Wawasee’s infield celebrates an out during the team’s Northern Lakes Conference game in Plymouth Friday. (Photo by James Costello)

PLYMOUTH — Even though Friday’s win at Plymouth guaranteed Wawasee softball sole possession of the 2017 Northern Lakes Conference title, there weren’t any raucous on-field celebrations after the lopsided 19-1 win.

The Warriors were mostly businesslike in dismantling their hosts to move to 12-0 in the conference, a full three games out of reach of second-place Northridge with only two NLC games remaining on the schedule. Sure, there were the smiles and high fives you’d expect from such a dominant showing, but the little fanfare there was was mostly muted.

If the Warriors acted like they had been there before, it’s probably because, well, they had.

Many on Wawasee’s veteran roster had been along for the ride during the program’s conference championship runs in 2015 and ’16, and it was a core of nine seniors that head coach Mike Barger credited with the program three-peat, a span that has included an eye-popping 23 straight NLC wins as of Friday’s five-inning affair.

“Nine seniors. It stems from these kids. That’s why they’re three-peat,” said Barger. “They’ve won it three straight years so they came in and did their thing that they’re supposed to do.”

A nearly 50-minute bus ride and the prospect of facing a team with an 0-11 conference record did nothing to slow Wawasee out of the gate as the Warriors pressured the Plymouth defense early and often for nine runs in the first frame alone.

The visitors showed their hosts a little bit of everything in the top of the first, collecting three walks and another free base when Madie Wilson was hit by a pitch, stealing two bases and taking four others on wild pitches, while Hannah Haines and Faith Swihart laid down a pair of bunts, and Meghan Fretz and Wilson each walloped RBI doubles, Fretz’s a three-run fly to the gap in left-center as their team batted through the order in its first go-round versus Plymouth starter Josie Koontz. The Pilgrims never threatened to dig themselves out of that deep first-inning hole.

“That’s what we talked about on the bus is getting off the bus coming in to attack,” Barger said. “Finish what you want. When you start it, finish what you’re supposed to do. They came in here, started attacking, attacking, attacking, and they didn’t let up. And that’s what this team has done this year is just continue to attack and do the little things — bunt, hit and run. They never know what kind of game we’re going to play.”

On two different occasions, Wawasee broke the huddle in between frames with the cheer “Balls to the wall”, and the Warriors did indeed crank out some big hits — Wilson and Fretz collected two doubles apiece in the three and four spots in the lineup — but they were patient at the plate and used some crafty small ball to deal damage as well.

Ale Brito lays down a bunt in the fifth inning. Wawasee bunted a total of seven times Friday. (Photo by James Costello)

All told, Wawasee batters laid down seven bunts Friday — one sacrifice, four for singles and two that resulted in Plymouth errors and runs scored. In the meantime, the Warriors helped themselves to six bases on balls and six stolen bases, not to mention numerous extra bags on wild pitches and other heads-up base running plays. That diverse attack kept the Pilgrims guessing and kept the pressure on, resulting in a total of six errors by the home team.

If Plymouth didn’t know what to expect against the Warriors, that’s because they’re not even sure what they’re going to do until they’re about to do it, said Barger

“That’s what I just told them down there when we were talking is nobody understands what we’re going to do because we don’t know,” said the Wawasee skipper. “We’ll take an approach to the plate and come in trying to attack them just playing the home run game. If it’s not working, we’ll change it. We just don’t know; we never know what we’re going to do with it.”

If the Warriors were sneaky good in the top half of innings, they were also fundamentally solid on defense and inside the circle.

Bethel commit Haines scattered four hits and only one walk while striking out six and gave up no earned runs as the Pilgrims scratched out their only score following a fielder’s choice ball that was nearly a 6-4-3 double play after a dropped third strike and an overthrow to first in the previous at bat in the third inning. Shayla Noble would eventually cross home plate on a Mackenzie Derifield sac fly that would otherwise have been the final out of the inning.

The Wawasee defense’s one-error outing was all the more impressive for the fact that the team was forced to shift its lineup after usual starting center fielder Aubrey Kuhn injured her hamstring Wednesday, adjustments that saw Wilson move over to third from short and Swihart move to short from right field.

Kuhn’s earliest possible return would be next Friday, but what Barger saw from his lineup after one day’s preparation at Plymouth had to make the head coach confident in his modified lineup in the interim.

“We had just one day to get it right. I’d say we did it to an extent. We did our thing,” he said.

“That’s what is good about this because that’s a shaken up defense. With everybody in a new face and a different place, they stepped up and played the game just like they’re supposed to, and they were comfortable where they’re at. And then Hannah on the mound pitched extraordinary today.”

Plymouth slides to 6-19 and 0-12 in the NLC while Wawasee improves to 19-3 overall with an unblemished 12-0 NLC mark. The Warriors return to NLC play Monday at Goshen before wrapping conference play at home opposite Concord Wednesday.

“We’re on to Goshen now. It’s no one else. We’re not focused on anyone but Goshen,” Barger said. “We don’t focus in the future; we focus right now. And I think that’s what we’re sticking with because if this team starts to look past this game, you start to look past the other one and then you get to sectionals and you start looking to the future, and the next thing you know, somebody caught you.”

Faith Swihart turns a double play. (Photo by James Costello)

Madie Wilson runs to third. (Photo by James Costello)

Marisa Hunziker gets the ball in to the infield while Christy Carson gets set up to cut off the throw. (Photo by James Costello)