The bad news for the Wabash baseball – it suffered its first North Coast Athletic Conference series sweep in four losses to Denison over the weekend. The good news – the Little Giants need one more win to earn a spot in the upcoming NCAC Baseball Tournament.
Wabash dropped two games Sunday to the Big Red, losing 7-4 in game one before falling 8-2 in game two. Denison was the last team to sweep a conference series from the Little Giant with four wins in 2007. The Little Giants never led in either game. Denison picked up five runs in game one Sunday afternoon at Mud Hollow Field before tacking on two more in the sixth. Wabash scored twice in the fifth when PJ Tyson and Brian Lares hit back-to-back doubles. Lares scored two batters later on a fielder's choice by Tanner Coggins. Montana Timmons added a two-run double in the seventh to trim the lead to three runs, but Wabash would get no closer.
The Big Red took a 5-0 lead again in game two before Wabash would score its first run on a single by Tyson. Lares added an RBI single in the fifth to account for the only runs of the finale.
Lares and John Pennington each had three hits over the two games on Sunday. Lares and Timmons each had two RBI to pace the Little Giants in that category.
Wabash falls to 16-19 overall and 8-6 in the NCAC West Division. The Little Giants can still make the NCAC Tourney with a win in one of the two games this Saturday against Wittenberg. If Wabash picks up a victory, the Little Giants at worst would finish 9-7 in divisional play, placing them in a tie with Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg. Wabash would own the tiebreaker in that situation with wins in three of the four games in each series. The Little Giants defeated Wittenberg 7-1 and 8-0 earlier this year before rain postponed the final two games of the series.
Prior to their weekend meeting with Wittenberg – the final two games at Mud Hollow Field for the Little Giants – Wabash will travel to Purdue University on Wednesday afternoon for a single nine-inning game before playing Elmhurst on Thursday evening at the US Steelyard in Gary, Indiana.
Game one - Denison 7, Wabash 4 (box score)
Game two - Denison 8, Wabash 2 (box score)
Photo - Brian Lares hustles down the line after a hit in Saturday's game. He added three hits in two losses Sunday by the Little Giants to Denison. Photo by Nancy Coggins.