Tigers, Warriors Meeting Familiar Foes
If the phrase that familiarity breeds success rings true, the Warsaw and Wawasee baseball teams should be in good shape in sectional play.
The Tigers and the Warriors will meet a pair of familiar faces as postseason play begins.
Warsaw drew the bye and will meet conference foe Northridge for the third time this season. The two will clash Saturday in one semifinal game of the Class 4-A Elkhart Memorial Sectional.
Wawasee, sporting a 10-15 mark, jumps right into action tonight in the Class 3-A Whitko Sectional. The Warriors face West Noble, who they just defeated 12-8 on Tuesday night.
The Tigers and the Warriors are both also in sectional fields that appear to be wide open.
Warsaw started the season strong by going 8-4. The Tigers, who were slowed by some injuries, dropped 11 of their final 13 games to finish at 10-15. Coach Mike Hepler’s team edged the Raiders 2-1 on April 30 and then dropped a 10-0 final to Northridge on May 16.
The Tigers have a full week to rest and prepare for the sectional after closing out the regular season by going 1-1 Saturday in their own tournament.
“We split the season games with them, so I feel like it should be a good game,” said Hepler. “The time off from games will really help us to practice and get ready for the game.”
“Our sectional is wide open this year with no dominant team. It comes down to who is playing the best baseball at the time.”
The Memorial Sectional opens Thursday with Memorial versus Goshen and defending state champion Elkhart Central versus Concord.
Memorial, which lost 3-1 in the sectional final to rival Central a year ago, is a team to watch. The Crimson Chargers, who went 7-24 in 2013, are 16-11-1 this spring and shared the NLC title with NorthWood.
Warsaw lost 5-3 to host Memorial in the sectional semifinals a year ago. The Tigers went 0-2 versus Memorial this year, 1-1 versus Concord and 2-0 versus Goshen.
“We have been in most games, but unable to get many timely hits when needed,” Hepler noted. “Our pitching and defense have held us in it. A few key injuries made it a little more difficult too.”
“We have to stay positive and play hard for the whole game. It is important that we don’t have mental lapses which lead to big innings by the other team. Offensively, we need to put pressure on them and force them to make plays.”
NorthWood won the Class 3-A Sectional played at West Noble last year. Whitko was in the Bellmont Sectional a year ago.
The seven-team Whitko Sectional also includes Tippecanoe Valley. The Vikings are led by Purdue-bound senior Tanner Andrews.
Triton will face South Central in the Class 1-A Culver Sectional Thursday night. Host Culver edged the Trojans 2-0 in the sectional final in 2013.
Warsaw last won a sectional title in 2010. Wawasee’s last championship came in 1997. Valley won a sectional crown in 2012 and Triton in 2008, while Whitko has never won a sectional trophy on the diamond.
Sectional title games at area sites are scheduled for June 2. Regionals are June 7 at LaPorte (4-A), Bellmont (3-A) and Caston (1-A). Semistates are June 14 and the State Finals June 20-21 at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
Class 4-A
At Elkhart Memorial
May 29: 5 p.m.: Elkhart Memorial vs. Goshen
May 29: 8 p.m.: Elkhart Central vs. Concord
May 31: 10 a.m.: Memorial-Goshen winner vs. Central-Concord winner
May 31: 1 p.m.: Northridge vs. Warsaw
June 2: 6 p.m.: Championship
Class 3-A
At Whitko
May 28: 5:30 p.m.: Wawasee vs. West Noble
May 29: 5:30 p.m.: Tippecanoe Valley vs. NorthWood
May 30: 5:30 p.m.: Lakeland vs. Whitko
May 31: 11 a.m.: Fairfield vs. Wawasee-W. Noble winner
May 31: 1:30 p.m.: Valley-NorthWood winner vs. Lakeland-Whitko winner
June 2: 5:30 p.m.: Championship
Class 1-A
At Culver
May 28: 5:30 p.m.: LaCrosse vs. Oregon-Davis
May 29: 5:30 p.m.: South Central vs. Triton
May 31: 10:30 a.m.: LaCrosse-OD winner vs. S. Central-Triton winner
May 31: 12:30 p.m.: Argos vs. Culver
June 2: 5:30 p.m.: Championship