WARSAW — You just kind of had to be there.

Warsaw controlled its own destiny on the diamond Thursday night as it hosted Memorial in a Northern Lakes Conference finale. The Tigers needed a win to clinch a share of the league’s top spot with Plymouth, which wrapped up its league slate with a 10-4 mark after beating NLC foe Northridge 3-2 Wednesday night.

Jordan Jones leaps off the mound in celebration after striking out the final batter of Thursday’s game against Memorial. Warsaw clinches a share of the 2016 NLC title with the win. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

A game with so much on the line was guaranteed to have some big moments, but Warsaw and Memorial put on a show that gave fans more than their money’s worth. The Tigers would rally for an 8-7 win and their first conference title since 2009.

Though it was Senior Night for the Orange and Black, it was a junior that stole the limelight late in the game.

“It was a big moment,” said Warsaw’s Jordan Jones. “It means a lot to be a part of this program and a part of the first team to win a conference championship in a while.”

Jones entered the game trailing 6-5 with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning. The junior minimized the damage, walking in one run, and recorded the final out to bring the Tigers to the plate trailing 7-5.

An emotionally charged and exciting sixth inning was started with a leadoff single from Collin Marshall. That was followed up by Justin Kerschner drawing a walk. Sterling Hay smacked a ball to the wall for a double, scoring Marshall. A sac fly from Jordan Steffensmeier allowed Kerschner to tie things up at 7-7.

Zach Witt, who started the game on the mound for the Tigers, came through offensively by scoring fellow senior Hay on a sac fly.

Now clinging to a one-run advantage, Warsaw handed the lead and ball back to Jones to close things out in the seventh.

“”I was trying not to overthink anything, I was just focused on getting the guy out,” Jones recalled. “Memorial was hitting well as a team, they were sending balls in the air all game and I was just wanting to keep it low, keep it on the ground.”

With two outs and a 2-2, Jones delivered strike three to Memorial’s Lane Schultz and, in turn, secured the Tigers share of the conference crown.

“That 2-2 change-up, there’s times where I’ve doubted that change-up,” admitted Jones. “Witt makes me call it. He calls it, I throw it. He does a good job with it and it worked in that situation.”

Memorial had no dog in the fight, a win would bring the Chargers a share of anything but that didn’t stop the Chargers from making things difficult for the Tigers all night. Warsaw had dropped a 1-0 final at Memorial on May 2.

After grabbing a 4-1 lead after the first two innings, Warsaw watched as the Chargers slowly came back to go up 5-4 in the fifth inning. A two-out RBI from Braxton Tennant scored Marselo Rodriguez in the bottom of the fifth to tie things back up.

“All year we’ve been talking about battling for seven innings,” Warsaw skipper Mike Hepler began. “Don’t get too high we you get a lead, don’t get too low when you’re trailing. We always tell them to keep fighting. I figured out guys would make a good rally in that sixth inning. We had seniors coming up, it was senior night and I felt like they were going to come through and, sure enough, they did. Credit to our seniors for stepping up today.

“It was a great game, it really was. Memorial played hard, I really appreciate playing that team. We always have good battles with them. Every game is intense with them and today was no exception. We did enough things right, we were nowhere near perfect, but we did a lot of good things. The biggest thing I was proud of is how we battled at the plate, especially in some adverse situations.”

Winning the NLC was a goal for the team to accomplish since preseason, but that didn’t change just how surreal the feeling was to finish the job.

“We were 4-10 last year in the NLC and finish 10-4 this year. We made one of our goals. This was it, be conference champs,” Hepler said, then paused to gather his thoughts and take in the moment as his team celebrated a few feet away. “I feel like I can exhale a little bit. It was a good team win. We had to rely on everybody, every player.”

The Tigers beat NLC co-champion Plymouth 2-0 and 9-8 in their two league meetings.

Warsaw was led offensively by Steffensmeier and Tennat, who each had a pair of RBIs. Hay had an RBI and scored three runs. Rodriguez scored a pair of runs in addition to having an RBI of his own.

Warsaw and Memorial each had 11 hits and three errors.

Warsaw (13-9, 10-4) will play Class 4-A No. 5 and defending state champion Penn in the first game of the Tiger Tourney this Saturday. The Tigers then play at Elkhart Central Monday in the regular-season finale before facing Penn again next Thursday night in the Class 4-A Penn Sectional.