Baseball takes one of four against Wabash
By Bryant Foreman
The first doubleheader in the series against the Wabash Little Giants was bittersweet for senior baseball captain Jake Carr. Carr broke yet another record on Saturday as he pushed his way to the top of the list for career RBI’s with 93, but the Quakers lost both games in the doubleheader.
Carr, an all-conference catcher/infielder, said, “It’s a really good feeling to know that all of the hard work over the years has paid off, and now I really have something to show for it.”
However, the Little Giants defeated the Quakers in both contests of the day 8-5 and 20-8, respectively. On Sunday, the Quakers lost one game 17-11 but managed to finish the weekend on a positive note, winning the last game of the series 6-5.
Junior infielder Andrew Morrical and sophomore outfielder Tyler Schroeder highlighted the first game early on for Earlham when they both hit singles in the first frame. Junior pitcher Corey Murray had two RBI’s to advance the two runners home. However, a late game run by the Little Giants left the Quakers in the dust as they fell 8-5.
Junior pitcher Adam Painter opened up on the mound for six innings. Freshman pitcher Shawn Kinnett then relieved Painter for the remainder of the game.
The second game was by far the hardest for Earlham to swallow, as they lost 20-8. Notable plays from this game were freshman catcher Nate Chandler’s home run and freshman infielder Ross Yoho’s triple.
The next day, Yoho continued his success at the plate with two home runs during the first double header on Sunday.
“I was really comfortable at the plate today. I changed my stance up on the left side today so I felt really good in the cage before the game,” he said. “In the fifth and sixth inning I felt like we had a great chance to hold on and keep our lead with the pitchers we had coming in, but we were just unable to hold onto it.”
Although Earlham fell 11-17 in the first contest on Sunday, junior first baseman Conner Gable and freshman infielder Chris Baumann had two hits a piece for the Quakers.
Graduate Assistant Coach Kevin Greve said after the first game on Sunday, “We need to continue to hit the ball, which we did well. And just keep playing better defense, and just get the freshman comfortable in their spots on the field.”
Photo by Elsa Haag
Earlham faced a disadvantage in the number of players for the doubleheaders, as Wabash’s roster features 33 players, compared to Earlham’s 14.
However, Greve thinks this fact doesn’t reflect a disadvantage in the level of play.
“While Wabash brings a lot of players to the table, we bring a lot of talent — young talent — that will be around for the next few years,” he said. “We also have a number of players who are fully capable of playing more than one position which is great to have.”
In the only win of the weekend, Baumann came out of the final game against Wabash as the team hero. Not only did Baumann finish the game at the mound in relief for the Quakers, but he knocked in the winning run, a walk-off single in the seventh inning that led his team to victory, 6-5. Schroeder led Earlham with three hits, while Carr and Gable added two hits as well.
They will also play a weekend two-game doubleheader series against Robert Morris-Springfield at home today and tomorrow, both at 1 p.m.
The Quakers played Defiance College on Wednesday, falling 14-5 at home at McBride Stadium.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
