Wabash came into Saturday’s North Coast Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader against Ohio Wesleyan University with a chance to put some distance between itself and the Battling Bishops in the Western Division standings. Instead it was OWU closing the gap with a pair of wins – an 8-4 eight-inning win in game one and a 9-5 decision in game two.
The Little Giants jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first game when David Culp (DeKalb, IL/DeKalb) and Jared Bogan (Struthers, OH/Struthers) walked and scored on a two-run double off the bat of freshman Shane Noble (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan). Ohio Wesleyan responded with two runs in the top of the second, then posted another two-run inning in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead.
Wabash tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, starting with a lead-off double to the left-center field wall by Scott Hamilton (Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard). Billy King (Peoria, AZ/Peoria HS – Glendale C.C.) singled and moved up to second when a throwing error on an attempt on Hamilton by Ohio Wesleyan brought the Little Giants’ catcher home to cut the score to 4-3. King scored two batters later on an RBI single by Bogan, tying the game at 4-4 to set up the extra inning affair.
The eighth inning would prove to be a disaster for the Little Giants. A one-out single to Jerrell Johnson led to the game-winning run on a wild pitch. A two-run homer by Kyle Sherman added to the Bishops’ lead and eventual win.
Game two would prove no better for Wabash. OWU took a 1-0 lead in the second inning before adding an eight-spot in the sixth to cruise to a 15-10 overall record, 5-5- in the NCAC West. Bogan crushed a two-run homer to extend his consecutive-game hitting streak to 11, tying the best mark of the season set earlier this year by Nick George (West Lafayette, IN/Harrison). The Little Giants added three more in the seventh inning to put a scare into the Bishops. Culp drove home two runs with his second double of the game. Bogan drove home his third run of the game with an RBI single to plate Culp.
Bogan went 3-for-4 in game two, making him 4-for-7 for the day with four RBIs. Culp added two more hits in game two. Noble and Hamilton each had two hits in game one for Wabash.
The Little Giants (14-13, 6-4 NCAC West) will try to end their four-game losing streak Sunday afternoon. The final two games of the four-game series will begin at noon against OWU at Mud Hollow Field.