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Friday night’s rivalry game between the Warsaw and Tippecanoe Valley softball teams was a tale of two contests. The Lady Vikings began the game on fire, scoring 10 runs in the first three innings. However, the Lady Tigers never gave up, scoring 14 straight runs to take a late lead. Seven innings wouldn’t be enough to decide this one, with Valley coming back from down four runs in the seventh and five in the eighth to win it 20-19.
Valley starter Dalynne Bussard set the tone in the circle, striking out two of the three hitters she faced in the top of the first inning en route to a 1-2-3 frame. The bottom half didn’t go as smoothly for Warsaw’s Addison Eastwood, as she gave up three hits. The third of which was a single by Kaitlyn Threlkel that scored both KC Shriver and Kahlyn Manns to make it 2-0 after one.
Bussard didn’t miss a beat in her return to hurling, as she struck out the side in order in the top of the second to give her five through just two innings. Following this, the Lady Vikings spent the bottom half of the frame adding on to their lead. Shriver had a big hit here, driving in two runs with a double to double the advantage. Malaynie Costello added an RBI with a single into left, while Threlkel drove in her third run of the game on a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0.
For the second straight inning, Bussard was able to strike out the side in the top of third. This time though, the Lady Tigers were able to put their first hit on the board in the form of a bloop single by Ellyse Walters. She’d make it to second on a wild pitch, but no further.
Back-to-back RBI doubles by Makenzey Morton and Bussard, followed by a two-RBI single from Manns made it a 10-0 game after three. With the Warsaw offense struggling to make contact, they now had just six outs to try and plate some runs and extend this game past five innings.
In the top of the fourth, the Lady Tigers responded in a big way. Bussard was taken out of the circle and replaced by Manns, and the visitors took full advantage. It took Manns a bit to get a feel of the zone, and the two leadoff walks she surrendered both turned into runs on an RBI single by Eastwood as well as an error. Lacy Cotterman added an RBI by wearing a pitch with the bases loaded, but the big hit of the inning belonged to Lily Piper, who cleared the bases with a double that scored three runs and put an exclamation point on a seven-run inning that tightened things up significantly.
Warsaw kept that momentum into the bottom half of the inning, as after a leadoff single by Temperance Caudill, Leah Stafford was able to get three straight groundouts to end the inning and send it back to the bats. As the fifth inning got underway, Manns was able to pitch around a pair of walks to hold Warsaw scoreless and keep her team in front.
Since taking over the pitching duties, Stafford was giving her team a real chance to win. She pitched a scoreless fifth to keep the differential at three heading into the sixth. She was giving up contact, but her defense was making some terrific plays behind her.
Warsaw freshman Leah Stafford whips the ball to the plate during Friday evening's game at Tippecanoe Valley...Nieter
The Lady Tigers kept chipping away, getting two more runs in the top of the sixth. Walters began the inning with a bunt single, and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch. Piper reached on a walk two hitters later, and was brought home on a clutch two-out single by Eastwood. After going down 10-0, Warsaw had almost battled all the way back and were trailing 10-9.
Entering the seventh inning, momentum was still fully on the visitors’ side, as Stafford needed just four pitches to send things back to her bats. Needing one run to extend the game and two to take the lead, the Lady Tigers got a whole lot more than that. Loading the bases with nobody out, the visitors tied things up on a sacrifice fly by Raegan Robinson. An error on a pickoff attempt led to the go-ahead run scoring, and the wheels fell off from there. In total, Warsaw scored five runs to make it 14 unanswered and put them in a prime position to steal a game.
The Lady Vikings weren’t ready to give up just yet either, as the team scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie things up. A two-RBI single by Costello put the home side within one, before a single by Threlkel evened things up. The Lady Vikings had a prime opportunity to walk it off, but had to settle for extra innings.
Three of the five runs scored by Warsaw in the top of the eighth inning came on wild pitches, with a fourth coming on a walk. Either way, the Lady Tigers were once again set up to come away with the regular season finale. But, Valley once again refused to go away quietly. The home side was able to score two runs on a double by Bussard, who later scored on a wild pitch. This was followed up by RBI singles from Caudill and Minda Shriver. This tied the game and put the winning run on third base for Gaby Gonzalez, who got her second hit of the inning, an infield blooper, to walk it off.
Both teams begin sectional play on Monday, with Warsaw taking on Concord and Valley facing NorthWood.
Valley starter Dalynne Bussard set the tone in the circle, striking out two of the three hitters she faced in the top of the first inning en route to a 1-2-3 frame. The bottom half didn’t go as smoothly for Warsaw’s Addison Eastwood, as she gave up three hits. The third of which was a single by Kaitlyn Threlkel that scored both KC Shriver and Kahlyn Manns to make it 2-0 after one.
Bussard didn’t miss a beat in her return to hurling, as she struck out the side in order in the top of the second to give her five through just two innings. Following this, the Lady Vikings spent the bottom half of the frame adding on to their lead. Shriver had a big hit here, driving in two runs with a double to double the advantage. Malaynie Costello added an RBI with a single into left, while Threlkel drove in her third run of the game on a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0.
For the second straight inning, Bussard was able to strike out the side in the top of third. This time though, the Lady Tigers were able to put their first hit on the board in the form of a bloop single by Ellyse Walters. She’d make it to second on a wild pitch, but no further.
Back-to-back RBI doubles by Makenzey Morton and Bussard, followed by a two-RBI single from Manns made it a 10-0 game after three. With the Warsaw offense struggling to make contact, they now had just six outs to try and plate some runs and extend this game past five innings.
In the top of the fourth, the Lady Tigers responded in a big way. Bussard was taken out of the circle and replaced by Manns, and the visitors took full advantage. It took Manns a bit to get a feel of the zone, and the two leadoff walks she surrendered both turned into runs on an RBI single by Eastwood as well as an error. Lacy Cotterman added an RBI by wearing a pitch with the bases loaded, but the big hit of the inning belonged to Lily Piper, who cleared the bases with a double that scored three runs and put an exclamation point on a seven-run inning that tightened things up significantly.
Warsaw kept that momentum into the bottom half of the inning, as after a leadoff single by Temperance Caudill, Leah Stafford was able to get three straight groundouts to end the inning and send it back to the bats. As the fifth inning got underway, Manns was able to pitch around a pair of walks to hold Warsaw scoreless and keep her team in front.
Since taking over the pitching duties, Stafford was giving her team a real chance to win. She pitched a scoreless fifth to keep the differential at three heading into the sixth. She was giving up contact, but her defense was making some terrific plays behind her.
The Lady Tigers kept chipping away, getting two more runs in the top of the sixth. Walters began the inning with a bunt single, and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch. Piper reached on a walk two hitters later, and was brought home on a clutch two-out single by Eastwood. After going down 10-0, Warsaw had almost battled all the way back and were trailing 10-9.
Entering the seventh inning, momentum was still fully on the visitors’ side, as Stafford needed just four pitches to send things back to her bats. Needing one run to extend the game and two to take the lead, the Lady Tigers got a whole lot more than that. Loading the bases with nobody out, the visitors tied things up on a sacrifice fly by Raegan Robinson. An error on a pickoff attempt led to the go-ahead run scoring, and the wheels fell off from there. In total, Warsaw scored five runs to make it 14 unanswered and put them in a prime position to steal a game.
The Lady Vikings weren’t ready to give up just yet either, as the team scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie things up. A two-RBI single by Costello put the home side within one, before a single by Threlkel evened things up. The Lady Vikings had a prime opportunity to walk it off, but had to settle for extra innings.
Three of the five runs scored by Warsaw in the top of the eighth inning came on wild pitches, with a fourth coming on a walk. Either way, the Lady Tigers were once again set up to come away with the regular season finale. But, Valley once again refused to go away quietly. The home side was able to score two runs on a double by Bussard, who later scored on a wild pitch. This was followed up by RBI singles from Caudill and Minda Shriver. This tied the game and put the winning run on third base for Gaby Gonzalez, who got her second hit of the inning, an infield blooper, to walk it off.
Both teams begin sectional play on Monday, with Warsaw taking on Concord and Valley facing NorthWood.
