Wabash split a doubleheader at Wittenberg Sunday in the opening set of a four-game series with the Tigers in North Coast Athletic Conference baseball. The Little Giants took a 7-4 victory in game two after falling 5-4 in game one.
The Little Giants trailed 2-0 through five innings before scratching out all four runs in the top half of the sixth inning in the first contest. Billy King (Peoria, AZ/Peoria HS – Glendale Community College) started the rally with a one-out single, breaking up the shutout on a sacrifice fly by David Culp (DeKalb, IL/DeKalb).Jared Bogan (Struthers, OH/Struthers) followed with a two-out single, scoring on a double by Chris Sides (Brownsburg, IN/Brownsburg). Wabash took the lead when Shane Noble (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) cracked a two-run homer to right field for his third round-tripper of the season.
But the Wabash bullpen would not be able to hold the lead. The Little Giants opened the inning with back-to-back strikeouts before Wittenberg countered with three consecutive singles to load the bases in the bottom half of the seventh inning with the Tigers trailing by two runs. The Little Giants would give up back-to-back walks to tie the game at 4-4, then hit the final batter of the game, bringing home the winning run.
Jared Tarney (Ft. Wayne, IN/Bishop Dwenger) took the loss, giving up one hit, two walks, and a hit batsman without being credited for a single inning of work. John Thiry (Grand Rapids, MI/Grand Rapids Christian) went 6-2/3 innings, holding the Tigers to four hits for four runs with four walks and five strikeouts.
Wabash was held to 10 hits in game two after coming up with only five hits in the first contest. This time the Little Giants would come up with seven runs to earn its fifth NCAC victory of the season to stay atop the Western Division leaderboard.
The Little Giants trailed 1-0 before putting a three-spot on the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Phil Ramos (Zillah, WA/Zillah) tied the game at 1-1 after reaching on a single and scoring on an RBI single by King. A single by Culp scored King and catcher Scott Hamilton (Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard), who reached on a fielder’s choice earlier in the inning.
The Tigers responded with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but Wabash countered with another run when Ramos laced a two-out double to center in the sixth, then came home to score on another double by shortstop Danny Schubert (Lebanon, IL/Lebanon).
Wabash added three more runs in the seventh. King led off with a single, scoring on a three-base throwing error by the Wittenberg catcher on a sacrifice bunt by Culp. A single by Sides scored Culp. The Little Giants loaded the bases before Schubert drew a walk for the final RBI of the day.
Bill Goff (Brownsburg, IN/Brownsburg) earned the complete-game victory, holding Wittenberg to 10 hits and four runs. He walked four and struckout four.
Wabash (13-9, 5-1 NCAC West) and Wittenberg (10-9, 3-3 NCAC West) conclude the series with a doubleheader Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Springfield, Ohio.