Isabelle Dittmar attempts a bunt for the Tigers Tuesday night. Host Warsaw lost 11-5 to East Noble.

WARSAW – Warsaw softball coach Kevin Dishman thinks that his team can be special this season.

Senior Abby Glass was pretty special at the plate Tuesday night for the Tigers.

Glass blasted a pair of home runs in an 11-5 loss to East Noble in a non-conference matchup at the Tigers Athletic Complex.

Warsaw, which was playing for the first time since beating Mishawaka 4-2 in its opener on March 29,  falls to 1-1. The aggressive and opportunistic Knights improve to 2-0.

Glass, the starting shortstop and one of six seniors for the Tigers, cracked a two-run roundtripper in the first frame and added a solo blast in the sixth. The No. 3 hitter, who will play for Bethel College next year, went 3-4 in the game.

“I’ve worked on my swing a lot and spent time over Spring Break (last week) hitting,” said Glass. “Both of the home runs were on pitches I like. I just hope for a great season for the team. We showed in our first game that we can do it. We just need to play hard and get back to that. I know that we can.”

The Tigers never led in the game. East Noble plated a pair of runs in their first at bat as senior Laina Combs had an RBI single and freshman Dani Jaquay an RBI double.

Warsaw tied the game in the home half of the first inning as Glass smashed a two-run shot over the centerfield fence.

East Noble took the lead for good with a single tally in the third to make it 3-2. The Knights scored three more times in the fifth frame to make it 6-2. The Tigers answered with a pair in the fifth on a two-run single by senior Jordan McClone to cut the deficit to 6-4. Combs then had a two-run single for the Knights to make it 8-4 in the sixth before Glass slammed her second home run in the sixth. The Knights closed out the scoring with three runs in the final frame for the 11-5 win.

Warsaw had five errors in the game and left nine runners on base.

Abby Glass is congratulated after the first of two homes runs.

“They (East Noble) did an excellent job tonight of taking advantage of our mistakes,” said Warsaw coach Kevin Dishman. “A lot of those were mental. We will clean those up.

“This was a good game for us. This week is about getting the jitters out. Our girls will be upset that we lost and that’s a good thing. We’ll come back tomorrow night and get after it against Carroll.

“Abby did what I expect out of her tonight. I expect her to be a leader for us and to hit the ball hard. I thought that Jordan (McClone) did a nice job for us. I really love this team this year. I love how they get along and how interchangeable they are on the field. I think that this team can be special this season.”

McClone went 3-3 at the plate with two RBI for the Tigers, who had 10 hits in the contest.

Sophomore Courtney Chookie took the loss in the circle. She allowed 12 hits while striking out two and walking two in a complete game for the Tigers.

Combls paced East Noble with three hits and four RBI. Carissa Gruszczyk had two doubles and scored three runs for the winners. Taylor Lahee and Abbie Peterson each had two hits for the Knights.

Warsaw hosts Carroll Wednesday and entertains South Bend Washington Saturday. The Tigers then open Northern Lakes Conference play at home versus rival Wawasee next Monday.

Sophomore Courtney Chookie prepares to let fly with a pitch.

Shortstop Abby Glass hustles to cover third base for the Tigers.