Softball Clobbers Chargers

Wawasee answered West Noble’s only charge of the game with another wave to overwhelm the visiting Chargers, 14-4, Tuesday in varsity softball.

Wawasee jumped out to a 7-1 lead, only for West Noble to fire back with three runs in the third to cut Wawasee’s lead to three. Wawasee responded with five runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to close out Wawasee head coach Jared Knipper’s former club.

Meghan Fretz was 4-for-4 with a double and four RBIs to lead Wawasee. Hannah Haines added three hits and an RBI and Allissa Flores scored four runs for the Lady Warriors, now 2-0 on the season.

Danielle Gunkel picked up the win in the circle despite giving up nine hits and four earned. Gunkel would strike out two in her season debut. Fretz struck out four in two innings of relief. Wawasee crushed 13 hits, 10 off West Noble starter Ashley Strombeck.

Kelsey Clark had a pair of hits and an RBI for West Noble (0-2), who is coached by former Wawasee softball coach Mike Barger in his first head coaching job.

Wawasee’s JV visited West Noble Tuesday and came away with an 18-9 victory to move to 2-0 on the season.

Wawasee will visit Elkhart Central Thursday.

Tennis Opens With 3-2 Win

Wawasee began its 2015 season on a high note with a 3-2 girls tennis win over Lakeland Tuesday in Syracuse.

Wawasee earned two of its wins on the singles courts. Thanatcha Thanasrivanitchai earned her first victory as a member of the Wawasee team with a 6-2, 7-5 decision against Alondra Ballines on the two singles court. Thanasrivanitchai, a foreign exchange student, was matched at three singles by teammate Chelsea Carolus, who defeated Diana Hernandez one and one.

Wawasee’s two doubles also earned a win, with the team of Brooke Fick and Kabrea Rostochak posting a 6-1, 6-0 win against Cheyenne Bechtel and Summer Poe.

Lakeland was able to muster wins at one doubles with its duo of Becca Wooster and Beka Stroop going one and love over Charity Parker and Ashley Larson.

At one singles, Lakeland’s Audrey Stephens needed a 10-6 tiebreaker in the second set to best Jada Antonides 6-3, 7-6.

Wawasee and Lakeland split the six JV courts. Winning for the Lady Warriors were Brianna Haessig in singles, 8-1, over Celena Jasso. Both doubles courts went to Wawasee, earned by the duo of Madison Cooper and Courtney Larson, 8-0, against Mindy Zambrano and Elly Franke, and the pairing of Jasmine Morehead and Brittney Jackson, 8-4, against Kaelyn Brandt and Goretti Garcia.

Wawasee (1-0) will host Central Noble Wednesday in a match that was moved up one day to accommodate potential bad weather Thursday.