Warsaw catcher Ryan Marshall congratulates his teammates after a 10-6 sectional win over Memorial on Saturday.

ELKHART – Scoring runs with two outs this season has not come easy for the Warsaw baseball team.

All of that changed at just the right time for the Tigers on Saturday.

Warsaw, making it look easy at the plate, came up with clutch hits all game long in outscoring  host Elkhart Memorial 10-6 in a semifinal contest of the Class 4-A Memorial Sectional.

The Tigers, who avenged a pair of regular-season conference losses to the Crimson Chargers (8-6 and 7-5), advance to play Northridge in the sectional title game at 6 p.m. Monday back at Memorial.

Warsaw, now  9-18 on the season, also lost twice to league foe Northridge during the season. The Raiders beat the Tigers 19-5 and 12-2 in Northern Lakes Conference play this spring.

Northridge, now 22-5, beat defending champion Concord 5-3 in the first semifinal on Saturday.

It was a key five-run third inning, with all the runs scoring with two outs, that put coach Mike Hepler’s club in control Saturday on a day that included rain showers, sweltering sun and high humidity.

The Tigers, after seeing Memorial get a run in the top half of the third frame to tie the game at 2-2, broke it open in the home half of the inning. Senior Ryan Marshall started the hit parade with an RBI single to give Warsaw the lead for good at 3-2. Junior Marselo Rodriguez followed with another RBI single to make it 4-2. Senior Cole Baker then cracked a two-run double before the Tigers added their final tally on a Memorial error to make it 7-2.

“We had so many big at-bats today,” said Warsaw coach Mike Hepler, whose team lost 2-1 to Concord in the 2014 sectional final at Memorial. “We got a lot of two-out hits today and that was big for us. We have not been getting those all year. We’ve hit the ball all year (batting like .316 as a team), but it’s been mind-boggling how poorly we have hit with runners in scoring position.

“It was a huge morale booster for us today to get those runs with two outs. It got us over the hump. This was a big win for us and I’m really proud of our guys. The battled hard and did a nice job competing and playing to win in sweltering conditions. We did not think it was going to be this hot today.”

Tyler LaFollette fires a pitch for Warsaw.

The Chargers got two runs in the fourth to make it 7-4. Warsaw answered with a run in the fourth on an RBI single by senior Tyler LaFollette to make it 8-4. The Tigers got a pair in the fifth on an RBI triple off the bat of Rodriguez and a sacrifice fly by Baker to make it 10-4.

Memorial made things interesting late in the game. The Chargers plated two runs in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk and a fielder’s choice to cut the deficit to 10-6. The hosts then loaded the bases in the seventh and final frame on two singles and a hit batter after the first two batters were retired. Warsaw junior Blake Foreman, the third Tiger pitcher of the game, then got a comebacker to the mound for the final out.

“It’s not been easy all year, so why would it be today,” said Hepler of the bases-loaded situation before the final out was recorded by his team. “It wasn’t over until it was over. We knew Memorial would battle and grind it out.

“Our guys hung in there and played our best game of the year today. This is a big win for us. I think our aggressive baserunning was a big key and turned the game today. It got us going and put pressure on them. Another big key was our defense (not making any errors). We made the plays we needed to make. We said that if we did not extend innings then we had a great chance.”

Memorial took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a solo homer by Alec Mark. The Tigers tied it as LaFollette crushed a solo shot of his own to left to lead off the second. Warsaw took a 2-1 lead later in the second on an RBI double by Rodriguez. The Chargers then tied it in the third on an RBI double by Cameron Maxwell.

Warsaw reliever Blake Foreman talks it over with catcher Ryan Marshall.

Junior Zach Witt went the first four innings for the Tigers on the hill to earn the win. LaFollette then pitched the fifth and the sixth before Foreman finished it off in the seventh. Sophomore Justin Walker started for Memorial and took the loss after lasting only two and two-thirds innings.

Marshall and Rodriguez each had three hits to lead the 13-hit attack for Warsaw. Witt and LaFollette each had two hits and Rodriguez and Baker each drove in three runs.

Maxwell led Memorial, which left 11 runners on base, with three hits.

Coach Scott Rost’s Chargers, who finish at 15-15, lose five seniors in Maxwell, Nick Brewers, Derrick Oley, Daniel Asbury and Scottie Clark.