The regular season finale for both teams, Friday night’s softball game between Tippecanoe Valley and Warsaw was dominated by the Lady Vikings, as starting pitcher Dalynne Bussard struck out eleven and the Valley offense scored three runs in each of the last three innings as Tippecanoe Valley cruised to a 10-0 win in six innings.  
Bussard began the game on fire, striking out all three hitters she faced to set the tone for the rest of the contest. Warsaw hurler Addison Eastwood didn’t have much difficulty navigating through the first inning herself, using a pair of ground outs and a strikeout to send the game to the second. The only damage done was a single by Bussard, but she’d end the inning stranded at second base.
Mackaylie Costello replaced Bussard on the mound in the top of the second, and she ran into a bit of trouble. Giving up a pair of singles and a pair of walks, she avoided giving up the first run of the game as catcher KC Shriver threw Eastwood out as she was stealing third. Costello would get a fly out to center to end the inning and keep things scoreless. The Lady Vikings were also able to put a pair of runners on in the bottom half of the frame, but were unable to do anything with it.
Bussard returned to the mound in the top of the third and got right back to work, striking out two more hitters and using a pop out to second base to send her bats back up to the plate. A pair of errors would lead to Valley scoring the first run of the game in the bottom of the third. Kahlyn Manns led the inning off with a drive to deep right field, where it was dropped by a Lady Tiger defender. It allowed Manns to reach second base, and she’d come around and score on a throwing error on a ground ball hit by Shriver to put the Lady Vikings up 1-0.

    Tippecanoe Valley sophomore Dalynne Bussard winds up to deliver her pitch during Friday evening's home game against Warsaw...Nieter

Warsaw threatened to tie things up in the top of the fourth, as Eastwood led the inning off with a single to right for her second hit of the game. Her pinch runner, Madison France, would make it to third with nobody out on a pair of wild pitches, but Bussard struck out the next three hitters to keep her team in front.
Valley was able to add on to its lead in a big way in the bottom of the fourth, as a pair of walks and an error led to Kaitlyn Threlkel scoring all the way from second. The home side wouldn’t stop there, as a pair of wild pitches would bring both Anna Shock and Temperance Caudill across the plate as well. After the damage was done, the Lady Vikings had added three runs in the inning without recording a hit.
Now working with a much more comfortable lead, Bussard continued to cruise on the mound, striking out the side in the top of the fifth to make it six straight punch outs and eleven in the game. Three more runs crossed the plate for Valley in the bottom of the seventh, as Costello was hit by a pitch, stole second, made it to third on a ground out before scoring on yet another wild pitch. Shock roped one into left for her second hit of the game and was followed up by Caudill, who crushed a ball over the right field fence for a two-run home run that made it a 7-0 ball game.
Warsaw senior Kali Ousley was nearly able to put the Lady Tigers on the board in the top of the sixth, hitting a ball to deep left field, but it was caught near the fence in what was part of another inning in which the visitors went down in order.
The bottom of the sixth inning would be the last one played, as Valley would score the three runs necessary to initiate the mercy rule. It started with a single by Manns, who was brought home by pinch hitter Addy Dunnuck. That began the carousel, as Dunnuck would get into scoring position on a hit by Bussard before scoring on a hit by Costello. Bussard would score the final run of the game on another single by Threlkel.
Tippecanoe Valley (9-11) will begin sectional play on Tuesday against Knox, while Warsaw (2-21) will face off against Elkhart in sectional action on Monday.