Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Little Giants took another split Sunday afternoon against their rival DePauw on Senior Day after splitting Saturday's doubleheader. Chris Widup earned the 5-4 win in his final regular season start at Goodrich Ballpark. DePauw evened the series with a 19-3 win in game two.

Before game one Wabash College honored seniors Robby Hechinger, Montana Timmons, and Widup.

“Our defense made some huge plays, especially the infield,” Coach Cory Stevens said about his team's game-one victory. “Stippler made a great pick at second base to keep the tying run out of scoring position and David Oliger had the double play to end the game. It makes a huge defense for our pitchers to know they've got the guys making plays behind them.”

Defense played an important role in keeping DePauw from tying game one. Early in the game, shortstop Lucas Stippler fielded a groundball far to his left, but still managed a cross-diamond throw to force the runner out at first.

In the top of the seventh with a runner on first, Stippler held his ground at the second-base bag to force the runner out despite taking cleats to the shin on a hard slide.  

Wabash (11-14, 3-5 NCAC West) is now in a three-way tie for third place in the NCAC West division with Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan. DePauw (14-13, 7-5 NCAC West) sits in second place looking up at Denison (8-4 NCAC West).

 There is still much to be decided in the conference standings over the next two weeks.

“Every weekend in conference, especially on the west side, you're going to see great competition,” Stevens said. “Our goal every weekend is to win the weekend. If we get two out of four, that's decent but it's always better to get three or four.”

Wabash will travel to Denison for two doubleheaders next weekend. The following weekend, the Little Giants end their season at Ohio Wesleyan for two more doubleheaders.

Game one provided a whirlwind of excitement all the way to the final out. Widup started the final inning but was pulled after giving up a lead-off single. He threw 6 innings and allowed 4 runs on 9 hits with 3 strikeouts. Widup was steady through five innings before the Tigers scored three in the in the sixth to tighten the game at 5-4.

Christian Vukas came in and to get an out but the Little Giants ultimately relied on staff ace JT Miller to preserve the win.

Miller took the mound with runners on first and second and one out. The lefthander answered the call after he pitched a complete, seven-inning game Saturday. He forced DePauw right fielder Zach Galyean to chop into a game-ending double play.

“The seniors have busted their butts for four years and deserved to go out with a win versus DePauw on Senior Day,” Miller said. “I knew Galyean liked to attack fastballs and threw two changeups in a row. David made a good play at third and we got the win.”

The victory was the 13th of Widup's career. Miller picked up his second career save. His first came last year at DePauw.

“I threw the ball well most of the game and got in a little trouble at the end, but it was fun to go out on a good note,” Widup said. “My fastball was working well and moving in on righties. I also put some guys away with my changeup—that's normally my out pitch. I was going fastball and change; that's what I relied on today.”

Little Giant pitching struggled mightily in game two, however.

“We fell behind hitters and were forced to put the ball in the zone and they put good swings on it,” Stevens said. “Any time a team puts up 20 plus hits against you, it's swinging the bat. You have to credit them for putting the ball in play consistently and hitting it hard.”

Freshman outfielder Hayden Williams came off the bench to provide a two-RBI single in the second game. Andrew Rodgers pushed his hit streak to 10 games with an RBI double in the first inning. Clint Scarborough also extended his hit streak; the sophomore corner infielder has connected in 11 consecutive games.

Trey Fankhauser went 4-for-5 with 2 runs on the day, including an exciting play at the plate in game one. After he tripled, Fankhauser scored on a wild pitch. The pitcher missed the initial tag, but Fankhauser sprinted back to safely stomp his foot on home plate.

Tyler Owensby hit his first career home run in game one onto the hill in left field. He went 2-for-3 in the game with an RBI and a run.

The Little Giants' next game is Wednesday at Anderson University with first pitch at 4 p.m.