindsey Bradley had a pair of doubles among her three hits, scoring twice and driving in a run. Courtney Chookie, Hailey Locke and Isabelle Dittmar also had doubles in the game, with Chookie and Dittmar adding a pair of RBIs each.
Warsaw head coach Kevin Dishman said that his team is jelling at the right time, just before sectional play. The Tigers have one last regular-season game this morning at Manchester, then open postseason play at home against Elkhart Central.
“We’re starting to really drive the ball well,” Dishman said. “We had nine hits tonight, so that’s good. Everybody contributed tonight.
“We’ve been stroking the ball pretty well, but losing a lot of one-run games, so it’s nice to finally win one.”
And it’s not just the one victory that the program, on the build for several seasons under Dishman, that adds to the cause.
“Every win helps us build confidence. What we’ve done this week is work on hitting techniques that we needed to change with each person,” said Dishman. “It’s really starting to pay off and now they’re looking forward to swinging the bat. I can see they’ve got a little extra pep in their step, and that’s good.”
The Vikings had doubles from Sydney Howard and Alex Gomez. Howard also singled and drove in two runs. Amy Baca singled and scored twice for the visitors.
Overall, Viking coach Daryl Shoemaker has been happy with the progress of his team, and is looking to make its mark in the Lakeland Sectional at LaGrange, beginning Monday against West Noble.
“We’ve run into some teams that have shut us down. But we’ve been playing better ball, and a lot of the things we’ve been working on, the small ball stuff, has been a lot better; getting the bunt down, taking the extra base, playing better defense, some of those types of things,” Shoemaker said.
Any coach in any sport will say they’d like to have more practices before heading into the postseason. While Shoemaker isn’t any different in that line of thinking, he believes his team is ready to go into the postseason.
“I think we’re ready,” he said. “Even with the losses, we’re playing a lot better lately. We’re about as ready as we’re going to be. Obviously, a string of wins going in would be better, but I think we’re in a good spot with where we’ve been and who we have to go against.”
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