A three-run eighth inning by the DePauw Tigers brought an end to any hopes for the Wabash baseball on Friday afternoon. The Tigers took a 4-0 victory at Mud Hollow Field in the first of three games between the two rivals this weekend.
Both teams were locked in an old-fashioned pitcher’s dual through the first seven innings. Little Giant starter John Thiry (Grand Rapids, MI/Grand Rapids Christian) worked all nine innings on Friday, holding the Tigers scoreless on four hits through the opening seven frames. DePauw’s P.J. Mitchell matched him pitch for pitch, keeping Wabash off the scoreboard after scratching out five hits in seven innings.
Wabash threatened in the fifth when Mike Mack (SR/Butler, IN/Eastside) opened the inning with a single up the middle, but was erased on a failed sacrifice bunt. A single by second baseman Danny Schubert (JR/Lebanon, IL/Lebanon) put runners at first and second with only one out, but the next two Little Giants struck out to end the scoring opportunity.
Thiry erased the first two batters in the eight inning, but a walk and base hit with two down put runners on the corners for the Tigers. A slow roller between first and second appeared to end the inning for the Little Giants, but the ball got past the Wabash infield and into right field, giving DePauw its first run. A wild pitch and passed ball led to two more runs before Wabash could get out of the inning.
The Tigers would add another run in the ninth on a suicide squeeze to take a four-run lead. The Little Giants would only see one runner reach base in the final two innings when Nick George (JR/West Lafayette, IN/Harrison) got to first on an error by the DePauw shortstop. But Mitchell retired the Little Giants in order in the ninth to pick up his eighth win of the season.
Sophomore Phil Ramos (Zillah, WA/Zillah) had two of Wabash’s five hits. Thiry struck out four DePauw batters in the contest while walking three to fall to 4-5 for the year.
The Little Giants (12-20) will travel to Greencastle, Indiana for the final two games of the series on Saturday afternoon. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m.