Wabash stranded eight runners after pounding out seven hits, coming up empty on the scoreboard in a 5-0 loss at DePauw University on the baseball diamond Tuesday afternoon.
The Tigers (7-5) picked up three unearned runs in the fifth inning before adding two more in the seventh to snap a three-game losing streak. Little Giant starter Jon Horne (Cincinnati, OH/St. Xavier) pitched 4-1/3 innings before leaving the mound with a blister on his throwing hand. Horne scatterd five hits, but saw two Wabash errors lead to three runs in the fifth to suffer his second loss of the season.
The Little Giants (8-4) had plenty of opportunities to put some runs on the scoreboard. Sophomore centerfielder Billy King (Peoria, AZ/Peoria HS -- Glendale Comm. College) opened the game with a double to right-center, but was stranded there to end the first inning. Junior first baseman Jared Bogan (Struthers, OH/Struthers) singled to center with one out in the fourth, then moved to third on a double by Nick George (West Lafayette, IN/Harrison) down the rightfield line. But for the second time in the game, Wabash would be unable to come up with a hit to score a run, finishing the inning with both runners stranded on the base paths.
A single that appeared to be a ground ball out before taking a vicious hop over George's head started the fifth for DePauw. Then two consecutive errors by the Little Giants brought a run home to open the scoring.
Wabash rallied with a leadoff single by David Culp (DeKalb, IL/DeKalb) in the sixth, moving up to second on a passed ball. But with no one out, the Little Giants could not advance the runner, ending the inning with another runner left on base.
The Tigers added two runs on four hits in the seventh. Shaun Rico (Phoenix, AZ/Desert Vista) and Danny Schubert (Lebanon, IL/Lebanon) would add late pinch-hit efforts to the Wabash cause in the final two innings. Rico got a two-out single in the eighth, but would go no further. Schubert drilled a two-out double to the right-centerfield wall, but would end the game at second on the final out of the game.
The Little Giants will play DePauw in the final game of the season series Wednesday afternoon at Mud Hollow Field at 3 p.m.