SYRACUSE – After failing to put the game away an inning earlier, Wawasee plated four runs in the sixth Monday night en route to an 8-2 win over rival Warsaw. The Northern Lakes Conference opener for both teams was played in chilly conditions, but Wawasee’s Aaron Voirol was plenty hot. The Warrior senior pitched a complete game, struck out eight, and went 2 for 2 at the plate with a walk, an RBI double and a two-run home run to ice the game. “You can’t say enough about Aaron Voirol tonight,” Wawasee head coach Brent Doty said. “He just came out and threw very well.” After two outs in the top of the first inning, the Tigers got a single from Sterling Hay, and he tried to score on a double to center by Tyler Lafollette that, had the wind not been blowing in, might have gone for a home run. Hay was cut down at the plate on a perfectly executed Wawasee relay where anything less and the run would have scored. Wawasee opened the scoring when Andrew Wright led off with a double that the wind may have kept in the ballpark. He scored on Caleb Dingeldein's RBI single. Voirol's second-inning double drove in the second Warrior run. Warsaw tied the game 2-2 on Marselo Rodriguez’s 2-RBI triple. The Warriors claimed the lead for good in the bottom of the third when RBI doubles from Harrison Shortill and Chase Rookstool staked Wawasee to a 4-2 lead. While neither side recorded a 1-2-3 inning the entire game, Warsaw missed a golden opportunity to tie the game in the fifth. Hay and LaFollette opened the frame with back-to-back singles, and advanced to second and third when LaFollette's hit got away from Wawasee left fielder Kurtis Liston. Voirol, however, sandwiched a pair of strikeouts around a popout to second to escape the trouble. “(That was a) pivotal moment for him, and us, in the fifth inning,” Doty said. “Warsaw had guys on second and third with no outs, and thanks to Aaron and our defense, they don’t get any runs across.” Wawasee missed an even better opportunity to put the game away in the fifth, getting a leadoff single from Gage Reinhard and back-to-back hit batsmen to load the bases with nobody out. Rodriguez, coming on in relief, got Chase Rookstool to line into a double play with the infield in, then retired Nare Prescott on a fly ball to right. In the sixth, Voirol took advantage of a shift in the wind direction and hit a two-run homer after failing on two sacrifice bunt attempts. A single by Dingeldein and a sacrifice fly from Shortill drove in the fnal two runs. While pleased his team came up with big defensive plays to keep the game close, Warsaw head coach Mike Hepler said his team is still having a hard time getting its offense untracked. “Wawasee did a really nice job of putting the ball in play against us. We were fortunate to get some double plays to keep it close,” Hepler said. “I was pleased with the way we played defensively. We’re just struggling offensively. We need to be able to put pressure on the defense of our opponent more consistently and we’re not doing that.” Warsaw fell to 1-4 overall, 0-1 in the NLC, and will host Goshen at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Wawasee moved to 6-1 overall, 1-0 in the conference, and will host Elkhart Memorial at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
