Andy Weeks pitched a five-inning gem on a frozen Mud Hollow Field Thursday afternoon, scattering four hits to help Wabash to a 12-2 victory over Robert Morris-Springfield. The Eagles earned a split with Wabash after taking game one 8-7 in extra innings.
Only one of the four RM-S hits left the infield in the five-inning affair that was cut short after both teams agreed to apply a ten-run rule due to the cold temperatures and overcast skies. Wabash posted a seven-run third inning in support of Weeks, who earned his first victory of the season on the mound with the win.
Wabash opened with a run in the first and another in the second inning before exploding for seven runs when 14 batters stepped to the plate in the third. Matt Dodaro single to left with one out in the inning, then stole second and reached third on a wild pitch. He scored when Jake Thomas laced a single through the right side of the infield. Thomas then moved up a base on another wild pitch, scoring on a Scott Hamilton double down the left field line. The hit by Hamilton extended his hitting streak to 10 games, the longest this season by a Wabash player.
Hamilton moved to third on the third wild pitch of the inning, racing home on a single by Travis Stirling after Shaun Rico drew a walk. Eric Carroll added a walk to load the bases. Mike Nowak made certain they weren't loaded for long, bringing home two runs on a single to right. Kyle Rush and Bobby Ritz added RBI singles to complete the seven-run inning to give the Little Giants a 9-1 lead.
Wabash added another three runs in the fourth inning before the game was called in the fifth.
The Little Giants had 11 total hits, led by two each for Rush, Ritz, Thomas, and Nowak. Ritz and Nowak each finished with three RBIs.
A four-run first inning and a 6-3 lead would disappear behind a series of errors in game one. Wabash answered a three-run first by RM-S with four of its own in the bottom half of the opening inning. David Culp reached base after being hit by pitch, then stole second ahead of a Dodaro walk. Thomas walked to load the bases before Hamilton cleared them immediately with a triple to right center. Hamilton score on a Rico ground out to give the Little Giants the lead. Two more runs came home in the third inning for Wabash off a bases loaded walk to Nowak and a sacrifice fly by Rush.
The fifth inning was a disaster for the Little Giants. Three errors and only two hits led to four runs for the Eagles, giving RM-S a one-run lead. Wabash tied the score in the bottom of the fifth on a Culp double to score Jake Lee, but would manage only one hit in the sixth in an attempt to break the tie.
The Eagles did break it in the ninth after Wabash retired the first two hitters. Justin Anderson singled to center, stole second, then scored the game-winner for the first-year program on David Wilder's single to center. Hamilton picked up his third hit of the game in the bottom of the ninth, but was stranded at first when the next three Little Giants were retired to end the game.
Hamilton accounted for three of the seven hits by Wabash in the contest. Culp, Dodaro, Ritz, and Lee shared the remaining four. TJ Siple started the game on the mound, equalling a season-high with eight strikeouts while allowing just five hits and three earned runs. Mike Korfhagen suffered the loss, striking out seven in four innings of work. He held the Eagles to two hits, both coming in the ninth inning.
Wabash (10-18-1) travels to Wooster, Ohio for a three-game weekend series against the undefeated and top-ranked College of Wooster Fighting Scots. The two teams meet in a seven-inning doubleheader Saturday afternoon before playing a single nine-inning contest on Sunday.
Photos - (top right) Andy Weeks pitched five innings Thursday to pick up his first victory of the season.
(bottom left) Matt Dodaro drives home a run with this sacrifice fly in game two.
Game one - RM-S 8, Wabash 7 (9 innings) [box score]
Game two - Wabash 12, RM-S 2 (five innings) [box score]