MIDDLEBURY – The Warsaw baseball team is in the midst of a long and grueling week.

Host Northridge made it a little longer and tougher on the Tigers Wednesday night.

The Raiders started strong and finished fast in besting Warsaw 19-5 in five innings in Northern Lakes Conference play.

Northridge tallied 14 hits off five Tiger pitchers in the contest. The Raiders also took advantage of five walks and four hit batters in the rout.

Warsaw, which drops to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in NLC play, lost 2-0 at NorthWood Monday. The Tigers, who are shorthanded in their pitching staff, host Elkhart Central Thursday and Concord Friday before playing a doubleheader at Valparaiso on Saturday.

“This was a tough one,” said Warsaw coach Mike Hepler. “We were not at our best tonight. Our energy level was not good and we need to have that. Northridge swung the bats well and we ran out of pitching. We’re trying to piece things together right now.

“We’re trying and doing some things right. I thought we hit the ball pretty well tonight. But we are at the point where our players need to go out there and play. We need some guys to step up. We’ll try and right the ship tomorrow.”

Northridge, which improves to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in league play, scored four runs in the first. Payton Carson, one of four seniors, delivered the key hit with a two-run single with two outs.

The Raiders plated six runs in the third frame to turn a 5-2 lead into an 11-2 edge. Eric Burgess had a two-run singles for the hosts and the trio of Andrew Kennedy, Matt Miller and Austin Jackson connected for RBI doubles in succession.

Warsaw showed some fight finally in the fourth frame. Senior Ethyn Bradley smacked an RBI single and junior Sterling Hay a two-run single to make it 11-5.

Northridge put the game away with eight runs in the fourth inning off three Warsaw pitchers. The Raiders drew four straight walks with the bases loaded to force in four tallies and then Burgess and Landon Fisher each had two-run singles.

Bradley led the Tigers with two hits, including a double. Senior Kevin Hawley also had two hits. Starter Hawley took the pitching loss, allowing nine runs (five earned) in two innings of work.

A total of 10 different players had hits for the Raiders. Burgess drove in four runs for the winners. Junior Travis Miller improved to 5-0 with the pitching win. He went the first three and two thirds, allowing five runs, but just one earned.

The news was much better for the Warsaw junior varsity at Northridge. The JV Tigers posted a 6-0 win to improve to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the NLC. Jordan Steffensmeier had a home run and a double and Luke Baker two doubles. Jordan Jones got the pitching win to improve his season mark to 4-0.

Warsaw hosts Elkhart Central Thursday. Northridge plays at NLC foe Elkhart Memorial Friday.