Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
DUNLAP - Warsaw softball coach Craig Helfrich said his team was "fortunate."
Warsaw starting shortstop Amie Poling said the Tigers were "lucky."
Fortunate or lucky or good or all of the above, the Tigers are Northern Lakes Conference champions for the first time since 1994. Warsaw clinched the NLC title with a 1-0 Monday win over Concord, the one team standing between the Tigers and their championship. Warsaw entered the game 10-1 in the NLC, while Concord entered 8-1 in the NLC. All other NLC teams had at least three conference losses.
The Tigers won the game and the conference when Amie Poling scored from third base on a two-out wild pitch in the sixth inning.
"This is by far our biggest (regular season) win in my three years as coach," Helfrich said. "To clinch the conference, to clinch it on the road, to win the conference for the first time since 1994, it has to be the biggest win."
Warsaw, 16-5 overall, finished 11-1 in the NLC, while Concord fell to 10-9 overall and 8-2 in the NLC. Both of Concord's NLC losses have come to Warsaw. In beating Concord, Warsaw beat a team that had won eight of its last nine games.
"I knew we would have to play our very, very best game to have a chance," Concord coach Peg Kelly said.
Said Helfrich: "I knew it would be close. I knew it wouldn't be a blowout."
The formula for Warsaw was the same as it has been all season - pitching and defense. The Tigers entered the game with an ERA of 0.22 in 11 NLC games. Right-hander Michelle Liebsch pitched the complete game, tossing a no-hitter for 5-1/3 innings. She walked none, struck out four and settled for a one-hitter. Liebsch, 9-3 overall, went 7-0 with a 0.00 ERA in NLC games.
The Tigers managed only two hits off of Concord left-hander Steph Hoover (7-6), but one of the two hits turned into a run.
Poling started the sixth inning with a single. Two ground-outs later, she moved to third base. With Christy Colt at the plate, Hoover threw a pitch that bounced in front of the plate and rolled to the backstop, allowing Poling to score.
"I was hoping for a wild pitch," Poling said. "We got lucky. (Helfrich) really had me prepared to get a big lead halfway to homeplate in case it happened, and it did."
Early it appeared as if missed chances at the plate again would haunt the Tigers. They had runners on second and third with no outs last week against Plymouth, never scored and lost 1-0.
Against Concord, Warsaw loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning. Melissa Himes
reached when right fielder Steph Blair dropped a pop fly. Laura Overton
singled, and after center fielder Becca Stewart let the ball bounce by her
for the inning's second error, Himes went to third and Overton to second.
Ryann Jones walked to load the bases.
The threat ended as quickly as it started. Kari Fribley hit a shallow popout
to right field, and when Blair threw the ball in to second base, Himes tried
to score and was out at the plate by several feet after second baseman Kate
Mitchell gunned the ball to catcher Jena Bargon. Colt ended grounded out to
stall the threat and end the inning.
"If we hadn't made key defensive plays, Warsaw could have beaten us 6-0,"
Kelly said.
No matter, as Liebsch mowed Concord hitters down. While Liebsch's strikeout
numbers were down -Êshe had struck out 15 each of the last two games -Êthe
Minutemen offered weak hacks at the plate. In the first five innings, the
Minutemen hit one ball out of infield.
"I think Liebsch is the best pitcher in northern Indiana," Kelly said. "Her
off-speed stuff keeps you off pace. She has a fastball, a good changeup, a
rise ball and a drop ball. She works ahead in the count and is hard to hit."
Evening out Warsaw's inability to get the key hit in the second inning was
Hoover's wildness throughout. Hoover, who started the game without usual
catcher Jen Rowe, walked six. Hoover threw to freshman backup Jena Bargon
for the first few innings after Rowe got hit in the face with a ball in the
pregame warmup.
"(Hoover) was behind all the hitters, and that put our defense in a pinch,"
Kelly said. "That's the most she's walked in any game this year.
"She was never in a rhythm, and I think that's because we lost our starting
catcher for the first couple of innings."
The Tigers scored one run, all they needed with Liebsch's performance. The
one run on a wild pitch gave them their first title in six years.
"It's been a long time coming for this program," Poling said. "We really
wanted to win this one today, especially after we lost to Plymouth."
WARSAW 1, CONCORD 0
Warsaw 000 001 0 - 1 2 1
Concord 000 000 0 - 0 1 2
Warsaw ab r h rbi
Kurosky cf 3 0 0 0
Burns 3b 4 0 0 0
Poling ss 2 1 1 0
Himes 2b 3 0 0 0
Overton lf 2 0 1 0
Jones 1b 1 0 0 0
Fribley rf 2 0 0 0
Colt c 3 0 0 0
Liebsch p 2 0 0 0
Totals 22 1 2 0
Concord ab r h rbi
Miller ss 3 0 0 0
Waterman 3b 3 0 0 0
Bargon c 1 0 0 0
Rowe dh-c 2 0 0 0
Hoover p 3 0 0 0
Mitchell 2b 2 0 0 0
Stewart cf 2 0 0 0
Blair rf 2 0 0 0
Conrad lf 2 0 1 0
Villalobos 1b 2 0 0 0
Totals 22 0 1 0
E-Blair, Stewart, Himes. LOB-Warsaw 7, Concord 1. CS-Stewart. S-Kurosky.
Warsaw ip h r er bb so
Liebsch W, 9-3 7 1 0 0 0 4
Concord ip h r er bb so
Hoover L, 7-6 7 2 1 1 6 4
WP-Hoover 2.
