Box Score Luke Holm struck out 12 Hiram batters to earn a complete-game 4-1 win for Wabash at Hiram Sunday. Trey Fankauser delivered two one-run doubles and
Christian Vukas launched his second home run in as many days in the Little Giants victory.
Holm held the Terriers to four hits and one run over the course of nine innings while setting a new personal single-game with 12 punchouts. The junior righthander threw 115 pitches with 76 going for strikes. Holm faced a total of 33 batters, scattering four hits while walking one batter and hitting one other. He threw 22 first-pitch strikes in the contest.
Holm previously struck out six batters in three previous games this season for his single-outing high prior to the 12 strikeout effort against the Terriers.
Despite the excellent outing by Holm, the Terriers (15-22, 3-16 NCAC) scored first on a leadoff double in the bottom of the fifth inning by Lee Cancilla. Back-to-back infield ground balls produced the first run of the game on only one hit in the North Coast Athletic Conference Crossover Series contest.
The Wabash bats --- along with the speed of senior
Robby Hechinger --- quickly answered with a run in the sixth. Hechinger drew a one-out walk, then raced home when Fankhauser drilled a double to right-center field to tie the game at 1-1. Vukas gave the Little Giants the lead in the seventh inning with a towering home run to left. The freshman hit his first career home run less than 24 hours earlier as part of a five-RBI effort in Saturday's 7-6 win by Wabash.
The Little Giants tacked on two more runs in the eighth when Hechinger reached on an error and scored on the second double by Fankhauser --- this time to left-center field.
Clint Scarborough followed with an RBI single to give Holm the final cushion.
Holm (3-3) struck out the side in the seventh and added one more in the eighth. He hit the first batter of the ninth inning, but
David Oliger and
Lucas Stippler combined with Scarborough for a 4-6-3 double play to record the first two outs of the inning.
Tyler Owensby caught a sinking fly ball in right to end the ballgame, giving Wabash the rubber game of the three-game series against the Terriers.
The Little Giants finished with eight hits in the contest, led by Fankhauser , Vukas, and
Paul Snyder with two apiece. Hechinger and Scarborough added the final two hits. Hechinger also picked up his 26th stolen base of the season.
Wabash finishes the NCAC season with a record of 8-11 after taking two of three games from the Terriers. The Little Giants are 16-23 and will play their final game of the 2013 season Monday evening at Rose-Hulman. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
