Kaleigh Speicher starts her windup Wednesday. The junior fired a three-hitter in Warsaw’s 9-0 NLC win over Goshen at Shanklin Park (Photos by Scott Davidson)

GOSHEN – Nothing warms the heart like a win.

Just ask the Warsaw softball team.

The youthful Tigers turned in a solid performance in every phase of the game Wednesday night to notch their first victory of the season.

Karly Jones slugged a home run and Kaleigh Speicher twirled a gem in the circle as Warsaw blanked Goshen 9-0 in Northern Lakes Conference action.

Sophomore Jones belted a three-run roundtripper in a six-run second inning and junior Speicher fired a three-hitter under cloudy, cold and windy conditions at Shanklin Park.

Senior Kayla Snider had a pair of RBI singles, sophomore Sid Hernandez had two hits and drove in two runs and junior Ashley Ousley scored a pair of runs in a complete team effort by Warsaw.

Warsaw’s Sid Hernandez gets in defensive position as Taylor Caouette breaks from first Wednesday.

The Tigers, who improved to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in league play, bounced back quite nicely after losing to Wawasee 10-7 at home Monday in their NLC opener.

Senior Lacee Mulcahey had two singles for Goshen.  The Redskins, who lost their NLC opener 19-3 at Northridge Monday, drop to 3-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Goshen has eight letter winners back from last season’s team that finished 8-21 overall and 5-9 in the NLC.

Warsaw, with plenty of new faces in the lineup, has had to deal with limited practices outdoors due to the cold and wet weather and the inexperience on the varsity level of many of its players.

“This was important to get us some confidence,” said Warsaw coach Jim Speicher. “It’s been tough with such a young team this season because we haven’t been able to be outside much with the weather and we’ve been learning on the fly. The little things have hurt us at times so far.

“We had a hard practice Tuesday. It was a very productive practice for us. Tonight, all three facets of the game (pitching, hitting and defense) were there for us. We can be competitive with anyone this season when we have all three facets playing well like tonight. The key is that we have to continue to get better.”

The Tigers, who started just two seniors Wednesday, graduated a pair of All-State players in catcher Kelsey Dotson and shortstop Kendra Marshall. Dotson and Marshall combined to hit 22 home runs and drive in 83 runs last year as Warsaw went 19-10 overall and 11-3 in the NLC. Dotson is now playing at Indiana and Marshall at Valparaiso. Warsaw also graduated pitcher Cari O’Hara, who set a single-season school record with 15 wins in 2012.

Junior Kaleigh Speicher prepares to pitch versus Goshen Wednesday.

Kaleigh Speicher is trying to round back into form in the circle for Warsaw. The talented junior was 12-4 as a freshman before missing most of last season due to a severe injury to her pitching shoulder, which required surgery in October of 2011.  The righthander looked strong Wednesday, allowing just three singles while striking out six and walking three in the shutout.

“Winning one helps us to get the momentum going,” said Kaleigh Speicher, who also smacked a double in the lopsided win. “We’ve had some tough innings in those first four games, but not tonight. We got a good lead today and that helped us.

“I thought I pitched a lot better tonight. I didn’t leave the ball over the plate to them like I did against Wawasee Monday night. It’s just awesome to be back pitching. I love it. They told me originally when I had the injury that I wouldn’t be able to pitch again. It’s nice to still be able to do it.”

Kaleigh Speicher talks with catcher Kayla Snider (No. 31) as Kara Dishman and Sid Hernandez look on.

Kaleigh Speicher allowed Goshen just a two-out single in the first inning and then back-to-back singles in the sixth frame.

Jones made her first high school home run one to remember. The No. 2 hitter took a 3-2 pitch and smashed it over the left field fence in the second inning to make it 5-0 at the time.  Her blast, which sailed about 220 feet, highlighted a six-run inning that put the Tigers in complete control.

“It sounded really good coming off the bat,” said Jones, who played JV last season. “I can’t really explain it, but it was a great feeling to have.  This is a really good boost for us. It gets us out of a slump. We just have to keep playing as a team and getting better as a team. That’s what’s important.”

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by cleanup hitter Snider. The six runs in the second, which included an RBI single by leadoff hitter Ousley and a two-run single by Hernandez, made it 7-0. Warsaw got a run in the fourth frame on an RBI single by Snider and added a final run in the seventh off junior Taylor Caouette, who pitched the distance for Goshen.

Warsaw had opened its season with losses to Elkhart Central, East Noble, South Bend Riley and Wawasee, all at home.

“Kaleigh was much better tonight hitting her spots,” said coach Speicher. “This was by far her best game doing that. When she does, she’s very effective. I have to remember that she was not in the circle for about 19 months. It’s going to take a while and I have to be patient with her.

“Karly may not look like it, but she will drive the ball. She sure drove that one tonight. She swings a good bat for us.”

Warsaw outhit Goshen 9-3 and played errorless ball, while the Redskins committed three errors.

The Warsaw junior varsity team picked up an 11-5 win over Goshen Wednesday at Shanklin Park. The contest was stopped in the sixth inning due to lightning.

Warsaw plays at NLC foe Plymouth Friday and at Valparaiso Saturday.

Karly Jones takes an inside pitch versus Goshen Wednesday. The Warsaw sophomore blasted a three-run homer in a 9-0 NLC win.