Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
For seven innings, coach Craig Helfrich found little to fault with his Warsaw softball team. Right-hander Michelle Liebsch allowed two hits, and the defense was flawless.
But Wednesday's game went eight innings, not seven. And in that eighth inning, Helfrich said, "We fell apart."
After Mishawaka and Warsaw played to a 0-0 tie through seven innings, Mishawaka scored five runs on five hits in the eighth to ruin Warsaw's home opener 5-0.
Mishawaka junior right-hander Brandy Young, 14-3 last year, started this year 1-0 by tossing a complete-game one-hitter. Liebsch, a junior, is 0-1.
"Through the first four innings, (Young's) rise ball was her most effective pitch," Mishawaka coach Emery Petko said, "and the last few innings, I thought they had a tough time catching up with her fastball."
The generous Tigers (0-1) gave Mishawaka (1-0) five outs in the final inning.
With one on and one out in the eighth, the Tigers appeared on their way to recording the second out of the inning when Mishawaka's Ashley McGinnis lofted a fly ball to left fielder Laura Overton. Overton already had made a sensational play in the first inning, running a long distance and crashing into a chain-linked fence to catch a foul ball.
This time the ball handcuffed Overton and bounced out of her glove, allowing McGinnis to reach first. The Cavemen already had one runner, Sarah Schools, on second.
No matter, because Mishawaka's next hitter, Jessica Smith, looked like she would let the Tigers off the hook. She hit a weak grounder to senior third baseman Jacquie Burns, who cleanly fielded the ball. Instead of throwing to first base for the second out, she whirled to third, hoping to get the force there.
She had no chance at third and ended up making no throw to any base. The Tigers paid for their follies as Emily Andrzejewski promptly cleared the bases with a triple that rolled to the center-field wall. Clara Main's double scored Andrzejewski for the 4-0 lead, and a single by Young scored Main for the 5-0 lead.
"Late in the game we started to hit her better, but we didn't start ripping the ball until the eighth," Petko said. "We got a girl on, sacrificed her to second, and it kind of snowballed from there."
Mishawaka's outburst and Warsaw's lack of focus marred what had been a classic pitching duel. In the first seven innings, which took just over an hour to complete, Mishawaka had two hits, one more than Warsaw.
"At the beginning of the year, the pitching is ahead of the hitting, which I knew it would be," Helfrich said. "Michelle pitched a good game for us. Maybe she got a little tired in the eighth."
Warsaw had the best chance to win the game in regulation. In the fourth inning, Warsaw junior Amie Poling reached first on a one-out walk and went to third on a wild pitch, only to be stranded. Liebsch started the sixth inning with Warsaw's only hit, a single to center. The next two hitters, Overton and Poling, hit ground balls into right field for what seemed to be singles. But each was thrown out at first base by the right fielder Main.
"You don't see teams play that shallow that often, but they knew we weren't hitting (Young)," Helfrich said. "It's a gamble. If we would have hit those balls over her head, it's a different story."
Warsaw senior Melissa Himes started the seventh inning with a walk. Helfrich then asked the next hitter, senior Ryann Jones, to bunt. After fouling off two bunt attempts, she struck out.
Warsaw's next hitter, senior Christy Colt, delivered a sacrifice bunt, but now the Tigers had two outs. Young got out of the inning by striking out Warsaw senior Kari Fribley.
"If we get some bunts down," Helfrich said, "we win 1-0."
Mishawaka went 27-6 last year and traditionally fields strong softball teams, but that was little consolation to Helfrich. After all, his Tigers advanced to the semistate last year.
"This was a game that was winnable," he said. "It's a tough way to lose the opening game of the season.
"The last two years we have started 0-4. If I had to make a choice, I'd rather play better at the end of the year than at the beginning of the year."
MISHAWAKA 5, WARSAW 0
8 innings
Mishawaka ab r h rbi
McGinnis cf 4 1 0 0
Smith 2b 4 1 2 0
Andrzjwsk ss 3 1 1 3
Zappia lf 4 0 0 0
Main rf 3 1 2 1
Young p 3 0 1 1
Gordon pr 0 0 0 0
A. Weaver 1b 4 0 1 0
Burdette c 3 0 0 0
Schools ph 0 1 0 0
H. Weaver 3b 2 0 0 0
Lamborn ph 0 0 0 0
Totals 30 5 7 5
Warsaw ab r h rbi
Overton lf 4 0 0 0
Poling ss 2 0 0 0
Burns 3b 3 0 0 0
Himes 2b 2 0 0 0
Jones 1b 3 0 0 0
Colt c 2 0 0 0
Fribley rf 2 0 0 0
Keirn cf 1 0 0 0
Kurosky cf 2 0 0 0
Liebsch p 2 0 1 0
Totals 23 0 1 0
E -ÊOverton. LOB -ÊWarsaw 5, Mishawaka 6. 3B - Andrzejewski. 2B -ÊMain. SB -ÊAndrzejewski. S -ÊYoung, Lamborn, Colt. CS -ÊLiebsch.
IP H R ER BB SO
Mishawaka
Young W, 1-0 8 1 0 0 3 9
Warsaw
Liebsch L, 0-1 8 7 5 0 3 6
HBP -ÊLiebsch (by Young).
