The Class 4A No. 7 Penn softball team turned the table on the Warsaw Lady Tigers Tuesday at the Tigers Athletic Complex. Falling behind 4-0 after three innings, the Lady Kingsmen (1-0) rattled off 16-straight runs to win 16-4 in six innings, dropping the Lady Tigers to 0-3 on the season. "We're a new team and a new group," Penn coach Beth Zachary said of her squad, which reached semistate last spring. "We're figuring each other out and we're just out here to learn from every pitch and every situation we get into. The girls learned, responded and adjusted." And Penn got a chance to learn. Behind 1-0 in bottom of the third, Penn sophomore pitcher Mackenzie Joecken watched as Warsaw senior Kelsey Dotson blasted one of her offerings over the left field fence, increasing the deficit to 3-0. Junior Kayla Snider then added to the Warsaw lead three batters later, driving in junior Kaitlin Wiley and making things look pretty good for Warsaw. However, Penn began to gain its footing. Scoring a run in the top of the fourth and getting a one-two-three inning from Warsaw in the bottom of the frame, the Penn offense got it going in the top of the fifth. In the fifth, Penn scored four runs on three hits and benefitted from three errors to take a 5-4 lead off of Warsaw senior pitcher Cari O'Hara. To get those runs, the Lady Kingsmen laid down bunt after bunt, which resulted in indecision from the Lady Tigers, who tried numerous times to get outs at the wrong bags. "We didn't field the bunt," Warsaw coach Jim Speicher said. "We didn't take the right play on the bunt. We didn't get any outs off their bunts. They executed the squeeze and they did a nice job. We just didn't take the out at first. We kept trying to make the play at home." Freshman Taylor Stiver came in relief of O'Hara and got two-straight outs, with another coming when Penn sophomore Taryn Bothun left third base before the pitch. Even though Warsaw was out of the inning, the small ball played by Penn seemed to take some of the fight out of the team. "We talk a lot about pressure hitting and executing," Zachary said. "The girls got the job done just like they've been taught to do." Warsaw was once again shutout in the bottom of the fifth, and in the sixth the wheels came completely off. Beginning the top of the sixth with a solo home run from senior Katie Green, Penn scored 11 in the inning, including three home runs, as Green added a grand slam later, followed by a solo shot by junior Kathryn Knutson. "We have some young pitchers that don't have any varsity experience, and it caught up with us," Speicher said. "I was real proud of Cari for three, four innings, but then like (Monday at South Bend Riley in an 11-1 loss), the wheels came loose. We have a lot of work to do." Speicher is working with some inexperience as neither of last year's starting pitchers are on the team this season, with junior Alex Sanchez choosing not to play and sophomore Kaleigh Speicher moving out of the school district. Green finished the game with five RBIs, while classmate Jennifer Sears had a 3-for-3 game, scoring twice and hitting a double. For Warsaw, the Indiana University-bound Dotson went 1 for 2 with an RBI and junior Kiera Stahly was 2 for 3 at the plate. The Lady Tigers play their third game in three nights tonight at home against Mishawaka.
PENN 16, WARSAW 4 (6) P 000 14(11) — 16 16 0 W 103 000 — 4 5 8 Mackenzie Joecken (W, 4-1/3IP, 4R, 4ER, 5H, 4K, 3BB, 1HB, 1HR), Tori Woodiwiss (5, 1-2/3IP, 1K) and Madalyn Smith, Claryce Gedde (6); Cari O'Hara (L, 4IP, 5R, 1ER, 5H, 3K, 1BB), Taylor Stiver (5, 2IP, 11R, 6ER, 10H, 1K, 3HR) and Kelsey Dotson. 2B — Jennifer Sears (P). HR — Katie Green (P) 2, Kathryn Knutson (P), Dotson (W). Records — Penn 1-0, Warsaw 0-3.
