Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw's first-year softball coach, 20-something Craig Helfrich, called his players over to third base, where he talked to them for five minutes or so after they lost their Wednesday home opener 4-1 to Mishawaka.
The pitching? Good for the second day in the row.
The hitting? About as expected. Helfrich knows the Tigers won't outslug many teams.
The fielding? For the most part, good. The Tigers typically make the routine plays.
What bothered Helfrich were mental mistakes, often called "the little things" by coaches.
What little things, you ask?
Bunting the baseball. When the Tigers had runners on base, they failed to put down a sacrifice bunt every time Helfrich called for it.
Throwing to the right base. This mental miscue led to Mishawaka's fourth run, a key run scored in the top of the seventh. Mishawaka's Josey Mikulyuk went from second to third when Warsaw right fielder Sara Ellis caught a flyball and threw the ball home rather than to second.
One batter later, Mikulyuk scored on a sacrifice fly to give Mishawaka a three-run cushion entering the bottom of the last inning.
These are the types of mistakes that drive coaches, even energetic 20-somethings like Helfrich, crazy.
"We're a young team that makes mental mistakes," he said. Then Helfrich waved his arm out to the now empty right field and added, "We throw the ball home when we have a runner at second. We can't make those mistakes with the game on the line."
At least the Tigers had the game on the line. For that, Helfrich was grateful. Kari Fribley, Jackie Burns and Shanna Smith combined to hold Mishawaka to six hits.
This game followed Monday's 3-2 extra-inning road loss to Logansport. Smith pitched all 11 innings, allowing only one earned run.
"Our pitching is fine," Helfrich said. "It was good again. We had a 2-1 game. We were right there.
"Yesterday we played a great game at Logansport, which is one of the better teams in the area. And Mishawaka's no slouch. We show signs of being a good team. We'll be fine."
Warsaw held one lead against Mishawaka, 1-0 in the first. Leadoff hitter Amie Poling walked, went to second on Shannon Barger's single and scored after two wild pitches by Mishawaka right-handed starter Brandy Young.
Mishawaka erased Warsaw's lead by scoring twice in the top of the fourth. The teams played on Warsaw's junior varsity field as the varsity field was still too wet. The junior varsity field has no fences, and Mishawaka tied the game when Crystal Gorny hit an inside-the-park home run to center field.
Mishawaka added its second run after Carly Hernandez reached second when Warsaw third baseman Melissa Himes fielded then threw the ball several feet over first baseman Shannon Barger. Amber McClure's single drove Hernandez in.
The game stayed 2-1 until the seventh inning. McClure started the inning with a triple and scored on Mikulyuk's single to make it 3-1.
Warsaw finished with three hits, including two by Barger. The Tigers had only one baserunner after the third inning. Young went the distance for Mishawaka, striking out seven and walking only two.
Warsaw's hitting, Helfrich said afterward, is what it is.
"After two games, I can say we're not a great hitting team," he said. "Two or three runs is about all we're going to get, and we're going to have to find a way to make that stand up."
In two games, the pitchers have done their jobs, have kept Warsaw in games.
"We keep getting good pitching," Helfrich said. "The mental part of the game is the thing that frustrates me.
"We're young, yes, but the excuses have to stop. There are certain situations where we're not making the plays we should make. We don't do the little things. When you don't do the little things, you're in trouble."
Then the coach, the frustrated one with the close-cropped blond hair hidden beneath a black cap with an orange tiger paw, shook his head.
So close - 3-2 in extra innings at Logansport, 4-1 at home to 2-0 Mishawaka - but still two losses.
"I'm never happy to lose," Helfrich said. "I'm not from a losing background."
