After gettiing off to a fast start, the Warsaw softball team held off Concord Monday at the Tigers Athletic Complex. The 8-5 Northern Lakes Conference win improved the Warsaw Lady Tigers to 8-14 overall and 8-5 in the conference, while Concord dropped to 14-7 and 9-4 in the NLC. “Up and down the lineup, we had better at-bats tonight,” Warsaw coach Jim Speicher said of his squad, which tallied 10 hits in the game. “We had contributors all the way down the lineup. That’s what you have to do to beat a team like Concord, that’s second in the conference. It was a nice bounce-back win for us after losing up there 5-1 earlier this year.” In Dunlap on April 26, the Lady Tigers did fall 5-1, but with Warsaw’s latest win, a rubber-match has already been set. With the sectional pairings being released last Thursday, Warsaw and Concord already know they’ll face each other in the semifinals of Class 4A Sectional 4 back at Tigers Athletic Complex on May 23. “We got them once and they got us,” Speicher said. “So, on paper, it looks like both teams should be ready and feel like they have some confidence. We’ll see.” Getting even with Concord, Warsaw pounced early, plating four runs in the bottom of the first, which was led off by a double from senior Ashley Ousley. In the inning, junior Kaleigh Speicher scored Ousley on an RBI-single, which was followed by an RBI-fly out by senior Kayla Snider, helping the Lady Tigers get in front 2-0 just four batters into the game. Kaleigh Speicher and Snider then scored on an error, giving Warsaw enough runs to overcome five errors, including three in the sixth inning. After committing one error in the fifth, which helped Concord creep to within 6-3, the defense once again let up in the sixth, allowing two unearned runs to score, closing the gap to 7-5. “Fortunately we kept scoring runs on them all night and were able to keep the lead although we had some mental mistakes in the field,” Speicher said. Leading by two, Snider helped her team in the bottom of the sixth, scoring junior Whitney Sleeth on an RBI-single, which was set up by a sacrifice-bunt by Kaleigh Speicher. That single gave Snider four RBIs on a 4-for-4 night, which included a two-run double in the second inning. “She had quite the game,” Speicher said of the senior catcher. “In fact, in the sixth inning, we bunted a runner over to give her another shot and she came through again. She had a nice senior performance. As we go into the final week of the regular season, maybe she feels like time’s running out and it’s time to get going.” Kaleigh Speicher was the game’s winning pitcher, going 4-2/3 innings, although they were split up. After pitching the first two innings, Kaleigh Speicher was hit with a pitch in the bottom of the second, causing some pain. Hurting, the hurler gave way to Sleeth, who pitched the third and fourth innings, before Kaleigh Speicher relieved her with one out in the top of the fifth. “We were planning on switching the two, which is going to be our strategy this week,” the Warsaw coach said. “We’re going to see both pitchers coming in-and-out in a game. She did get hurt, but Whitney was coming in anyway.” Kaleigh Speicher ended up allowing three runs, none of which were earned, as well as four hits in the win. Warsaw heads to Mishawaka Marian today before closing its NLC season Thursday at home against Elkhart Memorial
WARSAW 8, CONCORD 5 C 010 022 0 – 5 9 2 W 420 011 x – 8 10 5 Kaleigh Speicher (W, 2IP, 5, 2-2/3IP, 3R, 0ER, 4H, 0K, 3BB); Whitney Sleeth (3, 2-1/3IP, 2R, 2ER, 5H, 0K, 0BB) and Kayla Snider; Jenny Miller (L, 4IP, 7R, 5ER, 6H, 2K, 2BB, 1HB), RaeAnn Miller (5, 2IP, 0R, 4H, 1K, 1BB) and Taylor Nelson 2B – Ashley Ousley (W) Carly Jones (W), Kayla Snider (W) Records: Warsaw 8-14 (8-5 NLC), Concord 14-7 (9-4 NLC) JV – Concord 11, Warsaw 1
