Wabash earned the last berth in the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament with a 10-4 victory Sunday afternoon at Ohio Wesleyan. The Little Giants lost game two of the doubleheader 18-7.
 
Wabash improved to 24-16 for the year and finished with an 8-8 conference record to tie for fourth place in the final NCAC standings with Kenyon College. The two teams split the regular-season doubleheader, but the Little Giants won the tiebreaker for the last spot in the tournament field thanks to its 8-4 win at Wooster on Saturday. Wabash finished 1-5 against the top-three teams in the final NCAC standings, while Kenyon went 0-6. The Little Giants will play in Chillicothe, Ohio, at VA Memorial Stadium. Wabash earned trips to the NCAC Tournament in Chillicothe for the fifth time in program history. The Little Giants won the tournament in 2011 and 2018.

The Little Giants will face top-seeded and 11th-ranked Denison (31-8, 16-0 NCAC) at noon on Thursday, May 11. Second-seed Wittenberg (30-8, 14-2 NCAC) and third-seed Wooster (16-21-1, 11-5 NCAC) play in Thursday's second game. The tournament continues on Friday, May 12, with the championship game scheduled for Sunday, May 14, due to graduation conflicts. 
 
Wabash won game one thanks to a four-run seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie with Ohio Wesleyan (18-21, 5-11 NCAC). Camden Scheidt opened the seventh with a double and came home on Liam Patton's sixth home run of the season. The Little Giants loaded the bases thanks to a single and two errors before a hit batsman drawn by Michael Galanos scored the third run of the inning. Will Phillips tallied the final run when he raced home on a wild pitch. The Little Giants added two more runs in the eighth inning to secure the win.
 
AJ Reid and William McKinzie homered in game two. Phillips extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games with a solo home run in the eighth inning. Jackson Wannemuehler, Benjamin Henke, and Zach Bielecki each added RBI in the game-two loss.
 
GAME 1 | Wabash 10, Ohio Wesleyan 4
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Little Giants got on the scoreboard first, starting in the second inning. Wabash managed to push across two runs in the inning.
 
The Little Giants lost the lead they built in the second but got back on the board in the fifth, trailing 3-2. Wabash plated two runs off of Ohio Wesleyan pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double off the bat of junior AJ Reid, which brought the score to 4-3 in favor of the Little Giants.
 
Ohio Wesleyan fought back to even the ballgame at four before Wabash reclaimed an 8-4 advantage in the seventh inning. The Little Giants' bats heated up in the inning, scoring four runs, including a two-run home run by Patton.
 
Wabash held the Battling Bishops scoreless before their offense got in gear the next inning. Reid and Patton each scored a run for the Little Giants in the inning, bringing the Wabash advantage to 10-4. The score remained 10-4 for the rest of the game as the Little Giants coasted to the win.
 
Patton went 2-for-4 on the day with a home run, a walk, and two RBI. Galanos added a 1-for-2 effort with three RBI. Sophomore Will Phillips also contributed for Wabash, putting together three hits in five trips to the plate while adding a double.
Freshman Jackson Woehr (4-0) got the win out of the bullpen for Wabash. The right-hander went 3-1/3 shutout innings, giving up two hits, no walks, and striking out one.
 
GAME NOTES
» Phillips compiled three base hits in the game for Wabash.
» Every Wabash starter reached base safely in the win.
» Wabash's highest-scoring inning was the seventh when it pushed four runs across.
» The Little Giants out-hit the Battling Bishops at a 12-10 clip.
» Wabash went 7-for-20 (.350) with runners in scoring position.
» Wabash pitchers faced 39 Ohio Wesleyan hitters in the game, allowing 11 ground balls and 12 fly balls while striking out three.
» The Little Giants drew six walks from Ohio Wesleyan pitching.
» Patton led the Little Giants at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
 
GAME 2 | Ohio Wesleyan 18, Wabash 7
Their power numbers at the plate were not lacking, but the Little Giants' three long balls on the day were not enough to bring Wabash a win in game two against the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops on Sunday.
 
Senior Michael Hoppel (0-1) started and took the loss on the mound for Wabash. Freshman Conner Stidham was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going one shutout inning without allowing a hit, walking one, and striking out one.
 
McKinzie led the way offensively for the Little Giants, going 2-for-3 in the ballgame with a home run and an RBI. Reid went 1-for-2 with a home run and an RBI. Phillips also helped out, going 1-for-4 for Wabash with a home run and an RBI.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Little Giants got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Reid put Wabash on the board with a one-out solo home run off sophomore Josh Ferreira.
 
The Little Giants lost the lead they built in the first but got back on the board in the third, trailing 7-1. Wabash picked up a run on McKinzie's two-out solo home run off of Ferreira.
 
The Battling Bishops expanded their lead to 14-3 before the Wabash offense got back to work, cutting into that lead in the seventh. Highlighted by a run-scoring double off the bat of freshman Benjamin Henke, the Little Giants put up a three spot, bringing the score to 14-6 in favor of Ohio Wesleyan.
 
GAME NOTES
» Wabash's highest-scoring inning was the seventh when it pushed three runs across.
» The Little Giants took Ohio Wesleyan pitchers deep three times on Sunday.
» Wabash pitchers faced 50 Ohio Wesleyan hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out two.
» The Little Giants drew four walks from Ohio Wesleyan pitching.
» McKinzie led the Little Giants at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI.


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