Senior Kara Dishman will look to her her Warsaw team pull off an upset in softball sectional play on Monday.

Jim Speicher has been around the game of softball for a long time.

The Warsaw coach knows his team is going to need to catch a few breaks in order to pull off a sectional upset.

The Tigers face familiar foe Concord on Monday in the semifinal bye game of the Class 4-A Elkhart Central Sectional.

Warsaw lost twice to the Minutemen during the regular season, including a 12-1 decision last Monday. Concord ace Rae Ann Miller allowed just one hit, while striking out 10 in working the first four innings of the five-inning game.

“We’re going to need the breaks to go our way,” said Speicher about facing Concord for the third time. “Miller is spinning the ball well for them right now.”

The Tigers, who were 7-16 after rallying to beat Elkhart Memorial 11-5 Thursday,  may be without Kaleigh Speicher. The team’s top pitcher and one of its best hitters did not play last week versus Concord due to a deep thumb bruise.

Coach Speicher said that his daughter, who also did not play Thursday versus Memorial,  was questionable for the sectional.

Speicher did play on Saturday in one of two games versus South Bend St. Joseph during a doubleheader at Warsaw. She did not pitch in either game as the Tigers wrapped up their regular season at 8-18 after losing both contests to the Indians.

The Tigers are led by senior outfielder Ashley Ousley, who will play at IUPUI next year. Senior Whitney Sleeth has handled most of the pitching duties lately. Warsaw will also count on seniors Kara Dishman and Alexa Glass and juniors Karly Jones, Sidney Hernandez and Taylor Stiver.

Northridge is the two-time defending champion. The No. 5 Raiders have lost in the semi state each of the last two seasons. Northridge plays Goshen in a first-round game Monday. The Raiders, who lost just twice during the regular season, split versus Concord in Northern Lakes Conference play.

Concord, which is 19-8 on the season, beat the Raiders 3-1 on May 10 behind a stellar pitching performance by Miller. The Raiders defeated Concord 5-0 in the sectional title game a year ago in Warsaw.

Northridge is led by star senior pitcher Haley Nixon. The Indiana Wesleyan bound righthander is 23-2 on the season.

Wawasee opens postseason play Tuesday night versus Tippecanoe Valley in a first-round game of the Class 3-A Fairfield Sectional. The youthful Warriors did not play the Vikings during the regular season.

Wawasee did lost its final three games of the regular season, albeit to tough opponents in Northridge, Concord and Bremen. The Warriors, who are 4-2 versus the sectional field, are 17-10 on the season.

Host and defending champion Fairfield plays Whitko in the second game Tuesday night. That winner faces the Wawasee-Valley winner in a semifinal matchup.

Fairfield did defeat Wawasee 7-1 way back on April 14 on a brutally cold night in Syracuse.

Triton is the heavy favorite to win its own four-team Class 1-A Sectional. The Trojans, who won just their second sectional title in 2013, play Bethany Christian Monday.

Senior ace Mallorie Jennings leads the Trojans. The pitcher has 675 career strikeouts and is 13-5 this season with an ERA under 1.00.

Sectional champions advance to one-game regionals on June 3. The Fairfield Sectional winner will host a regional, while the winners at Central and Triton will play on the road.

Semistates are on June 7 with the State Finals set for June 13-14 at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.

Sectional Pairings

Class 4-A
At Elkhart Central
May 26: 10 a.m.: Elkhart Central vs. Elkhart Memorial
May 26: 12 p.m.: Northridge vs. Goshen
May 26: 2 p.m.: Warsaw vs. Concord
May 28: 6 p.m.: Central-Memorial winner vs. Northridge-Goshen winner
May 30: 6 p.m.: Championship Game

Class 3-A
At Fairfield
May 26: 5 p.m.: Lakeland vs. West Noble
May 27: 5 p.m.: Tippecanoe Valley vs. Wawasee
May 27: 6:45 p.m.: Fairfield vs. Whitko
May 28: 5 p.m.: NorthWood vs. Lakeland-West Noble winner
May 28: 6:45 p.m.: Valley-Wawasee winner vs. Fairfield-Whitko winner
May 29: 5 p.m.: Championship Game

Class 1-A
At Triton
May 26: 1 p.m.: Elkhart Christian vs. Hamilton
May 26: 3 p.m.: Bethany Christian vs. Triton
May 27: 7 p.m.: Championship Game