A four-for-four performance at the plate by senior third baseman Mike Mack (Butler, IN/Eastside) wasn’t enough for the Wabash baseball team on Tuesday night. The Little Giants fell behind early to the Rose-Hulman Fightin’ Engineers on the way to a 6-3 loss to the 21st-ranked home squad.
Rose scored two in the first inning and added a third run in the second before an RBI single by junior Bill Goff (Brownsburg, IN/Brownsburg) got the Little Giants on the scoreboard in the third. Goff brought freshman catcher Scott Hamilton (Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard) home after Hamilton opened the inning with a single. Rose answered with a solo home run in the fifth inning to take a 4-1 lead.
Hamilton added an RBI single in the sixth, scoring second baseman Danny Schubert (JR/Lebanon, IL/Lebanon), who opened the sixth with a single down the left field line. Wabash scored its final run in the same inning when Brandon Heller (FR/Carthage, IN/Rushville) came in to pinch run for Tyler Nance (JR/Celebration, FL/Celebration) and scored on a ground out by Phil Ramos (SO/Zillah, WA/Zillah).
Wabash had the bases loaded twice in the first four innings, but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities. The Little Giants stranded 13 runners after pounding out 14 hits against the Engineers. Schubert, Ramos, and Hamilton each had two hits in addition to Mack's four singles. The Little Giants did not have an extra base hit in the contest.
John Thiry (SO/Grand Rapids, MI/Grand Rapids Christian) worked 5-2/3 innings, striking out two while allowing four earned runs and six total runs. Travis Moore (SO/Crawfordsville, IN/Crawfordsville) worked 2-1/3 innings of relief, striking out three while allowing only one hit and one walk.
Wabash (12-23) will travel to Earlham College on Saturday evening to begin its final North Coast Athletic Conference Western Division series of the season. The first pitch from McBride Stadium in Richmond, Indiana is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday.