Coming down the final stretch of a surprisingly successful season, the Wabash baseball team finds itself in a heated conference race, just one game behind both Denison and Ohio Wesleyan in the NCAC Western Division standings.
After splitting Monday’s double-header at Earlham, the heat on the Little Giants increased as they head into a crucial series against Wittenberg this weekend.
In the first game, Earlham pitcher Adam Painter led the Quakers to a 3-1 win, which ended a 17 game winning streak the Little Giants had against Earlham until Monday. Painter gave up eight hits in seven innings, striking out five while walking just two. Painter got some help from Wabash’s inability to capitalize, as the Little Giants stranded 11 runners in the game. Junior pitcher Mike Korfagen got the loss in a five strikeout, four hit, two walk performance.
In the second game, Wabash was energized by a two-run blast from senior first baseman Shaun Rico in the fourth inning, and took a 3-2 win from the Quakers. Junior pitcher Andy Weeks had an outstanding game, striking out a season-high eight batters and giving up just three hits in six innings of work. Weeks picked up his third win of the season in the effort.
Sophomore closer Keegan Leckrone gave up a run and three hits but was still able to earn his third save of the year.
After Monday’s loss, Wabash will need to win four of its last six games to earn a berth in the NCAC Tournament, unless Denison sweeps
Earlham this weekend, in which case the Little Giants will need to win all six. Head Coach Cory Stevens said the key to pulling it off will be to keep the pitching and defense consistent while improving offensive output. “Our biggest deficiency right now is our offense,” Stevens said. “We’re not swinging the bats the way we’re capable of.”
As a team, Wabash is hitting just .265 with 220 hits and 111 runs. Freshman infielder Tanner Coggins leads the team with a .366 batting average and 34 hits.
To help remedy the problem, Stevens said the team has been focusing on getting good, fundamentally sound swings in practice. However, fundamentals might not even be the issue. “This could just be a typical season slump,” Stevens said. “Hopefully it’s just a slump and our bats will come back alive this week.”
What hasn’t been a problem for the Little Giants is pitching. As a staff, Wabash has held its opponents to an anemic .239 batting average and has recorded 194 strikeouts. “We’re still pitching and we’re still playing defense, and that’s been keeping us in games.” The great pitching will certainly need to continue against the Wittenberg, who came into this week with a .323 batting average and 173 runs off 231 hits. The Tigers’ lineup is deep too, as they have five players with a batting average of .350 or higher.
However, if the Little Giants can wake up their bats, they can certainly get the best of the Wittenberg pitching staff, which has a 5.35 era this season.
Although none of the Little Giant players have been in the position to earn a conference tourney berth, Stevens said he isn’t worried about the stress getting the best of his squad. “We have a combination of young, excited guys and older, even-keel guys,” Stevens said. “The great thing about this team is that we have older guys who make sure they never let the pressure get to them.”
The season’s end is certainly shaping up to be a very exciting one. And if the Little Giants can get their bats working, the season won’t be ending quite as early as in years past.
Stevens has had a good feeling about this group all year, “They key to us being successful is we have the right group of guys, at the right time, for the right reasons.”