Two freshmen helped the Wabash baseball team stay perfect as the Little Giants defeated Wartburg College 5-3 in New Port Richey, Florida. Game two was cancelled due to rain.
Chris Schmaltz (Greenwood, IN/Roncalli) went the distance in his first college pitching start, holding Wartburg, 30-15 last season and a preseason top-40 team in the Collegiate Baseball poll, to three runs on eight hits. The righthander struck out six without allowing a walk in seven innings. He kept the Knights scoreless through six innings before Brian Greiner deposited a pitch over the right-center field fence to cut the lead to four runs. Wartburg put two more on the board before Schmaltz closed the door to pick up his first career victory.
Rookie third baseman Jon Elwardt (Naperville, IL/Naperville Central) made three tremendous defensive plays, including two line drive grabs to end innings, to keep Schmaltz and the Little Giants in the lead. Elwardt also contributed at the plate with a two-run single in the second inning to put Wabash up 3-0.
The Little Giants jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first. Billy King (Peoria, AZ/Peoria HS—Glendale Comm. College) opened the game with a double, then scored two batters later on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Jared Bogan (Struthers, OH/Struthers) that was thrown away by the Knight’s pitcher. Wabash scored its final two runs of the game in the third inning when Nick George (West Lafayette, IN/Harrison) ripped a bases loaded, two-run double down the right field line to score Bogan and Chris Sides (Brownsburg, IN/Brownsburg).
King improved to .632 from the plate for the season with a 3-for-4 effort against the Knights. George was 2-for-3 with two RBI’s and a run scored.
The doubleheader against the Knights was originally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, but heavy winds and rain forced a postponement to Wednesday. Rain throughout the morning, including a steady drizzle during the first game, forced the second contest to be cancelled.
Wabash (5-0) is off to its best start since 1925. Only three Wabash baseball teams have started 5-0, and only one --- the 1889 team that finished the season 11-1 --- won six in row. The 2005 Little Giants will try to become the first team since that squad to equal that mark Thursday when they play Widener at 10:30 a.m. at Joe DiMaggio Field in Clearwater, Florida.