The Wabash baseball team went into its weekend series against Wittenberg University hopeful to secure a spot in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. Instead the Little Giants were eliminated from any possible berth after losing three of four games to the Tigers.
The four-game Western Division series started off well enough. Wabash captured a 3-1 win in Saturday's first game behind two RBIs by Shaun Rico to end any hopes the Tigers had to make the league tournament. Mike Korfhagen earned his third win of the season by pitching a complete-game four-hitter. He allowed only two walks while striking out four in the victory. (View photo albums of Sunday's games here and here.)
Freshman Tanner Coggins brought home the first run of the game with an RBI double to score Matt Dodaro in the opening inning for Wabash. Rico's smash up the middle brought Coggins home to put Wabash up 2-0. The senior first baseman added another run on a single in the fifth after Bobby Ritz led off the inning with a double to left center. The Tigers scored their only run in the sixth inning before Korfhagen slammed the door in the seventh for his fourth complete game of the season.
The Little Giants could not solve Wittenberg pitcher Tim Antil in game two Saturday. Antil held the Little Giants to three hits and no runs while striking out six. Andy Weeks took the loss after working six innings with six hits, one walk, three earned runs, and six strikeouts. Willie Matis allowed only one walk in an inning of relief, erasing the baserunner with a pick-off move to face the minimum number of batters in the seventh.
Sunday is a day the Wabash team would like to put behind it. The Litttle Giants were outhit 27-14 in two losses to Wittenberg. The Tigers took a 13-1 win in Sunday's opener before winning the series finale 11-3. The three Wittenberg victories allowed Denison and Ohio Wesleyan to earn the two Western Division berths in the conference tournament, scheduled to begin the first weekend of May.
Rico, Coggins, and Alan Griggs had the only RBIs for Wabash Sunday. Rico blasted his team-leading seventh home run to tie the final game at 1-1 before the Tigers scored six unearned runs in a seven-run second to take command of the contest. Coggins had a sacrifice fly for one of his two RBIs, while Griggs laced a run-scoring double in the first game for the Little Giants' only run of the game.
Rico hit .364 (4-for-11) with three RBIs in his final home series.
The Little Giants (17-17, 7-7 NCAC) will try to win 20 games for the first time since finishing 22-18 in 2003 with five games scheduled for their final week of the season. Wabash plays arch-rival DePauw Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at Crawfordsville High School in a doubleheader. The Little Giants travel to Angola, Indiana Friday for a single game againt Tri-State University before finishing the year at Earlham for two seven-inning games on Sunday, April 27.
Photos - (top right) Shaun Rico is congratulated by first base coach Ryan Flynn after Rico's RBI single in Saturday's win over Wittenberg.
(Bottom left) Mike Korfhagen went the distance for his third win of the season.
Saturday Box score - Game one (Wabash 3, Wittenberg 1)
Saturday Box score - Game two (Wittenberg 5, Wabash 0)
Sunday Box score - Game one (Wittenberg 13, Wabash 1)