Wabash got back in the win column Friday morning with two wins over the Husson College baseball team in Floriday. The Little Giants took a 10-6 victory in game one and a 7-2 win game two.
The Little Giants jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first game after Nick Pompeo (Warren, OH/Howland) singled with two outs to start the rally. A failed pickoff attempt and a wild pitched moved the Wabash second baseman to third, eventually scoring the first run of the game on a single to right by Scott Hamilton (Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard). A double by two-hitter David Culp (DeKalb, IL/DeKalb) brought Hamilton and Jon Elwardt (Naperville, IL/Naperville Central), who had walked earlier, home to put Wabash up in the second.
The Braves responded with three runs on only one hit in the next inning, thanks in part to three Wabash errors, to tie the score. The Little Giants’ offense exploded in the fourth inning, putting five runs on the scoreboard. Pompeo got things going again, this time with a leadoff single. Hamilton brought him home again after an Elwardt single moved Pompeo to third, giving Wabash the lead again. Billy King (Peoria, AZ/Peoria HS—Glendale Comm. College) broke the game open with a two-run triple down the right field line, putting Wabash up 6-3. King scored on a Culp RBI single. Then it was Culp’s turn to come home when Nick George (West Lafayette, IN/Harrison) single to right after a stolen base and a Jared Bogan (Struthers, OH/Struthers) single.
Husson trimmed the advantage to 8-6 with another three-spot in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Little Giants would give starter Travis Moore (Crawfordsville, IN/Crawfordsville) two more runs in the sixth. Culp recorded his third hit of the game with a leadoff double to left, scoring on a Chris Sides (Brownsburg, IN/Brownsburg) single. Pinchrunner Patrick McCarley (Vina, AL/Vina) scored the final run of the game on an RBI single by Pompeo.
Moore won his second game of the season, working five innings while holding the Braves to three earned and three unearned runs on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Jared Tarney (Ft. Wayne, IN/Bishop Dwenger) earned his first save of the season, pitching the final two innings of scoreless baseball. He allowed only one hit and two walks while striking out two.
Pompeo and Culp each had three hits to lead the Wabash offensive attack. Culp was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
John Thiry (Grand Rapids, MI/Grand Rapids Christian) took advantage of a three-run sixth inning by Wabash to earn his second win of the season on the mound in game two. Wabash led 1-0 after King scored on a Bogan ground ball, but fell behind 2-1 when the Braves put a two-spot on the scoreboard in the second inning. King singled, then stole second and third before tying the game in the third on a sacrifice fly by Bogan.
The Wabash sixth started with a one-out single over the pitcher by Phil Ramos (Zillah, WA/Zillah). A hit-and-run single through the right side by George put runners on the corners, leading to a run on a throwing error by the Braves’ first baseman on what appeared to be an inning-ending double play. The Little Giants made Husson pay for the mistake, scoring two more runs on a single by King past the third baseman.
The Little Giants added an insurance run in the seventh on a George RBI single to score McCarley, who pinch ran for Bogan after he reached on an error by the Husson shortstop. Thiry made the extra runs stand up, going the distance by holding the Braves to two runs on five hits and a walk.
George went 3-for-4 in game two. King had two hits and two RBIs. Bogan and Pompeo each also added two RBIs.
Wabash (7-2) concludes its Florida trip with a doubleheader against Coe College Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater.