Tigers Roll Past Concord In Sectional OpenerELKHART — Warsaw advanced to the semifinal stage of the IHSAA Class 4A baseball sectional for the first time since 2015 with a convincing victory Thursday.
The Tigers (11-14) blanked Concord 11-0 and will meet Northridge (a 5-4 winner against Elkhart Central Thursday) Saturday in the second semifinal at the IHSAA Class 4A Elkhart Sectional on Memorial’s Charger Field.
The first semifinal features Penn against Goshen at 10 a.m. The championship is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday.
Warsaw did not produce a runner until the fourth inning then broke loose in making a winner of head coach Andy Manes in his first postseason game.
The Tigers scored three times in the fourth, one in the fifth, two in the sixth and five in the seventh.
Senior Liam Patton (two doubles) and juniors junior Noah Burgh and Jacob Hutcherson all went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored two runs for Warsaw. Patton also drove in two runs. Stolen bases were recorded by Burgh, Shoemaker, Hutcherson and freshman Lukas Maier.
Right-hander Burgh was the winning pitcher, working the first six innings and giving up three hits and three walks with six strikeouts over 89 pitches. Freshman Zaven Koltookian hurled the seventh and gave up one hit with one strikeout.
Concord senior left-hander Drew McDougle was throwing a perfect game into the fourth when Maier drew a walk and was later thrown out trying to steal third base.
Patton produced the Tigers’ first hit with a double to left. He moved to third base on senior Ian Glogovsky’s fly-out a and scored on Burgh’s infield hit toward first base.
Senior Matt Shoemaker reached base on a dropped third strike and stole second base. Burgh and Shoemaker both scored when sophomore Joey Springer launched a fly that turned into a three-base error.
In the Warsaw fifth, Nico Luna singled to left, advanced to second base on an error, third base on Maier’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Patton’s sacrifice fly to center.
The Tigers sent 11 batters to the plate in the five-run seventh. Three hits and two Minutemen errors contributed to the uprising. Maier, Patton, Shoemaker, Hutcherson and Springer all crossed the plate for Warsaw.
Concord finished 2-22, including three losses to Warsaw.
The Tigers lost both regular-season meetings against Northridge — 6-2 in Middlebury and 6-5 in Warsaw.
