Will the third time be the charm?

The Warsaw baseball team certainly hopes so.

The Tigers will look to take advantage of a very favorable sectional draw as the state tournament series begins this week.

Warsaw, which wrapped up regular-season play by going 1-1 Saturday in its own tournament, will face Elkhart Memorial on May 30 in a semifinal game of the Class 4-A Elkhart Memorial Sectional.

Sectional action opens at NorthWood and South Central Wednesday with the six-team event at Memorial beginning with a pair of games on Thursday night.

Warsaw, which sits at 8-18 on the season, has dropped two close games to conference foe Memorial this spring. The first was a 7-5 loss at home back on May 4 with the latest an 8-6 decision at Memorial on May 21.

“We are excited to play Elkhart Memorial again in the sectional tournament,” said Warsaw coach Mike Hepler. “In both of the previous games this year we lost close games (7-5, 8-6). As a team we need to eliminate mental mistakes and not beat ourselves with errors and walks. We are working hard to try to stay out of the giving other teams big innings and taking advantage of our opportunities offensively. With both Concord and Northridge in the other bracket, it really helps our chances. Playing in the bye game is certainly to our advantage, so now we need to go to Elkhart and play well.”

Warsaw, which lost 2-1 to Concord in the sectional final in 2014, needs just one win to move into the sectional title game on June 1. Defending champion Concord is 12-12, while Memorial is 14-14. Northridge, which plays Central (4-23) on Thursday night, is the team to watch. The Raiders are 19-5 and shared the NLC title at 12-2 with NorthWood.

Wawasee opens play in the Class 3-A NorthWood Sectional Thursday night versus Whitko. The Warriors beat the Wildcats 8-7 in Syracuse on April 14, overcoming a 6-0 deficit and being aided by five Whitko errors in the contest.

Wawasee will take a 10-13 mark into sectional play after an 11-0 win at Lakeland Saturday. Whitko, which is scheduled to play Bethany Christian on Monday, sits at 19-8 after winning two at Prairie Heights Saturday.

“I have a lot of respect for coach (Erik) Hisner and Whitko,” said Wawasee coach Brent Doty. “I expect a very competitive, close and low scoring game in the sectional. They are a very solid team. You can’t read a whole lot into that first game we played with them. It was early in the season when teams are still trying to figure things out.

“I think our sectional overall is very open. You would have to make NorthWood the favorite based on their record and that they have been very consistent this year and tied for the NLC title. But there are several teams in the field who are capable, including my team. We just need to get some timely hitting and play good solid defense.”

Host NorthWood is the defending sectional champions. The Panthers, who beat Northridge 4-0 Friday night to earn a share of the NLC championship, are 19-3. NorthWood drew a bye in the seven-team field and will play in a semifinal May 30 versus either Fairfield or Tippecanoe Valley.

Triton will meet familiar foe Culver in action at the Class 1-A South Central Sectional on Thursday night. Triton beat the Cavaliers by a 12-1 final in five innings in a Northern State Conference game on May 18.

Host South Central, which will play LaCrosse on May 30, is the defending champion.

Sectional champions will advance to four-team regionals on Saturday, June 6. The Memorial winner goes to LaPorte, with the NorthWood champion to Bellmont and the South Central victor to Caston.

Baseball Sectional Pairings 

CLASS 4-A
At Elkhart Memorial
May 28: 5 p.m.: Goshen vs, Concord
May 28: 8 p.m.: Elkhart Central vs. Northridge
May 30: 10 a.m.: Goshen-Concord winner vs. Central-Northridge winner
May 30: 1 p.m.: Elkhart Memorial vs. Warsaw
June 1: 6 p.m.: Championship Game

CLASS 3-A
At NorthWood
May 27: 5 p.m.: Fairfield vs. NorthWood
May 28: 5 p.m.: Wawasee vs. Whitko
May 29: 5 p.m.: West Noble vs. Lakeland
May 30: 11 a.m.: Tippecanoe Valley vs. Fairfield-NorthWood winner
May 30: 1 p.m.: Wawasee-Whitko winner vs. W. Noble-Lakeland winner
June 1: 5 p.m.: Championship Game

CLASS 1-A
At South Central
May 27: 4:30 p.m.: Argos vs. Oregon-Davis
May 28: 4:30 p.m.: Triton vs. Culver
May 30: 10 a.m.: Argos-OD winner vs. Triton-Culver winner
May 30: 12 p.m.: LaCrosse vs. South Central
May 30: 4 p.m.: Championship Game