Wabash honored four senior members of the 2024 Little Giants baseball team Sunday prior to a home doubleheader against Manchester University at Goodrich Ballpark. Seniors
Reece Bauer,
Kamden Earley,
Nick Logan, and
AJ Reid were recognized before earning a split against the visiting Spartans. Wabash rallied for a 6-1 victory in game two after losing game one 11-6.
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GAME 1 | Manchester 11, Wabash 6
Wabash held an early lead in game one against Manchester, but a five-run fifth inning for the visitors provided the cushion in an 11-6 win for the road team in the seven-inning contest.
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Conner Stidham (0-1) came out of the bullpen for Wabash (15-17)and took the loss. The sophomore pitched one inning and gave up three earned runs on a walk and two hits with one strikeout.
Parker Smith pitched 2.2 innings of the seven-inning contest, allowing three runs on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Braeden Bryant threw 2.2 innings in relief, giving up three runs, zero earned, on two hits, with one walk and two strikeouts.
Gavin Pierson surrendered one run on three walks in 0.2 innings of work.
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In the batter's box, the Little Giants were led by Earley, who went 2-for-4 on the day with three RBI. Logan also put together a noteworthy performance at the dish, going 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
William McKinzie also chipped in for Wabash, putting together one hit in two trips to the plate while adding a double.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
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The Little Giants were trailing 3-0 in the third inning when they first put runs on the board. Wabash's offense started clicking and put up five runs, including Earley's two-run single. Logan doubled home a run in the frame to tie the score at 3-3. A balk and a groundout RBI from
Benjamin Henke gave the Little Giants a 5-3 lead after three innings.
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Manchester (12-20) cut the lead to one run at  5-4 in the fourth inning. Wabash scored once in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single off the bat of Earley, which brought the score to 6-4 in favor of the Little Giants. The Little Giants could not hold the lead, as Manchester scored seven times over the remaining three innings to grab the 11-6 win.
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GAME NOTES
» Wabash's highest-scoring inning was the third, when it pushed five runs across.
» Wabash pitchers limited Manchester to just 1-for-14 (.071) with runners in scoring position.
» Wabash pitchers faced 40 Manchester hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and four fly balls while striking out six.
» The Little Giants drew four walks from Manchester pitching.
» Earley led the Little Giants at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI.
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GAME 2 | Wabash 6, Manchester 1
Wabash took a 2-1 lead in the first inning and never surrendered the advantage on the way to a 6-1 win over the Manchester Spartans on Sunday to earn a split in the doubleheader while ending a five-game losing streak.
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Reid went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI, and two runs scored. Henke and
Will Fremion also finished with two hits in the game.
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Aiden McConnell (1-1) got the win for Wabash. The right-hander went 5.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits, allowing three walks and striking out two.
Henry Birk pitched 1.2 shutout innings without allowing a hit to earn his first career save.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
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Trailing 1-0, Wabash put up two runs at the bottom of the first, highlighted by Reid's RBI triple. Earley drove in the second run of the inning with a single.
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The Spartans failed to push any runs across before the Little Giants built on their lead in the third inning. Wabash picked up two runs when a single from M. Galanos brought home N. Logan and E. Neukam, which brought the score to 4-1 in favor of the Little Giants.
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Wabash held Manchester without a run before building their lead to 6-1 in the sixth inning.
Michael Galanos drove in a run in the third with another scoring on an error by Manchester's right fielder. Henke drove in a run in the sixth inning, another inning where Wabash plated a pair of runs.
Camden Scheidt brought the first run home in the sixth with a sacrifice fly to score Reid from third after a leadoff double.
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GAME NOTES
» The Little Giants' power output was led by Reid, who compiled two extra-base hits in the ballgame.
» Wabash took a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» The Little Giants out-hit the Spartans at a 10-6 clip.
» Wabash went 5-for-15 (.333) with runners in scoring position.
» Wabash pitchers faced 28 Manchester hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out two.
» The Little Giants drew four walks from Manchester pitching.
» Reid led the Little Giants at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and an RBI.
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Parts of this story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
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