Coming into Wednesday night’s game against Goshen at 0-6, the Warsaw softball team got off to a hot start in their Northern Lakes Conference matchup, getting out to a 7-1 lead after five innings. The Lady RedHawks mounted a furious comeback, scoring five runs in the final two innings, but in the end, the Lady Tigers were able to hang on to a 7-6 victory for their first win of the campaign.
Starting on the mound for Warsaw was sophomore Addison Eastwood, who started the game well, allowing one base hit into left field and getting some help from the defense behind her. For a split second, it looked as if Goshen might score the first run of the game with a runner on third and two outs, but a nice catch by Nekiana Hamilton in left field put that to bed.
The first run of the game would end up coming in the first inning, but it would be the Lady Tiger offense driving in. Catcher Mia Rodriguez led off the inning with a single down the left field line, stole second and ended up at third on a ball in the dirt. Kali Ousley was able to take it from there, driving her in with an RBI groundout to shortstop. Eastwood would also add a hit in the inning, but no other runs would come across.
A leadoff single for the Lady RedHawks would create a similar situation as the top of the first in the second inning, as once again, the visitors had a runner on third base with two outs. But once again, the Warsaw defense stood tough, making the third out to preserve the lead. Outside of a walk drawn by Ayla Hatfield, the Lady Tigers were sat down in order in the bottom of the second to send things to the third.
That third inning is where Goshen would get onto the board. The visitors would put a runner on second base after a leadoff single and wild pitch. Kaelyn Marcum would make the most of the opportunity this time around, trading places with the runner with a double into left field to tie things up. Eastwood would get out of the inning without any more damage, using her first strikeout of the game to get the third out.
With one out in the bottom of the third, Warsaw was able to put together a small rally, putting Hamilton on with a walk and Ousley reaching on a base hit to put runners on first and second. The two hitters that followed made some good contact, but both balls were caught by the RedHawk shortstop to end the threat in its tracks.
The visitors were able to put some more pressure on the Lady Tiger defense in the top of the fourth, putting the first two runners on base. As she had been doing all game to this point, Eastwood was able to generate some soft contact, leading to a grounder over to Ousley at shortstop. The senior put the tag on the runner heading to third, then flipped it over to second for a crucial 6-4 double play. She’d field a grounder for the last out of the inning to flip things over to the bottom of the fourth.

    Sophomore Addison Eastwood of Warsaw delivers a pitch during Wednesday evening's home game against Goshen. Photo by Gary Nieter
Here, Warsaw would get back in front thanks to a tremendous two-out rally. It started with a two-out single for Hatfield, and after a wild pitch allowed her to take second base, another allowed her to go for third. The throw down was high and reached the outfield, allowing Hatfield to take home standing up. What followed was three straight singles by Addyson Sainer, Rodriguez and Hamilton to load the bases up for Ousley. Already having a whale of a game, Ousley did not pass up on the opportunity, singling into center to add a second run to the Lady Tiger lead as well as drive in her second run of the ball game.
Now holding on to a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth, Eastwood continued her rhythm on the mound, pitching her first 1-2-3 inning of the evening to send her offense back out there. That offense would give her an even larger lead to work with. Lillian Carman led off the inning with a double into deep center field and was brought home a batter later on an RBI single by Emma Keyes. Keyes wouldn’t have to wait long to score herself, as Kaitlyn O’Dell would keep the hit parade going with a frozen rope of a double into left field for an RBI of her own.
After a sacrifice bunt by Hatfield sent O’Dell over to third, she’d come home on a wild pitch to make it a 6-1 ball game. The Lady Tigers weren’t done yet, as Rodriguez would single to shallow right field and eventually come around to score after a pair of Goshen errors allowed her to circle the bases.
The Lady RedHawks would not go down without a fight though. After giving up a leadoff single, Eastwood was able to get the first two outs of the inning on the next two hitters she saw. But Goshen as able to put together some two-out magic of their own, using four straight hits to bring three runs home in the inning, cutting the lead in half.
Carman added her second hit of the game in the bottom of the sixth, but the Lady Tigers were not able to add any insurance runs, keeping the lead at three heading into the top of the seventh. Using the momentum they had gained in the top of the sixth, the Lady RedHawks used a single and a double to begin the inning, putting runners on second and third and the tying run at the plate. Emily Ramirez would drive a double down the third base line for Goshen, bringing both runners home and shrinking the lead to just one.
Warsaw would settle things down, using a line out to second and a fly out to center to get the first two outs of the inning. Down to the final out, Goshen would get some good contact, but Ousley put the final touches on the first Warsaw win of the season by making a diving catch at short to seal the deal.
Warsaw (1-6, 1-1 NLC) plays its next game at home Friday night against Plymouth.