There were more walks than hits, but the Warsaw softball team took advantage of its opportunities Monday, leading to a 5-1 home win over Wawasee. Opening their Northern Lakes Conference season against the Wawasee Lady Warriors (5-4, 0-1 NLC), the Warsaw Lady Tigers (4-1, 1-0 NLC) used a four-run third inning to grab control of the game, although things did get a little touch-and-go in the top of the seventh inning. Leading 5-0, freshman pitcher Kaleigh Speicher had held to Lady Warriors to just one hit, but after giving up a one-out single to senior Shelby Newhard and walking sophomore Victoria Warren, her father/coach pulled her just two outs away from the shutout. "She's got some shoulder issues, so we have her on a little bit of a pitch count," Warsaw coach Jim Speicher said. "I felt like she got a little big fatigued. She hit a couple batters and walked a couple the previous inning. After she walked another, I just thought she was out of energy. Also, I'm not a big fan of walks. When you walk somebody, you're not going to get an opportunity to keep throwing." Kaleigh Speicher left the game with runners at first and second, but sophomore Alex Sanchez threw seven straight balls, walking sophomore Kylie Norris, as well as senior Mattia Rostochak to score a Wawasee run and bring the tying run to the plate. However, after struggling with her control early, Sanchez found her rhythm and struck out Wawasee's No. 2 and No. 3 hitters on just six pitches. "I probably warmed her up in the fourth or fifth inning, but she didn't throw much after that, so I don't think she was quite prepared to come in," Speicher said about Sanchez. "She really battled there at the end. I was proud of her, because she was able to get those two strikeouts." The last two strikeouts were only the fifth and sixth of the game for the Lady Warriors, although they did only muster two hits in the loss. "We just weren't too patient at the plate," Wawasee coach Cory Schutz said. "We didn't let the ball get to us. We were trying to hit it while it was eight feet in front of the plate, instead of at the plate. It doesn't work that way." Warsaw finished the game with just five hits, but did score four runs in the bottom of the third, needing just two hits to do so. "They put a couple of our runners on and we were fortunate to capitalize," Speicher said. When Warsaw did capitalize, it did so thanks to a lead-off walk to freshman Kara Dishman. Already leading 1-0 at that point, Dishman then moved to second on a sacrifice-bunt by Sanchez, then reached third on a single by junior Kendra Marshall. With runners at first and third, junior Kelsey Dotson drove Dishman in with an RBI-fly out to right field, which also allowed Marshall to tag up and get to third. Up 2-0 with two outs, Marshall scored on a passed ball, then Warsaw sophomore Kaitlyn Wiley drew a walk. Following a stolen base by Wiley, Kaleigh Speicher hit an RBI-single before the Wawasee defense allowed another run to score on an error, helping Warsaw run out to a 5-0 lead. "I don't know what it was today, but it felt like we didn't come out with intensity," Schutz said. "We started conference tonight, and if you can't get up for this, you're going to be in trouble," he added. "They recognize it, and they actually pointed it out. Hopefully, we'll get that attitude back and come out to play." The win comes after Warsaw had suffered its first loss of the season, 9-3 at Mishawaka Marian Thursday, and Speicher was happy with how his girls responded. "I have to be pleased with how young we are, and we're still making strides," he said. "We make mistakes, but that's all part of learning and growing." One constant for the Lady Tigers has been Marshall, who went 2 for 3 and also displayed some great defense, highlighted by a diving stop from her shortstop position. After corralling the ball, Marshall had time to tap second base with her glove, helping to keep Wawasee at bay in the fifth inning. "She made some nice plays out there that limited some of their innings," Speicher said. Both squads hit the road for Northern Lakes Conference games Wednesday, with Warsaw travelling to Goshen and Wawasee visiting Elkhart Memorial.
