Carly Mast and NorthWood opened its home calendar Tuesday in hosting Fairfield. InkFreeNews file photo by Mike Deak
Wawasee Baseball 9, Manchester 4
Wawasee opened its season a little early, pushing up its Thursday contest at Manchester to Tuesday.
Grant Brooks was magnificent on the hill for the Warriors (1-0), working six innings of two-hit, no-run ball, walking none and striking out 13 Squires.
Jacob Meek had three hits and four RBI to pace the Wawasee offense, and a double, two stolen bases and a pair of RBI. Kam Salazar had two hits and three runs scored.
Garrett Stiles knocked in a pair of runs to lead Manchester.
In the JV contest at Wawasee, the Squires topped the Warriors 6-5. Hunter Fiedeke had two hits and two RBI to lead Wawasee while Jay Duncan drew three walks and scored a pair of runs.
NorthWood Baseball 26, Mishawaka Marian 12
A football game broke out Tuesday in Mishawaka as the two teams combined for 38 runs.
In a sign of two teams still getting its post-pandemic footings, the two sides combined for 24 hits, but also 10 errors and 22 walks.
NorthWood (2-0) had 17 of the hits, with Nate Newcomer recording a single, triple and homer and driving in a career-high eight runs. Gage Gongwer added four hits, six runs scored and three RBI. Jacob Raasch and Kyle Sellers both scored four runs for the Panthers.
Of Marian’s 12 runs, only three were credited as earned. Matt Earley drew three walks, had a hit, and scored three times for the Knights.
St. Joe Baseball 12, Warsaw 3
The Tigers struck first, but St. Joe answered again and again during Warsaw’s season opener in Tiger Town.
Joey Springer scored on a wild pitch in the first to get Warsaw on the board, but the Indians answered with two runs in the second, three in the third and four in the fourth to take a 9-2 lead.
Aaron Greene homered for the Tigers, which managed just one other hit in the five-inning contest.
Springer took the loss on the hill, touched up for six runs on seven hits in 3.1 innings of work.
Fairfield Softball 14, NorthWood 3
NorthWood’s pitching struggles continues early on as Fairfield clubbed 18 hits in the win at Callander Sportsplex.
Mackayla Stutsman and Laney Faldoe both had four hits and combined for six runs and four RBI. Brooke Sanchez homered and drove in three as the Falcons scored 10 unanswered runs to close the game.
Kali Butler had two hits and two RBI to pace the Panthers (0-3) and Carly Mast added an RBI single. Morgan Jenkins added two hits and a pair of stolen bases.
Kayla Miller struck out seven and walked one to get the win for the Falcons. Autumn Miller worked all seven innings for NorthWood.
Mt. Vernon Softball 7, Grace 1
Mt. Vernon 5, Grace 4
Grace’s softball team dropped a pair of games to Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Wednesday at Coach Phil Dick Field.
The Lady Lancers lost 7-1 in the opener before falling short 5-4 in the finale.
Grace struggled to generate offense in the opener. The Lady Lancers scored just one run with five hits in a 7-1 defeat.
MVNU jumped on the scoreboard early in the game, plating five times in the first two innings. Grace committed a few errors in the field, allowing the Cougars to take control of the game.
The Lady Lancers’ only run came in the seventh inning. Jeri Ellis led off the frame with a single, and she came home to score on a run by Britney Young. Ellis finished the game 2 for 3 with one run scored.
The second game started with plenty of action. The Lady Lancers had two fielding errors in the top half of the inning, allowing the Cougars to claim a 3-0 lead.
But Grace had a response planned. Jaden Cardoso and Jessica Kaurich had back-to-back infield singles, and Young sent both runners home with a deep home run to left field.
Grace took the lead at 4-3 thanks to a two-out RBI hit from Laikyn Lowe.
In the top of the third, the Cougars used a two-out rally to retake the lead 5-4. Grace was unable to counter despite having two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the frame.
The Lady Lancers did not move a runner past first base over the final four innings and had to settle for the 5-4 defeat.
Ellis pitched the complete game, giving up four earned runs with a pair of strikeouts.
Young was perfect at bat, going 3 for 3. Lowe was 1 for 3 with an RBI, and Cassandra Hayes hit 1 for 2.
The Lady Lancers will head to Indiana Wesleyan on Friday before returning home on Saturday for an 11 a.m. doubleheader against Spring Arbor.