SYRACUSE — There’s not really a good way to start the story about Wednesday’s game between Wabash and Wawasee because it didn’t really end on much of a high note. What was a very entertaining, early season contest between two hungry teams ended with players, fans and coaches scratching their heads saying, “Meh.”

Jairus Boyer shows some enthusiasm after scoring a run in Wednesday’s game against Wabash. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

The two teams played to a 5-5 draw after six innings of play once officials called the game for darkness. The finish was as thrilling as one might imagine.

“I guess it’s like kissing your sister, that’s the first thing Coach Beasley joked about after the game,” quipped Wawasee head coach Brent Doty, referring to the team’s assistant Scott Beasley.

A tie just was not a fitting end to a fun and competitive game.

Wabash, a team entering the season on the brink of the top 10 in 2-A, started hot with a two-run effort in the first inning. It looked as if the Apaches were going to run rampant on Wawasee’s starting pitcher, Rieder Hunley, who was making his first varsity start on the mound. But Hunley got on base with a single in the bottom half of the inning, which helped him calm his nerves on the mound for the rest of his outing. Once Hunley was comfortable, the rest of the team rallied behind his play.

Wawasee cut into the Apache lead after Rylan Kuhn scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the second. Kuhn was a spark plug for the Warriors all night, though most of that was done behind the plate.

In addition to making several nice stops, the junior made a great play that prevented Wabash from grabbing the lead in the top of the fifth. Kuhn was proactive in hanging on to a pitch as Wabash’s Austin Hochstetler came barrelling down the third base line in an attempt to steal home. Kuhn didn’t budge and the scored stayed frozen at 5-5 going into the bottom half of the inning. Kuhn later made a pinpoint throw to gun a runner down at second in the top of the sixth.

“He has a lot of experience behind the plate,” Doty said of Kuhn. “I think he caught just about every JV game last season. We were counting on him and we knew what he could do for us back there. He’s very good for us defensively and I think he’ll step it up offensively as the season goes on as well.”

Wawasee took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the third on a sac fly from Jamie Slabaugh which scored Chase Rookstool. A wild pitch allowed Lucas Garza to tie the game for Wawasee earlier in the inning.

Wabash bounced back to tie the game 3-3 in the top of the fourth. The Warriors responded by scoring two runs of their own in the fourth. One run came from Cayden Wegener, who was brought home by Hunley, and second was created by Jairus Boyer scoring off another throwing error by Wabash.

The back-and-forth game carried on in the top of the fifth as Jordan Burnsworth crushed a two-run homer over the left field fence to once again tie things up on the scoreboard. Wawasee left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth and that was the last true threat from either team.

“Our guys hung around after falling behind early and we talk about that all the time,” Doty stated. “Just because we’re down doesn’t mean we’re out. There was a lot of game left and they responded well against a good team. That’s a good pitcher, a good team, that’s what we’ll see when conference play comes around.

“Tonight was a good measuring stick for us. Where are we at? What did we learn? When we get a 5-3 lead, we have to put the other team away.”

Wawasee (1-0-1) will host Manchester Thursday night.

The C-team fell 14-6 to Concord. Dain Stuck was 2-3 at the plate for Wawasee. Wawasee also announced Wednesday that the C-team game for May 12 has now been moved to May 13.