Lady Warriors Clinch At Least Share Of NLC

A clutch sixth inning was about all Wawasee needed Wednesday, taking a 3-0 win at Northridge.

All three of Wawasee’s runs were scored in the sixth. Kylee Rostochak started the inning off with a walk, and Allissa Flores reached on a bunt single. Meghan Fretz then had the hit of the game, a ringing single that drove in both runners, giving Wawasee a 2-0 lead. Cristina DeLaFuente drove in the third run on a fielder’s choice.

That was all Amber Lemberg would need. The hurler worked out of jams in the second and seventh nail down Wawasee’s tenth win in the Northern Lakes Conference, one win away from at least a share of its second straight conference title.

Lemberg walked the bases loaded with one out in the second, but got a force out at home on a grounder to Rostochak, then got a strikeout to leave the bases loaded. Northridge put two runners on in the seventh, but Lemberg got a strikeout and flyout to end it. Lemberg had four strikeouts in the game, only giving up four hits and walking five for her third shutout of the year.

Wawasee, now 10-1 in the NLC and 19-4 overall, clinch at least a share of the NLC title with Concord and Northridge both with four losses. A win Friday over Plymouth (0-11) would cinch up the title outright. Wawasee beat Plymouth 10-0 in Plymouth earlier this season.

Warriors Open NLC With Double

Wawasee opened its NLC boys golf campaign on the road at Pretty Lake Golf Club against host Plymouth and NorthWood, and pulled out an impressive 166 to trump Plymouth by two and NorthWood by 13.

Jeffrey Moore stepped up, shooting a 38 and was joined by Cal Heinisch and Dillon Drake both posting 42s and Cameron Adams at 44.

Plymouth had two 40s from Micah Calhoun and Hudson Yoder, but took 44s from Colin Caine and John Gerard.

NorthWood, which had been very consistent in the early going this spring, used two 42s from Caleb Lung and Nick Sherk, then a 45 from Seth Hogan and a 50 from Jacob Falk.

The JV round went to Plymouth with a 184 to Wawasee’s 209 and NorthWood’s 227. Jayce Boatwright led the Wawasee JV with a medalist 42.

“Obviously, a couple of wins on the road in the NLC is a good thing,” stated Wawasee head coach Steve Coverstone. “The kids focused in and played very well tonight. We need to be ready to play at home tomorrow.”

Wawasee (9-2, 2-0 NLC) will host Concord and Elkhart Memorial in NLC action at South Shore.

Northridge Pounds Wawasee

Northridge kept the pressure on Wawasee Wednesday, rapping 16 hits in an 11-3 baseball final in Syracuse.

The Raiders posted a six-spot in the third and added four more in the seventh to spread out the scoreboard. Andy Ross, Mason Troyer and Andrew Kennedy all had three hits apiece while Nick Hooley added two hits and two RBIs for the Raiders. More importantly, the win keeps Northridge in the NLC baseball race, sitting a 7-4 in the NLC, just a half-game behind Warsaw, which is 8-3 but lost to NorthWood, which is 7-3.

Chase Rookstool led Wawasee (4-15-1, 1-9 NLC) with four hits and an RBI. Jacob Garcia and Spencer Prescott each added an RBI for the Warriors.

Northridge was all over the JV game, winning 16-2 over the Warriors.

Wawasee plays again Friday at Plymouth.