LAFAYETTE — Wabash split a pair of baseball games at Loeb Stadium Sunday afternoon, winning the first game against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 7-3 to finish 2-0 for the weekend against the Pioneers. The Little Giant lost the second game to Elmhurst University 11-3.
GAME ONE
Wabash 7, Wisconsin-Platteville 3
Aiden McConnell (1-0) started on the mound and picked up the win for Wabash (3-1). The right-hander went five shutout innings while giving up three hits, allowing no walks and striking out six. Robbie Manuzzi also made an impact on the mound for the Little Giants, throwing three scoreless innings while allowing two hits, with one walk and three strikeouts.
The Little Giants got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the bottom the first inning with the game still scoreless.
Wabash built on its lead in the third inning. Wabash scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Michael Galanos, which brought the score to 4-0 in favor of the Little Giants.
Wabash kept Wisconsin-Platteville scoreless before building the lead to 5-0 in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly from Evan Neukam.
The Little Giant offense got in gear once again in the next inning. Wabash added a run on Will McKinzie’s two-out RBI double, bringing the Wabash advantage to 6-0.
The Little Giants built their lead to 7-0 in the eighth inning. Wabash scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Will Fremion. Wisconsin-Platteville put up four runs in the top of the ninth inning, but the Little Giants still held on for the 7-4 win.
GAME NOTES
• McKinzie had three base knocks in the game for Wabash.
• McConnell struck out six Pioneers hitters.
• Wabash’s highest scoring inning was the first, when it pushed three runs across.
• Wabash took a 3-0 lead in the bottom half of the first and didn’t surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
• Four Little Giants had multiple hits in the ballgame.
• The Little Giants out-hit the Pioneers at a 12-8 clip.
• Bradley Gilliam stole two bases in Sunday’s game.
• Wabash pitchers limited Wisconsin-Platteville to just 1-for-7 (.143) with runners in scoring position.
• Wabash pitchers faced 39 Wisconsin-Platteville hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out 11.
• The Little Giants drew eight walks from Wisconsin-Platteville pitching.
• McKinzie led the Little Giants at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
GAME TWO
Elmhurst 11, Wabash 3
Junior Ben Henke went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI for the Wabash Little Giants in an 11-3 loss to the Elmhurst Blue Jays on Sunday.
Senior Grant Stratton (0-2) got the ball to start for Wabash (3-2) and took the loss. Junior Jackson Woehr was a bright spot for the Little Giants, coming out of the bullpen and throwing 1.2 shutout innings, allowing one hit, with no walks and one strikeout.
At the plate, the Little Giants were paced by Henke, who went 1-for-4 on the day with a double and two RBI. Senior Camden Scheidt furnished a noteworthy performance as well, going 1-for-2 with two walks. Fremion also chipped in for Wabash with three walks.
Trailing 5-0, the Little Giants first put runs on the board in the fifth inning. Wabash scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Henke. The Little Giants were unable to get any closer, as Elmhurst added six runs to its tally on the way to an 11-3 final.
GAME NOTES
• Wabash’s highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed three runs across.
• Wabash pitchers faced 43 Elmhurst hitters in the game, allowing 10 ground balls and four fly balls while striking out seven.
• The Little Giants drew seven walks from Elmhurst pitching.
