Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw baseball coach Will Shepherd wasn't happy with the way his team played in the early going Wednesday against Northern Lakes Conference rival Wawasee.
In the end, "the bottom line," as Shepherd said, was that Warsaw won another NLC game.
By topping their county rivals 8-5, the Tigers upped their overall record to 9-4 and 4-1 in conference action; Wawasee falls to 5-10 and 0-5.
"I felt we helped their starter by chasing balls that were out of the strike zone," said Shepherd, whose Tigers have won five straight. "Once we stayed off that pitch, we put the ball in play."
The game was scoreless until junior catcher Brent Doty scored on an error to put the visiting Warriors up 1-0 in the top of the second.
Senior Adam Augustine doubled to ignite Warsaw's offense in the second inning. He was later singled in for the Tigers' first run. Sophomores William Knepper, Josh Stork and junior Chris Nycz then scored runs to give Warsaw a three-run lead after two complete innings.
If Wawasee junior hurler Jake Zajicek was ever going to get back at Warsaw's public address announcers for incorrectly pronouncing his name, he did it in the third inning. After sophomore Casey Cavell singled and sophomore Brian Pollock walked, Zajicek (pronounced Zi-check) tied the game with a three-run homer over the left-centerfield wall.
After senior Brian Adkins was fanned for the second out, Doty doubled and then was doubled in by junior Dustin Sumpter, giving Wawasee a 5-4 lead.
Zajicek finished the game 2 for 4 at the plate with a homer and three RBIs. On the mound, he went 3-2/3 innings, giving up 10 hits, eight runs, two walks and striking out two.
Sumpter finished the game 2 for 2 with a double and a pair of RBIs for Wawasee.
Down one, Warsaw's offense continued to roll in the home half of the third. Junior Jacob Wilson doubled to start things off for the Tigers. He later scored to tie the game at 5. By the time the inning was over, Warsaw had tallied six hits and four runs to take an 8-5 lead.
Junior third baseman Chris Nycz finished the game 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs, while junior pitcher John Milton was 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
On the mound, Milton pitched a complete game and upped his record to 3-0, giving eight hits, five runs, four walks and striking out eight.
"I was pleased with the way the defense played behind John," Shepherd said. "Except for three at-bats, we were in control. John needed to stay away from a nightmare inning, and he stayed away from that. I was pleased with the way he gutted it out and gave an outstanding effort."
The win keeps Warsaw, which has won its last four NLC games, in contention for the conference crown.
The Tigers will play at NLC foe Goshen Friday, finishing a tie game from earlier in the season and then playing a full game.
"Last week we got on a roll, and now we have to run the table at Goshen, a formidable task," Shepherd said. "There's no way around it, we have to go up to Goshen and win two Friday to stay in the conference race. The kids put themselves in position to do that."
WARSAW 8, WAWASEE 5
Wawasee AB R H RBI
Milligan 2b 4 0 0 0
Pollock 3b 2 1 0 0
Zajicek p 4 1 2 3
Adkins rf 3 0 0 0
Doty c 4 2 2 0
Sumpter dh 2 0 2 1
Lantz lf 3 0 1 0
Beasley cf 2 0 0 0
Cavell ss 3 1 1 0
Campbell 1b 0 0 0 0
King 1 0 0 0
Totals 28 5 8 4
Warsaw AB R H RBI
J. Milton p 4 0 2 2
Walmer 2b 3 0 1 1
N. Milton lf 2 0 1 0
Wilson dh 4 1 2 0
Augustine rf 2 1 1 0
Knepper 1b 4 1 1 0
Stork c 2 2 1 1
Nycz 3b 3 2 2 2
Polding ss 3 1 1 2
Totals 27 8 12 8
Wawasee (5-10, 0-5) 014 000 0 - 5 8 3
Warsaw (9-4, 4-1) 044 000 0 - 8 12 1
2B - Doty (Wawa), J. Milton (War), Wilson (War), Augustine (War), Polding (War), Sumpter (War). HR - Zajicek (Wawa)
IP H R ER BB SO
Wawasee
Zajicek, L (2-4) 3 2/3 10 8 7 2 2
Adkins 2 1/3 2 0 0 2 3
Warsaw
J. Milton, W (3-0) 7 8 5 4 4 8
