Following a week of rain, two postponed games caused the Warsaw baseball team to play a Northern Lakes Conference doubleheader Saturday, beginning with a 9:30 a.m. game against Plymouth that was followed by a 12:30 p.m. contest with Northridge. The day also offered the Warsaw Tigers (5-7, 4-2 NLC) a chance to get back on track, which it did, defeating Plymouth 9-1 and Northridge 5-3. “I didn’t know what to expect coming into today, but we got two outstanding pitching performances,” Warsaw coach Mike Hepler said. “First with Nick (Nunez against Plymouth), then Joey (Hickerson)just gutting it out. Both kids threw over 100 pitches, knowing they had to do that for their team to get chance to win. We put ourselves back in contention for the NLC. That’s what we did today by winning two games.”
Warsaw 9, Plymouth 1
A day after using four pitchers in a 12-10 home loss to Concord, Hepler needed a strong pitching performance from his team Saturday against Plymouth, and that’s exactly what he got. Playing two Northern Lakes Conference games in one day, Warsaw was in desperate need of a strong pitching performance from senior Nick Nunez against Plymouth (8-4, 4-1 NLC), and he delivered, going all seven innings in a 9-1 victory. “We’ve been hitting the ball as well as anybody, we’ve just had trouble with our pitching staff throwing strikes,” Hepler said. “Today, Nick Nunez had an excellent performance. He did exactly what we needed him to do. He gave us a chance to play defense. He gave us a chance to compete.” Pitching a complete game, Nunez didn’t allow an earned run and struck out 10, helping the Tigers hand the Pilgrims their first conference loss of the year. “To his credit, he gave the team the lift it needed,” Hepler said of Nunez. “We were really struggling after losing to NorthWood 13-9 (Monday) and losing to Concord 12-10. We’re putting numbers on the board, we just can’t get people out. We can’t get out of our own way.” The win halted a two-game NLC losing streak, and as was with the two previous losses to NorthWood and Concord, Warsaw brought its sticks to the Plymouth game. While Nunez was cruising on the mound, the Tigers’ offense broke a 1-1 tie with six runs in the bottom of the third inning. In the decisive inning, senior Eric Smolen led things off with a double, and junior Brock Anson, senior Aaron Christenberry, junior Brady Ousley and Riley Reinholt all drove in a run, but junior Mitchell Gosnell had the big hit, driving in two runs on a two-out triple. After the big inning, Warsaw’s No. 6 to 9 hitters had gone 8 for 8 with five RBIs, showcasing Warsaw’s balance in the win. “It’s what they’re capable of doing and it’s why I bat them there,” Hepler said about his guys in the bottom of the lineup. “They always come up in RBI situations and they’ve been producing. It’s what’s been keeping us in ballgames.” Following the offensive outburst in the third inning, Nunez gave up just two hits over the next four innings, but Hepler had his eye on the pitcher, especially with Plymouth’s big bopping No. 3 hitter Damon Howe coming to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Instead of succumbing to the burly Howe, Nunez struck him out, ending the game in fine fashion. “I didn’t want to have to take him out,” Hepler said. “He was over 100 pitches, so I was going to give him Damon Howe, but that was going to be his last batter, no matter what. He got him to strike out, so it worked out well.”
Warsaw 5, Northridge 3
After seeing Nunez pitch a great game in the day’s first contest, senior Joey Hickerson took the mound against Northridge (6-6), also going seven innings and striking out 14. Hickerson helped his own cause in the game, rocking a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning, giving his squad a 3-0 lead at that point. “He had been struggling a little bit, but I told him, ‘Just try to get the fastball. When you get it on the inner-half, that’s the pitch you’re waiting for and do something with it. That’s all you have to do. Everything else will take care of itself,’” Hepler said. “He did and he has that kind of power. He’s got that great speed at the top, so he makes for a tough out. He just did what he does best. That’s Joey Hickerson.” The Tigers’ lead was short-lived though. In the top of the fourth, Northridge began things with back-to-back singles and a four-pitch walk loaded the bases with no one out. Following a mound visit, Hickerson went on to strike out the next two Raiders, but senior Garrett Yoder then hit a three-run triple, knotting things up at 3-3. “He’d like to have that pitch back,” Hepler said. “Garrett Yoder is a good hitter for them. He had three hits on the day. It’s the way it is. They’re a good-hitting ball club, and he got a pitch he liked in a situation and did something with it.” The score remained tied until Northridge junior pitcher T.J. Miller began to wear down in the fifth inning after getting two quick outs. With two outs, Warsaw junior Brock Anson coaxed a walk on seven pitches, then reached second following an errant throw on a pick-off move. With a runner at second, senior Aaron Christenberry drove him in with an RBI-single. On top 4-3, junior Kyle Morris and junior Austin Moore then drew walks, which loaded the bases and ended Miller’s day on the mound. Sophomore Austin Moniot entered the game in relief, but walked junior Brady Ousley, giving Warsaw the final run of the game. “I’m real proud of our club,” Hepler said. “We had a tough situation coming into today. We had a tough loss (Friday against Concord), but we battled through this. I’m really ecstatic. I’m really proud of our guys, because it really didn’t look good. We had lost two games coming in, but we won two today.” In the two games, Christenberry seemed to be in the zone, going 5 for 8, driving in four runs and hitting a home run in the Plymouth game. “Aaron is really starting to feel better and starting to play better,” Hepler said. “He’s fun to coach and he’s fun to watch.” Unless Mother Nature gets in the way again, the Tigers are scheduled to play another NLC home game today, hosting Elkhart Memorial at 5 p.m. “I just feel like we’ve captured some of that momentum,” Hepler said. “We can’t rest on this doubleheader today. We have to keep coming out (today) against Elkhart Memorial. They beat Northridge (Friday), so they have a team that can beat us too. We have to come out and be ready to go.”
WARSAW 9, PLYMOUTH 1
(First Game)
P 001 000 0 — 1 4 0 W 016 101 x — 9 14 1 Nick Nunez (W, 7IP, 1R, 0ER, 4H, 10K, 3BB, 2HB) and Mitchell Gosnell; Doug Andrews (L, 2-0, 6IP, 9R, 9ER,14H, 3K, 1HB) and Kyle Cartwright, Jacob Segraves (6) 2B — Austin Moore (W), Gosnell (W), Eric Smolen (W), Phil Iwinski (P) 3B — Gosnell (W) HR — Aaron Christenberry (W) Records — Warsaw 4-7 (3-2 NLC), Plymouth 8-4 (4-1 NLC)
WARSAW 5, NORTHRIDGE 3 (Second Game)
N 000 300 0 — 3 7 1 W 102 020 x — 5 10 1 Joey Hickerson (W, 7IP, 3R, 3ER, 7H, 14K, 4BB) and Jared Lemler; TJ Miller (L, 4-2/3IP, 5R, 4ER, 8H, 0K, 4BB), Austin Moniot (5, 1-1/3IP, 0R, 2H, 2K) and Dominic DeVito 2B — Aaron Christenberry (W), Austin Moore (W) 3B — Garrett Yoder (N) HR — Hickerson (W) Records — Warsaw 5-7 (4-2 NLC), Northridge 6-6
