It took a bases-loaded single by freshman Chris Sides (Brownsburg, IN/Brownsburg) to give Wabash the 4-3 victory in the bottom of the eighth inning in game one on Sunday. Sides came into the game as a pinch-hitter with two out and the bases jammed. He responded with a drive up the middle that OWU shortstop managed to knock down with a dive toward the ball, but could not make a play as Jared Bogan (Struthers, OH/Struthers) crossed the plate with the winning run.
Wabash jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Bogan to score Nick George (West Lafayette, IN/Harrison). The Battling Bishops answered with two runs in their half of the fifth inning, only to be answered by Wabash.
The Little Ginats opened the bottom of the fifth with a Mike Mack (Butler, IN/Eastside) single. He came around to score three batters later on a Tyler Nance (Celebration, FL/Celebration) RBI single to tie the game at 2-2. Starting pitcher Jake Martin (Rushville, IN/Rushville) gave the Little Giants a 3-2 lead when catcher Jared Martin (Rosedale, IN/Riverton Parke) came around to score on the RBI single by his battery mate.
The lead was short-lived for Wabash. Ohio Wesleyan tied the game in the top of the seventh, forcing the eighth-inning heroics by Sides and his teammates. Jake Martin opened the eighth with a single to left, followed by a one-out single by Bogan to put runners on second and third. Shortstop Danny Schubert (Lebanon, IL/Lebanon) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Mack tried to give Wabash the win with a shot to third, but the Bishops threw home to cut down Martin for the second out of the inning. One batter later it didn't matter as Sides gave the Little Giants their second win of the weekend against Ohio Wesleyan.
Bogan finished the game 3-for-4 from the plate, along with Jake Martin's 3-for-4 performance, accounting for six of Wabash's 11 hits. Freshman John Thiry (Grand Rapids, MI/Grand Rapids Christian) threw three innings of relief, scattering two hits and striking out one to earn his second victory of the season.
The Battling Bishops scored three runs in the first inning of the final game of the series on the way to the 8-4 win. The Little Giants managed to scratch out 11 hits but could not put together a string to cut into the Ohio Wesleyan lead. Wabash stranded 11 runners in the contest.
The Little Giants remain tied with Ohio Wesleyan and Denison at the top of the North Coast Athletic Conference Western Division with a 5-3 record. Wabash is 15-10 overall.
The Little Giants return to action on Tuesday afternoon with a 3 p.m. contest against Franklin College at Mud Hollow Field.