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As Elkhart Central's softball players lined up for their team picture after winning the Warsaw Sectional, Dave Walker had last-minute instructions.
"None of that fancy 'we're No. 1 stuff,'" the Elkhart Central coach told his players. "Act like you've been here before."
They might act as if they'd been there before, but the reality is, most of them hadn't.
Elkhart Central, a team that went 7-18 in the regular season, upset Warsaw (21-9) 2-0 in Saturday's sectional championship game. The Blazers (10-18) won the sectional on Warsaw's field against a Warsaw team with six seniors. Elkhart Central had but two seniors on a roster with 21 players, so most of the current players were not around for the school's last sectional title in 1997.
The Blazers made it to the championship by beating 18-10 Elkhart Memorial 2-1 then beating 7-19 Goshen 13-0 in five innings.
How did a 7-18 team in the regular season go 3-0 in the postseason?
"We've played a great schedule - the Penns, the Mishawaka schools, the Fort Wayne Northrops," Walker said. "Our conference was tough top to bottom. We played maybe two teams - and I don't want to name them - who weren't good.
"Most of the games we've been in have been one-run games. Out of our 10 wins, I bet five or six of them were shutouts."
Warsaw coach Craig Helfrich agreed.
"Elkhart's record is deceiving," he said. "They play the South Bend schools and the Mishawaka schools, the schools that have good softball programs."
The Tigers somehow survived two days earlier when they committed four errors in a 2-0 win against Concord; this time, they could not overcome three errors, all by junior starting pitcher Michelle Liebsch. Both Elkhart Central runs were unearned.
Unable to get on by swinging the bat, the Blazers began bunting, which paid off. The two batters who scored hit the ball no further than the pitcher, but Liebsch's fielding adventures on routine plays allowed them to reach.
Sophomore lead-off batter Jill Pierson started the top of the seventh by bunting to Liebsch. The grounder kicked off Liebsch's glove and rolled away, allowing Pierson to reach first. One out later, freshman Steph Elam bunted to Liebsch, who successfully fielded the ball but overthrew first base. As Warsaw players scrambled after the ball in foul territory, Pierson went to third and Elam to second.
Senior Kori Eppers then lashed a line-drive single down the right-field line that scored Pierson and Elam.
"The errors killed us," Helfrich said. "In the seventh, there was no way they should have scored. Those plays have to be made by Michelle. We've booted the ball the last two games."
A Warsaw team that had won two previous sectional games by scores of 1-0 and 2-0 now had to score two runs with three outs left. The Tigers, far from an offensive juggernaut, could not overcome the letdown and did not have the offense to start a comeback.
A 2-0 lead may as well have been a 22-0 lead to Warsaw.
Liebsch had committed an error in the sixth inning when she botched a ground ball then overthrew first base, but the Tigers escaped.
Warsaw had its chances to score. In the first, second, fourth and sixth innings, the Tigers had runners on second base - including three times with only one out - but failed to push a run across. The right-handed Elam pitched Elkhart out of danger each time.
Elam (10-11), who won Elkhart's previous two sectional games, struck out five, walked none and allowed three hits. Junior Kris Kurosky went 2 for 3 for Warsaw with two singles. Liebsch (10-6) allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked none in taking the complete-game loss.
A year ago the Tigers had one senior and won the sectional when they weren't favored.
This year the Tigers had six seniors, had more wins than any other team in the sectional and failed to win it when they were favored.
An Elkhart Central team loaded with first- and second-year players pulled off the upset.
Walker told his players to act like they'd been there before. He also had another piece of advice.
"Don't anybody forget what this feels like," he said, "because we need that feeling to get to the end of June."
ELKHART CENTRAL 2, WARSAW 0
E. Central 000 000 2 - 2 3 2
Warsaw 000 000 0 - 0 3 3
E. Central ab r h rbi
Pierson ss 3 1 0 0
L. Eppers cf 3 0 0 0
St. Elam p 3 1 1 0
K. Eppers 3b 3 0 1 2
Horvath c 3 0 1 0
Anderson rf 3 0 0 0
Pippenger lf 2 0 0 0
Caskey 1b 2 0 0 0
Sa. Elam 2b 2 0 0 0
Totals 24 2 3 2
Warsaw ab r h rbi
Kurosky cf 3 0 2 0
Overton lf 1 0 0 0
Poling ss 3 0 0 0
Burns 3b 3 0 0 0
Himes 2b 3 0 1 0
Keirn pr 0 0 0 0
McGriff dh 2 0 0 0
Liebsch p 0 0 0 0
Jones 1b 3 0 0 0
Fribley rf 3 0 0 0
Colt c 2 0 0 0
Totals 23 0 3 0
E-Liebsch 3, K. Eppers, Pierson. LOB-Warsaw 5, Elkhart Central 1. 2B-Himes. CS-St. Elam, Pippenger. S-Overton 2, McGriff.
E. Central ip h r er bb so
S. Elam W, 10-11 7 3 0 0 0 5
Warsaw ip h r er bb so
Liebsch L, 10-6 7 3 2 0 0 9
