John Holm blasted his 12th home run to set a new Wabash single season record and bring the Little Giants to within three runs in Thursday night's North Coast Athletic Conference Baseball Tourmanent game against Wooster. The third-ranked Scots eventually stretched the lead to an 11-6 final.
Holm crushed pitch off Wooster All-American Justin McDowell over the right field fence at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, OH, the site of this year's NCAC tourney. The homer moved Holm past Matt Wilhelm with 11 and into sole possession of the record after being tied for the last three weeks.
Four unearned runs for Wooster in the second inning proved to be too much to overcome all evening. With one out and runners on first and second, starting pitcher Andrew Swart induced a ground ball that would apparently end the inning with a double play. The Little Giants bobbled the ball initially, loading the bases. The Scots made Wabash pay, scoring four runs on a fielder's choice and three singles to take the early lead.
Wabash responded with two runs in the third. A leadoff single by Brian Lares was followed by a double by John Pennington that was mishandled by the Scots outfield to allow Lares to score and send Pennington to third. A double-play ground ball scored Pennington to make it a 4-2 contest. A triple, a double, and sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third by Wooster stretched the cushion back to four runs. The Scots added a run in the fourth to move in front 7-2.
Lares opened the fifth inning with a double before Holm's shot cut the lead to three. Another key error would haunt Wabash in the bottom of the fifth when a two-out ground ball could not be handled by the Little Giants. Wooster once again made Wabash pay, this time scoring a run on the play involving the error before adding a single.
The Little Giants would get back to three runs again on a two-run single by Pennington in the sixth. The Scots turned to Tyler Fugate in relief. Fugate scored his fourth saved by working 3-1/3 scoreless innings down the stretch.
Swart (4-5) threw 4-2/3 innings while allowing 12 hits and nine runs, although only three were earned. He struck out two and walked one. Pete Schmith worked two innings of relief, giving up one hit, three walks, and two runs. Blake Mattingly closed out the game for the Little Giants, tossing 1-1/3 innings of shutout baseball with one strikeout.
Chris Deig collected three of the Little Giants' 10 hits. Lares and Pennington each had two hits.
Wabash (18-22) drops to the consolation side of the tournament bracket. The Little Giants will play Allegheny College, 5-1 losers to Denison in the first game of the double-elimination tourney.