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Hutch Norris '27 | Staff Writer
Posted April 11th, 2024
Wabash goes 1-1 against DePauw, shows signs of inconsistency
After a slew of canceled games, the Little Giants faced a dense four-day, five-game schedule. The Little Giants started with a weekend series against the Asbury Eagles on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7 at Goodrich Ballpark. Asbury had an equally rocky start to their season as both teams came into the series sitting around at .500.
The Little Giants managed to fight off a late-game comeback by Asbury after they took a commanding 6-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. This came on four combined RBIs by the usual suspects: AJ Reid ’24, Kamden Earley ’24, and Benjamin Henke ’26.
Grant Stratton ’25 picked up his first win of the season after pitching five and two-thirds scoreless innings for the Little Giants in the opening game of the series. Stratton showed the peak of Wabash’s coaching philosophy that Head Coach Jake Martin ’03 has echoed throughout the season, only giving up one free base.
“Our goal is to limit the free bases and make the other teams earn their hits and their runs,” said Martin.
However, this fortune was not found in the other games of the weekend. The Little Giants split the doubleheader on Saturday after failing to capitalize on a single by Will Phillips ’25 in the bottom of the ninth. The Little Giants were limited to three hits all game as the bats cooled off from their hot opening game start.
Robbie Manuzzi ’25 made it into the 5th inning before being pulled for left-hander Gavin Pierson ’25. Nick Wangler ’27 was a bright spot for the bullpen as he threw 1.2 innings of relief, giving up two runs, but zero earned runs. The freshman has continued to capitalize on early opportunities and has been a consistent piece to complement the starting rotation.
This performance was followed up by a 12-inning heartbreak on Sunday. The Little Giants gave up the tying run in the top of the ninth, in the middle of a five-inning scoreless skid. Then Asbury put up six runs in the top of the twelfth to complete the series victory and put the Little Giants below .500 before their trip down south.
After a frustrating performance against Asbury, the Little Giants traveled to the school down south on Tuesday, April 9 for a midweek doubleheader against the Dannies. The Little Giants looked to pick up their first conference win after they dropped two against Denison a week ago.
As the Little Giants prepared for their matchup against the Dannies, the team noticed inconsistencies in the team’s performance this year. The Tigers are second in the conference for pitching and fielding but have fallen to last in batting performance.
Caleb Everson ’26 capitalized on the Tigers’ poor offensive production with a final pitching line of six innings pitched, one earned run allowed with four hits, five walks given up and six strikeouts.
“We came out hot in the first game and took it to them,” said Everson. “It felt good to help the team win as always. Getting the ball in a rivalry game always adds another level of intensity to the game, which I enjoyed.”
At the noon start, the Little Giants came out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first with a Reece Bauer ’24 solo home run. Then Reid came in with a cushioning solo homer of his own. Reid would go on to set a season record of six RBIs in one game after walking in one more in the seventh and hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to secure the first game of the series for the Little Giants.
Unfortunately, the bats would run cold in the second game of the afternoon, when the Little Giants recorded only 3 hits in the contest, tying the season-low set against Misericordia on March 8. The Dannies pounced on this opportunity and scored eight unanswered runs to split the series.
“We fought hard in the second game but hits just didn’t fall and that’s baseball,” said Everson. “We all feel really good about conference play the rest of the way and are ready to bring it to Hiram this weekend.
“We showed in the game how we could be as a team, but in the second game, we struggled to find the bats,” said Phillips. “The pitching overall was good, but the bats could improve.”
The Little Giants will be traveling to Hiram, Ohio to face off against the Hiram Terriers in an April 13 doubleheader against Hiram.
