Opening up the regular season at home against St. Joseph, the Warsaw baseball team found itself behind the eight ball early on, as the visitors opened up the game with six runs in the top of the first. But the Tigers didn’t give up, getting within one late before eventually falling 9-7.
“Obviously you don’t want to go down 6-0, but a lot of times that 6-0 can turn into 12-0 or 18-0,” head coach Andy Manes said after the game. “We didn’t let it get away from us so I’m happy about that.”
The Tigers found themselves in some early trouble as the Husky bats wasted no time putting some runs on the board. St. Joe sent eleven hitters up to the plate in the top of the first inning, leading to six runs coming across the plate, four of them with two outs. Joe Washburn and AJ LaSane each drove in two runs going up against the Tiger starter Kellan Bailey.
The Tigers would get one of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning, as Bailey was able to help himself out in the batter's box. With Wyatt Stapleton on second base with two outs, the Warsaw starter sent a grounder up the middle that made it through the infield and was able to send Stapleton home. The Tiger shortstop was put in scoring position on a single by Hunter Dippon.
The Huskies were able to put together some more two-out magic in the top of the second, as Owen Futa found a hole in between shortstop and third base and used to to bring home a run. The inning ended a few minutes later on a nice play by Tiger catcher Cohen Heady, who threw out Futa as he tried to get all the way from first to third on a wild pitch. Warsaw was sent down in order in the bottom of the second.

    Warsaw senior Kellan Bailey delivers a pitch during Warsaw's home game Tuesday evening against South Bend St. Joseph...Nieter

After getting rocked a bit early, Bailey continued to settle in on the mound as he went along, retiring the side in order in the top of the third to keep the score at 7-1. An error, a single and a hit-by-pitch to begin the bottom of the frame loaded the bases with nobody out for the Tigers, giving the team a prime opportunity to cut into the deficit.
Dippon came up to the plate in a big spot and hit a grounder to the pitcher, who promptly threw home to retire the lead runner. St. Joe’s catcher Owen Balint attempted to double Dippon up at first, but threw the ball into the outfield, allowing Stapleton to score his second run of the day. A few batters later, the bases would be loaded once again for Quinton Brock, who singled through the left side to bring home Heady and add another run to make it a 7-3 game after three.
The Huskies got one of those runs back in the top of the fourth, going up against new Tiger pitcher Reed Nelson. Washburn led the inning off with his third hit of the night and eventually came around to score on a fielder's choice with one out to make it 8-3 midway through the contest.
A groundout by Heady for the first out in the bottom of the fourth was good enough to drive in a run for Warsaw as Logan Kim came around to score. The Tigers had the opportunity to add quite a few more as the team loaded the bases again, but Oliver Nisen grounded out to first for the final out of the inning to keep it an 8-4 game.
Nelon kept the Huskies at bay in the top of the fifth, pitching a scoreless inning and picking up two strikeouts. Warsaw was retired in order in the bottom half of the frame to give the game its first scoreless inning heading into the sixth.
“Changed speeds, located well, he looked really good against a tough lineup,” Manes said.
Nelson continued to pitch well when he returned to the mound, picking up his fourth strikeout of the game and retiring the side in order to give his bats another crack at changing the outcome of a four-run game.
It proved to be beneficial, as the bottom half of the sixth was a huge one for Warsaw. After Kim got it started with a leadoff walk, he was brought home on a grounder by Heady. The Tigrtsd didn’t stop there. A double by Dippon followed by a pair of walks loaded the bases for Brock, who delivered with a rocket that landed at the wall. Two runs came in to score but Oliver Nisen was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. However, the damage had been done, and Warsaw trailed by just one heading into the seventh.
“I made the decision to send Oliver and try to tie things up, which didn’t end up being the smartest decision,” Manes said. “But coming back like that, it’s a testament to this team.”
The task became a bit taller as a leadoff walk in the top of the inning led to a run after a bit of a misplay in the Tiger outfield. Now, Warsaw had just three outs to get two runs to tie and three to win. A leadoff walk to Brandt Martin put the tying run at the plate three straight times, but all three hitters were retired and St. Joe survived.
Warsaw (0-1) is scheduled to play their next game Wednesday against Jimtown.