Raiders Topple Tigers On Diamond
WARSAW – Jim Speicher has said it time and time again this spring that Northridge is the cream of the crop among softball teams in the Northern Lakes Conference.
The Raiders didn’t do anything Thursday night to change the Warsaw coach’s opinion of them that’s for sure.
Northridge got the pitch and the power at the plate from Haley Nixon to spank Speicher’s squad 10-0 in five innings in an NLC contest.
Nixon, a junior, fired a one-hitter in the circle with no walks and seven strikeouts. She also went 3-3 at the plate from her No. 5 spot in the Raider lineup with three RBI. Nixon’s two-run homer over the centerfield fence capped a five-run fourth inning for the Raiders.
“They showed it tonight,” said Speicher of Northridge being the best team in the conference. “They beat us in all three facets of the game; pitching, defense and hitting. All of the rest of us in the NLC are playing for second place.
“Nixon is certainly the cream of pitchers in the NLC. She throws to good spots and doesn’t put much down the pipe for you to hit. She mixes all three of her pitches well and I just like her demeanor out there.”
The Raiders, who improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the NLC, didn’t waste any time Thursday. The guests took advantage of a Warsaw error in the first inning to score twice for a 2-0 lead. Nixon drove in one run with an RBI single.
“You give a good team multiple outs, like we did tonight, and it’s going to cost you,” Speicher said. “Who knows what happens if we don’t make that error in the first, but we’re playing catch up right away and that’s not good.”
Northridge, which received votes in the latest Class 4-A coaches poll, scored four more times in the third frame. A Tiger error opened the inning and then senior Haley Schrock smacked an RBI single and junior Grace Grevengoed added a two-run single to highlight the offense.
Warsaw, which drops to 3-7 overall and 3-2 in league play, got its lone hit in the fourth inning. Cleanup hitter Kayla Snider clubbed a two-out single to center.
The Raiders doubled up the score in the top of the fourth inning. Northridge had four hits in the frame, including an RBI single by leadoff hitter Madison Schrock and Nixon’s two-run bomb, and also took advantage of the third Tiger error of the game.
Northridge went 30-2 a year ago and lost 1-0 to Huntington North in the Class 4-A semi state title game. The Raiders were a perfect 14-0 in the NLC in 2012, including wins by 12-2 and 13-1 finals over the Tigers. Northridge also beat Warsaw 6-1 in a sectional semifinal game.
“Tonight was the best we’ve played all year,” said Northridge coach Bo O’Dell. “A lot of that had to do with the pace of the game. We didn’t give away anything and we just kept going. I’ll feel very good about how we played going home on the bus tonight.
“We feel that if we take care of business, we should be there to win the NLC. We feel like a team has to beat us. We have a streak going, but we don’t think about going 14-0 in the NLC. Our goal is to get back to the semi state and see what happens.
“Haley is the real deal. She hits her spots and mixes her pitches well. It’s still to be seen if she is better than last year. We haven’t had a chance to see yet with so few games due to the weather. A 3-0 lead is our goal with her out there for us.”
Northridge, which has just two seniors on its roster in the Schrock twins Madison and Haley, lost 6-5 to Lakewood Park Christian early in the season.
Madison Schrock had two hits and two runs scored Thursday as the Raiders collected nine hits in the win.
The Tigers will look to bounce back Friday with another NLC game at Concord.
“I think tomorrow is really the first true measuring stick for us,” said Speicher of his relatively inexperienced team. “We just have to keep working to improve.
“It’s tough for us right now because we’re learning on the fly and having to do it in games. I think that is costing us games and also costing some of our younger players their confidence.”
Northridge won the junior varsity game 19-1 in five innings Thursday night.
Warsaw plays at Concord and Northridge hosts Elkhart Memorial in NLC action Friday.