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Having dropped both regular season games to Northern Lakes Conference champions Goshen, the Warsaw baseball team went into their sectional opener at the RedHawks facility hoping luck would turn the other way this time around. It almost did, as the Tigers led from the third inning onward. However, one final push by the hosts was enough to steal the game in the final inning, as Goshen advanced with a 3-2 walk-off win.
“This is a team that dominated our conference all year long, and we knew if we came out, played hard, played clean, we’d have a shot,” Warsaw head coach Andy Manes said after the game. “It’s tough.”
Despite only tallying one hit in the top of the first inning, the Tigers began the contest by getting some good contact against Goshen pitcher Ryen Diaz. Logan Kim put one into center for the team’s lone knock, and a ball hit by Grady Nelson with two outs made it all the way to the warning track, but a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch by Bryson Wilson robbed him of extra bases and an RBI.
Mason O’Malley fared similarly in the bottom half of the inning, as he was tagged once with a ball that ended up in Nelson’s glove in right field. He went on to give up a two-out walk, but quickly put things away from there by pitching to a soft grounder to short to end the first inning.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Diaz in the top of the second, O’Malley took a more adventurous route to getting his three outs in the bottom half. A leadoff walk that was followed by a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch put a runner on third with just one out. After another base on balls, the RedHawks attempted a suicide squeeze to bring the run home, but the but was a long one and the runer held up at third. Now with two outs and two in scoring position, Kael Miller was able to come up with a very nice play at short to throw out Brycen Eaton at first for the final out of the inning.
Brody Heady led off the top of the third with a single up the middle, ending up on second a few pitches later on another sacrifice. However, a great pickoff move by Diaz gunned him down, emptying the bases and putting the second out on the board. While this stung, the Tigers stuck with it. Miller singled to left during the next at bat, which brought up KIm. The senior picked up his second hit of the game, and it was a big one. Kim was able to rope one into right field, ending up on second with a double, but more importantly, bringing Miller home for the game’s opening run.
O’Malley did a great job of keeping that momentum on his team’s side the next time he took the mound, retiring the side in order to quickly send it back over to his bats. It looked as if Diaz was going to do the same in the top of the fourth, getting the first two outs before the wheels fell off. He went on to walk the next two hitters, and after an error at second, all of a sudden, the bases were loaded for Heady. The junior showed his patience at the plate, drawing a walk to bring home a run and make it 2-0 Warsaw.
Warsaw junior Brody Heady comes around on the ball for a base hit during the third inning...Nieter
Goshen was able to respond immediately. Jaxon Miller led the bottom of the fourth off by singling to center for the hosts first hit of the game. This was followed up by a walk as well as a bunt single to load the bases with nobody out. The RedHawks had to settle for one run, as Brayden Hoag hit one just far enough into right field for Miller to tag up and score from third. The next two fly balls didn’t go as far, and although the Tiger lead had been cut in half, the visitors were able to get out of a tough jam still in front.
Diaz gave up a two-out walk for the second straight inning in the top of the fifth, but this time, he was able to right the ship much more quickly and get out of the inning. With the pressure really starting to mount, O’Malley was getting better as the game went on. A one-out walk ended up on third after a wild pitch and stolen base, but with ice in his veins, O’Malley struck out Miller for the final out of the inning to send things to the sixth.
“Mason has been a horse for us this year. He’s been an absolute stud,” Manes said. “Put the ball in his hands and you think it’s only going to take a couple of runs to win. We’ll be happy to have him back next year.”
Still up by just a run, the Warsaw bats headed into the sixth with the chance to add some insurance runs. A two-out single by Spencer Love was the only offense the team was able to muster up here, and things went to the bottom of the inning with Goshen still hanging around.
Having pitched five innings of one-run ball, O’Malley’s job was done when the Tiger defense took the field. Replacing him was Quinton Brock, who worked around a two-out single to retire the side and send things to the seventh, putting the visitors three outs from victory.
Diaz did his job in the top of the seventh, retiring the side without allowing another run to keep things at 2-1. Now, it was Brock’s turn to find a way to end it. The RedHawks didn’t make it easy on him, jumping on him immediately. Eaton led off the inning with a single, moving to second on a sacrifice bunt. Manes decided to take a risk by intentionally walking Braxton Cline to put the winning run on base while also setting up a double play.
“I knew I was playing fire there, but at the end of the day I didn’t want him to beat us with his bat,” he said. “Obviously, it ended up backfiring, but if I had the chance to do it again I’d do the same thing.”
It ended up backfiring though, as the next man up, Jensen Meikle, blooped a single into center field to load the bases. With nowhere to put Miller, he was patient at the plate, and ended up drawing a walk to tie the game. Brock was able to get the second out of the frame a batter later on a strikeout, but that was the final out he would get. Cline, now at third base, was timing up Brock as best he could and was getting a ton of attention from catcher Jack Bradford as his lead got larger and larger. In the blink of an eye, he made the decision to steal home on a throw back to the mound, and it was the right one. He made it in with plenty of time to spare, breaking the Tiger hearts with a walk-off winner.
