A Sunday split gave Wabash a 3-1 series victory over Wittenberg. The Little Giants defeated the Tigers 7-3 in the double-header's first game before losing game two, 8-7.
"Any time you're trying to win four games in two days, it doesn't matter who you're playing, it's a difficult thing to do," Coach Cory Stevens said. "We had opportunities to win that last game. Once again, we ran into the big inning which is what cost us, but we're happy with three out of four as a whole."
Michael Herrmann earned the game one victory in his first collegiate start. The sophomore threw five innings and allowed two runs on three hits.
William Kelly picked the two-inning save. He surrendered one run on two hits.
"To have your first college start in a conference series is huge," Stevens said. "We got him out on a positive note and got William in there. To be able to bring William out of the bullpen on consecutive days is a big boost for us."
Wabash broke open a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fourth. RBI singles from
Tyler Hampton and
Lucas Stippler gave the Little Giants a 4-1 lead after the inning.
The Tigers inched closer in the fifth and sixth innings with one run in each, 4-3. However, Stipler answered in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run triple, scoring
Austin Ellingwood and Hampton.
Tanner Watson singled through the right side in ensuing at bat to score Stippler.
Stippler hit 3-for-4 in each game and registered six RBI in total and scored twice.
The Little Giants held the lead twice in game two, but Wittenberg immediately answered both times.
Andrew Rodgers scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the second before the Tigers added a run of their own in the top of the third.
After a two-run fifth inning for the visitors, Wabash used four runs in the bottom of the inning to retake a 5-3 lead, highlighted by
Clint Scarborough's two-run shot to left. Wittenberg responded with a five-run sixth inning, to which Wabash could only answer with two, 8-7.
Scarborough hit 3-for-8 on the day. He drove in eight runs for the series.
"I think last weekend I was trying to do too much by myself," Scarborough said of last weekend's struggles at Ohio Wesleyan. "This weekend, I did a much better job of being patient and passing it along to let everybody else step up."
The Little Giants had a chance to tie or win game two in the bottom of the ninth.
Tyler Owensby stepped to the plate with runners on first and second and two outs. The right fielder barely got under a pitch, sending the ball to deep centerfield for the game's final out.
Despite the game four loss, Wabash catapulted itself back into the thick of the North Coast Athletic Conference West Division race. The Little Giants were noticeably more energetic on the field and in the dugout.
"We had a sit down with upperclassmen, realizing that we had three significant weeks of baseball left," Scarborough said. "Last week, it was dead and that was reflected in the way we played. We had a new attitude in the dugout and it transitioned out to the field."
Wabash will return to Goodrich Ballpark Wednesday for a 4 p.m. start against the University of Saint Francis.
