Rowe was perfect through 5-1/3 innings before Jason Byers became the the first Earlham player to reach base. Byers lifted a looping single to left field to end Rowe's perfect game, but Wabash was well in control of the game by that time. Rowe finished the game to earn his fourth victory of the season. He struck out eight, and allowed a second hit and two walks in the final inning.
A diving catch by left fielder Stephen White (Owensboro, KY/Daviess County) in the first inning kept the perfect game opportunity alive for Rowe. The rest was routine until the one-out hit in the sixth.
Meanwhile the Little Giant offense took care of the rest of the game. Wabash jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, scoring all three runs with only one hit in the inning. The Little Giants exploded with 10 runs to break the game open in the second inning. A six-run third finished the scoring for the Little Giants.
Jake Martin (Rushville, IN/Rushville) led Wabash with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate. The sophomore outfielder finished with four RBIs and four runs scored. Sophomore catcher Jake Knott (Lafayette, IN/Jefferson) had four RBIs as well.
The Little Giants had to wait for the final inning of game one to earn the 1-0 victory. After senior Scott Adams (Avon, IN/Avon) held the Quakers scoreless through seven innings, the Little Giants loaded the bases with no outs in their final at bat. Bryson Renbarger (Converse, IN/Eastern) led off the inning with a a single to center, then gave way to pinchrunner Josh Bronaugh (Crawfordsville, IN/North Montgomery). Senior Phil McCaulay (Ft. Wayne, IN/Ft. Wayne Southside) followed with the perfect bunt past the pitcher to advance Bronaugh to second, with McCaulay reaching first base on the play.
A walk to Garrett Alson (Rensselaer, IN/Rensselaer Central) put the bases full of Wabash runners. The second pitch to Matt Carlson (Crawfordsville, IN/Crawfordsville) hit short of the plate and skipped all the way to the backstop, allowing the game-winning run to score.
Wabash moves to 10-24 with the wins, 3-8 in the North Coast Athletic Conference Western division. Wabash and Earlham will meet in the final game of the season at Mud Hollow Field on Sunday, April 29 at noon.
Game 1 - Wabash 1, Earlham 0 - Boxscore
Game 2 - Wabash 19, Earlham 0 - Boxscore