Wawasee breaks the huddle prior to the opening pitch in the Warriors’ 2018 season-opener with Wabash Wednesday. (Photos by James Costello)

SYRACUSE — Wawasee baseball coach Brent Doty’s evaluation of his team’s season-opener with Wabash Wednesday night? It was a start.

The Warriors collected seven total hits and five errors — including three during a rough, five-run fifth inning by the Apaches — but did show some fight in the sixth. Unfortunately, that rally wasn’t enough to get them over the hump in a 6-2 loss shortened to six innings by fog and darkness at home in Syracuse.

“It’s the start of the season; that’s what it is,” said Doty. “It’s kind of new baseball for everybody. We’ve got a couple guys in new positions that weren’t there last year. We graduated some guys last year, so it’s a learning experience there for us. Nothing was thrown at us we haven’t prepared for so we’ll just go back to it, go to work tomorrow and see where it goes from there.”

Wawasee was within a run of its guests until that big fifth inning, which saw the Apaches plate five unearned runs.

Wawasee starter Carter Woody works in the top of the first.

Trenton Daughtry reached on a blooper into the no-man’s land between first, second and the mound when Warriors first baseman Zak Linnemeier bobbled the ball on the play. Starter Carter Woody threw four straight balls to Kallen Kelsheimer, and with the visitors coming through the order a third time against him, was replaced by reliever Jacob Garcia. Robert Irgans hit into a fielder’s choice ball at short for the inning’s second out, but Daughtry advanced to third on the play. With Irgans taking a big leadoff, Garcia’s pickoff throw to first sailed errant, allowing Daughtry to score before Wabash starter Kory Fuller helped his own cause with a run-scoring double to deep left. Pinch runner Wyatt Davis stole third, Clayton Floor coaxed Garcia’s first walk, and a pickoff throw from catcher Levi Brown to third to hold Davis in place took an unlucky bounce off the helmet of the diving pinch runner and into left, scoring Davis and advancing Floor to third, setting the table for Blake Gribbon to drive him in with a line single into left.

Garcia fanned Trevor Pelphrey to retire the side, but it was too late as the Apaches now led by a 6-1 cushion.

“That was just unfortunate, a kind of bad luck bounce; it bounced off the kid’s helmet,” explained Doty of the pickoff throw from home to third.

“Things here and there that we work on in practice, we drill on and stuff, but when it comes game time it didn’t go our way tonight. Hopefully it does going forward.”

Wawasee rallied in its last chance in the sixth against Wabash closer Daughtry, as Jamie Slabaugh collected his first hit on a hard grounder through the gap at first, stole second and took third on a wild pitch. Garcia singled him home with a two-out liner through short and Jairus Boyer drew a walk to keep the rally going, but Jacob Hand went down swinging to close it out.

Kameron Salazar is tagged by Clayton Floor trying to steal second while Robert Irgan backs up the play.

“We’ve been known to do that. We get down a little bit, and we never give up, stay in it, keep fighting, keep battling. A two-out rally, we get one across there, and it builds confidence hopefully going into tomorrow,” Doty said.

The Apaches got on top early when Daughtry drew a one-out walk, then scored when Kelsheimer put a ball in play to third that was overthrown to first, then frantically overthrown to home plate trying to catch Daughtry. Kelsheimer advanced all the way to third on that second error, but Woody wiggled off the hook with two straight outs — a groundout by Irgans and a pop-up by Fuller.

The visitors added another run in the top of the fourth when Fuller drew a lead-off walk with the count full, Floor singled through the gap at second, and Pelphrey pulled a long sacrifice fly to left. The Warriors responded in the bottom half of the inning as Salazar collected his second hit in as many at-bats, Slabaugh advanced him with a perfect sac bunt down the first baseline, and Brown drove him in with a single into right-center, cutting Wabash’s lead to 2-1. The Warriors never got any closer, however.

All told, Fuller scattered five hits through five innings on the way to the win. The big left-hander walked none while striking out six — including four called third strikes — while showing good command in a varied attack.

Jamie Slabaugh takes a cut at a pitch.

“You’ve got to give him credit. He kept us off balance, mixed his pitches well tonight, but we have to be more disciplined.,” explained Doty. “We can’t take so many strikeouts looking. That’s what I talked to them tonight, but credit him. He mixed his pitches, kept us guessing all night.”

Woody battled in the loss, surrendering just four hits but walking three while striking out four in 4 1/3 innings of work against a Wabash lineup that featured four lefties. Garcia struggled in his first outing since an arm injury early last season, surrendering two hits and two walks while striking out two coming in under pressure in the fifth.

“I can’t say enough about Carter Woody. He did a phenomenal job on the mound for us tonight, kept us in it. When things went a little haywire, was able to battle out of some issues,” Doty said.

Kameron Salazar led Wawasee at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a run scored, while Slabaugh recorded a hit and a run, and Brown, Garvia, Boyer and Jake Crousore recorded the Warriors’ other hits Wednesday.

The Warriors hope to bounce back quickly as they host Manchester tonight at 5 p.m. before entering Spring Break Friday.