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"Our big thing is confidence," said Wawasee softball coach Cory Schutz. "Once we got some bunts down, our confidence improved and we started to score runs and have some fun."
That confidence helped the Warriors stage a 5-run seventh inning to break a 3-all stalemate and top Warsaw 8-4. It is the first time Wawasee has beaten Warsaw in six years.
"We executed offensively and got our bunts down," said Schutz. "We forced them to make plays, and we scored runs. We've been struggling with that at times."
The Warriors got on the board early, scoring one run in the first, but Warsaw answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the opening frame.
The score stayed knotted at 1-all until the bottom of the second frame when Warsaw's offense kicked into gear.
Brandi Bause pounded a one-out single, and then Megan Trump followed with a fielder's choice to put runners on first and second.
Shelly Hunter reached first on an error that sent Bause home, and Trump scored on a fielder's choice hit by Samantha Warren.
Going into the top of the third, Warsaw held a 3-1 advantage, and that's where the score remained until the top of the fifth when Wawasee closed the gap to 3-2.
Then in the top of the sixth, Wawasee produced another run to knot the score at 3. Stephanie Sorensen hit a single to start the inning on the right foot. The Warriors produced the run from there. A sacrifice bunt by Ashley Holdeman and a single by LeeAnna Sloan helped Sorensen score and tie the game at 3-all.
But the top of the seventh inning is when Wawasee's offense started clicking on all cylinders.
Kasey Bollier hit a one-out single to spark the Warrior offense, and Sara Weisser reached first on an error. A double by Haley Bird and singles by Sorensen, Rachel Canen contributed to a five-run outburst by the Warriors.
Warsaw produce one run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Tigers were unable to overcome the five-run deficit from earlier in the inning.
"You can't give any team any runs and expect to win," said Warsaw coach Craig Helfrich. "Wawasee took advantage of our mistakes, and I give them a lot of credit for that."
Sorensen led the Warriors with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Sloan added two hits, while Bird, Canen, Eierman and Bollier had one hit each.
Cassie himes led the Tigers, going 3 for 4 at the plate with a double and an RBI. Allison Shepherd pounded out two hits for the Warsaw squad, while Rebekah Reichard and Bause added one hit each.
"We did a good job hitting the ball, but we just made mistakes," said Helfrich. "We are just gonna put this game behind us and get ready to play at Goshen."
The Tigers (2-5, 0-1 NLC) travel to Goshen tonight for another Northern Lakes Conference matchup, while Wawasee (5-6, 1-0 NLC) travels to Elkhart Memorial for an NLC game tonight.
WAWASEE 8, WARSAW 4
Wawasee 100 011 5 - 8 9 3
Warsaw 120 000 1 - 4 7 5
Wawasee AB R H RBI
Weisser 4 3 0 0
Bird 3 1 1 0
Sorensen 4 2 3 2
Canen 4 1 1 0
Holdeman 3 0 0 2
Sloan 4 0 2 0
Hymer 4 0 0 0
Eierman 3 0 1 0
Bollier 3 1 1 0
Totals 27 8 6 3
Warsaw AB R H RBI
Warren 4 0 0 1
Tosch 4 1 0 0
Reichard 4 1 1 0
Himes 4 0 3 1
Ogden 0 0 0 0
Shepherd 4 0 2 0
Hepler 4 0 0 0
Bause 2 1 1 0
Trump 3 1 0 0
Hunter 2 0 0 0
Totals 31 4 7 2
LOB - Wawasee 6, Warsaw 8. 2B - Himes.
IP R ER H BB K
Wawasee
Bird, W 7 4 2 7 3 3
Warsaw
Hunter, L 7 8 3 6 0 9
HB -ÊBird 1.
