Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Wabash opened a long day of baseball with the dedication of Goodrich Ballpark, followed by a pair of pitching gems that only netted a split. The Little Giants defeated John Caroll University 5-1 before losing 4-3 to Dominican University.

Prior to the start of Saturday morning's games, Wabash honored the longtime support and generosity of the Goodrich family by adding their name to the baseball ballpark. John B. Goodrich '67, his wife Serona, and sister Jan Goodrich Gerson accepted the honor on behalf of the family.

View photos from the dedication ceremony here.

After the celebration, the Little Giants rode an outstanding nine-inning effort from junior pitcher JT Miller to the victory over John Carroll (9-4). Miller threw 91 strikes on 120 pitches and baffled Blue Streak hitters throughout the contest. He scattered eight hits to go with 10 strikeouts in his first victory of the season, nearly shutting out the Blue Streak before surrendering a run in the eighth inning.

Wabash needed a strong pitching performance from Miller after a lop-sided 13-4 defeat to Franklin College Friday, and the staff ace delivered.

“Obviously we didn't get the outcome we wanted yesterday so the leaders took upon themselves to step up,” Miller said. “We just talked as a team after the game because we needed to refocus. We felt there had been a little bit of a lull but not this morning.”

“I thought we did a great job of putting the ball in play and forcing them to make plays,” Wabash Head Coach Cory Stevens said. “I still think we left some runs on the board and we can get a little more aggressive with two strikes. But we put the ball in play up and down the lineup and that's why we came out with five runs.”

Miller improved his record to 1-1 on the season with 23 strikeouts in 3 starts. He struggled somewhat last week on the team's road trip Georgia and Kentucky.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself last week and I had to tell myself 'You're just some guy out on the mound and whatever happens, happens,'” Miller said. “Once we scored the four runs, I wanted to get back out and keep going.”

Andrew Rodgers led Wabash with 3 hits and 2 runs. Montana Timmons went 2-for-4 with a run and David Oliger hit a RBI triple as part of the 4-run fourth inning for Wabash.

Senior Chris Widup nearly equalled Miller's effort in game two versus Dominican, but a error-plagued sixth inning erased a three-run Wabash lead. After tying the game in the sixth, the Stars scored the eventual game-winning run on a two-out, bases-loaded wild pitch in the seventh. The game was called after seven innings due to darkness. The game started over 90 minutes later than scheduled after a morning fog delayed the opening contest between Wabash and John Carroll, and the Blue Streak and Dominican played a 12-inning contest before JCU pulled out a 6-5 victory.

“We have to make the routine plays,” Coach Cory Stevens said after his team's frustrating loss. “We had the one bad inning and where we few plays we didn't convert into outs and once those things snowball, the other team gets momentum and anything can happen.”

Widup carried a no hitter into the sixth inning, but the defense unraveled behind him with the three errors.

“I've been pitching long enough to know there's going to be errors,” Widup said. “If you get mad on the mound, you don't want your teammates to see that. You want them to keep their confidence. I have the utmost confidence in them so we'll bounce back from it.”

The offense jumped on the board in the bottom of the first thanks to a Tyler Owensby two-run double and RBI single by Scarborough to account for Wabash's three runs.

Despite the excellent effort on the mound, Widup was saddled with the loss. He worked all 7 innings with  with 5 hits and 5 strikeouts without allowing an earned run.

The Little Giants (3-6) take the field tomorrow afternoon against Dominican University at 2 p.m.
 
Game Note:
Former All-North Coast Athletic Conference pitcher Andy Weeks '09 made his first return to Goodrich Ballpark as John Caroll's pitching coach. Weeks registered 166 strikeouts in his career, good for fifth all time in Wabash's record books.