Warsaw’s Saylor Bradley gets a hi-five from a teammate after making an inning-ending putout against Wawasee Thursday afternoon. (Photos by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE – Warsaw rolled into Syracuse about 30 minutes late for its Northern Lakes Conference softball matchup with Wawasee. While the Tigers didn’t get off the bus running, it did pile up enough runs to beat Wawasee, 8-6, Thursday afternoon.

A transportation issue with an available bus had Warsaw not get to Wawasee until shortly after 5:30. A slow start did shape into a big early advantage, the Tigers eventually taking a 6-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth. Lindsey Bradley started what would be a huge day with a three-run double to get Warsaw on the board in the third. Izzy Dittmar doubled in another run in the fourth and Bradley added an RBI single, pushing the Tiger lead to five.

Wawasee catcher Amanda Jenkins fires down to second on a Warsaw steal attempt.

Wawasee responded with RBI singles from Bethany Flannery and Amanda Jenkins to cut the lead in half at 6-3 after four.

Bradley added a third hit, driving in her fifth run to give Warsaw an 8-3 lead, the Tigers looking well on their way in the sixth.

Wawasee wouldn’t go away quietly, scoring three in the seventh when Ava Rush singled home a run and Graceanne Kerlin drove in two with a single. But Courtney Chookie dug in and got Delaney Hare to ground out to end the game, preserving Warsaw’s first NLC win of the season.

Chookie, who threw 158 pitches Wednesday night in a marathon loss to Goshen, threw another 124 in the complete game. Chookie gave up seven hits, walked three and struck out four.

The loss for Wawasee ended a historic run for the program, ending the 25-game NLC win streak, the longest such streak in team history. Warsaw chased Flannery from the circle after three innings, touching her up for four runs on four hits and four walks and shouldering the loss. Kiaundra Olson gave up just one earned run in four innings of relief, but had a pair of errors and some control issues conflate matters.

The JV game had Wawasee roll to a 14-4 victory. Autumn Conners had a double, two triples and three RBIs. Katie Flannery added a pair of triples in the win.

Warsaw moves to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the NLC. Wawasee slips to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the NLC. Warsaw will host Plymouth Friday while Wawasee visits NorthWood.