A change of scenery for the Wabash baseball team couldn't change the Little Giants' midweek fortunes. Wabash lost 12-3 to North Central College at the US Steel Yard in Gary, Indiana Thursday night. The loss was the fourth in five weekday efforts since the team began play after its spring break trip.
The Cardinals scored nine runs in the first three innings, including a six-run third to put the game away early. Wabash scored a run in the third inning after North Central had taken a 3-0 lead. Matt Dodaro picked up one of his three hits in the game as the leadoff batter in the third, stealing second and scoring on an RBI single by Shaun Rico. Wabash would not score again until ninth on back-to-back singles by Jake Thomas and Dodaro. A throwing error allowed Thomas to score. Joel Bustamante drove in the final run of the game on a single up the middle.
Wabash managed just seven hits, with three coming from Dodaro. Bobby Ritz joined Thomas, Rico, and Bustamante with base hits in the contest.
North Central had no trouble at the plate, pounding out 12 hits in the game. The Cardinals stranded 11 base runners while picking up their seventh win of the season.
Wabash (16-14) will play Wittenberg University in a key North Coast Athletic Conference Western Division series this weekend. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday afternoon before finishing with a two-game set Sunday. Saturday's start time has been moved from noon to 1 p.m.