A 7-1 victory in game one and a come-from-behind 16-9 win in game two Tuesday gave the Wabash baseball team a 4-0 sweep over the Earlham College Quakers and sole possession of first place after one week of play in the North Coast Athletic Conference Western Division.
Senior Jon Horne (Cincinnati, OH/St. Xavier) (left) earned his first win of the season with a complete game seven hitter. Horne struck out seven while walking two, holding the Quakers to one earned run over seven innings of work.
Junior first baseman Jared Bogan (Struthers, OH/Struthers) put Wabash on the board in the first inning with an RBI double, scoring David Culp (DeKalb, IL/DeKalb) from first for a 1-0 lead. Bogan came around to score after a single by Shane Noble (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) and an errant throw to second by Earlham for the eventually game-winning run. Wabash tacked on five runs in sixth inning, starting with an RBI single by Phil Ramos (Zillah, WA/Zillah) down the left field line. Senior shortstop Danny Schubert (Lebanon, IL/Lebanon), who went 2-for-2 from the plate with an RBI and run scored in addition to a base on balls, drove home Ramos with a single. Schubert came around to score along with Nick George (West Lafayette, IN/Harrison), who reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning, on a bases-clearing triple by Scott Hamilton (Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard). A ground out by Billy King (Peoria, AZ/Peoria HS -- Glendale Comm. College) brought Hamilton home for the final run of the game.
The Little Giants fell behind 7-0 after a five-run first inning and a two-run homer by Earlham's Jeremy Carpenter in the second. Wabash rallied for four runs in the bottom of the second. Noble, George, and Jon Elwardt (Naperville, IL/Naperville Central) singled to load the bases with no one out. Schubert then blasted a bases clearing triple to right field, then scored on a ground out by Hamilton to cut the Quakers' lead to 7-4.
It appeared Wabash would tie the game in the second, but a one-out, two-on catch by Earlham's Terrel Brown robbed Bogan of a three-run homer to left-center field, helping the Quakers to escape the second with a lead.
The lead would be short-lived. Wabash put a five-spot on the scoreboard in the third inning, batting completely through the order for the second time in the game. Hamilton ripped a two-run double to left to cut the lead to one run, then scored the go-ahead run on a triple by King to right-center. Bogan singled to right, scoring King to put the Little Giants up 9-7.
Earlham tied the game with two runs in the fourth before Wabash exploded for four more in the bottom half of the fifth. Three more runs in the sixth made certain the Little Giants would celbrate their fourth conference win and 12 victory overall this season.
King finished game two 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Noble was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Schubert also tacked on four RBIs and two runs with his 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Elwardt was a perfect 4-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.
Jared Tarney (Ft. Wayne, IN/Bishop Dwenger) worked the final 3-2/3 innings to pick up his second win of the season in relief. He held the Quakers to four hits while striking out seven without giving up a run.
Wabash (12-8, 4-0) will travel to Wittenberg Saturday afternoon to begin a four-game set with the Tigers. The Little Giants will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.