Box Score The Little Giants plated five runs in Saturday's fourth inning against Loras to claim a 9-3 win over the Duhawks to open the home portion of the 2014 Wabash baseball season.
Wabash used its hits effectively, scoring nine run on nine hits while stranding only five base runners over nine innings.
Trailing 2-0, senior Trey Fankauser hit a liner to right-center field that he turned into a hustle double to open the fourth inning.
David Oliger and
Tyler Owensby followed with walks to load the bases.
Tyler Hampton brought home two runs with his seventh double in the first nine games of the season. He is nearly halfway to the single-season record of 16 set by David Seibel in 2011.
After a pair of strikeouts,
KJ Zelenika delivered a two-run single to right.
Adam Rains drew the third walk of the inning, with both Rains and Zelenika moving to second and third on a wild pitch after a pitching change for Loras.
Lucas Stippler took advantage with runners in scoring position by beating out an infield hit that brought Zelenika home with the fifth run of the inning.
That was all starting pitcher
Josh Piercey needed to pick up his first victory of the season. The sophomore gave up two early walks before settling into a groove, holding the Duhawks (1-4) to two earned runs over six innings. Piercey scattered six hits and struck out two batters.
Cameron Glaze pitched two scoreless innings in relief, striking out two while allowing just three hits.
Jensen Kirch pitched the ninth inning without allowing a batter to reach base.
The Little Giants added a run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by
Clint Scarborough. Owensby drove home a run in the seventh with a double, then came around to score on an error by Loras. Fankhauser brought home the final run of the game in the eighth with a single to right.
Fankhauser, Zelenika, and Stippler each collected two hits for the Little Giants. Hampton and Zelenika each tallied two RBI on the day.
Wabash (5-4) was scheduled to play a pair of games Sunday at home against Domincan University and North Central College, but predicted cold weather and wind chills in the low 20s forced those games to be cancelled. The Little Giants travel to Franklin College Tuesday afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. contest.
