Little Giants stand tall

This is the first conference championship for Wabash since 1998. Wabash sports information

Wabash claimed its first-ever NCAC  baseball title Saturday with a 5-2 victory over Ohio Wesleyan.

Chris Widup worked 8-1/3 strong innings on the mound while the Little Giant offense scored five first-inning runs in the win. Luke Zinsmaster came on in the ninth inning in relief of Widup, closing out the game with a strikeout to give the Wabash the title.

The conference title is the first for the Wabash baseball team since joining the NCAC in 2000 and is the first overall conference tournament title since the Little Giants won the 1998 HCAC tournament. in 1998 automatic bids were not awarded.

Widup retired all three Ohio Wesleyan batters with strikeouts in the first inning, part of eight total strikeouts in the game for the sophomore righthander. The Battling Bishops hit a solo homer in the third inning and another in the eighth inning for their only runs of the game. Widup scattered five other OWU hits in the game. The only other threat he faced in the game came with two outs in the second inning when a single to left by Nathan Strome brough Tim Knezovich to the plate. However, Wabash leftfielder Montana Timmons threw out Knezovich trying to score to end the inning.

The Little Giants opened the first inning with an infield single by Chris Deig. An error on a ground ball by John Pennington put runners on first second, leading to two runs on a Timmons double down the left field line. Tanner Coggins followed with the third hit of the inning to put runners on the corners. PJ Tyson's RBI single scored Timmons and set up a two-run double by Joe Johnson when the senior blasted a pitch to the left-center field wall.

The five runs would prove to be all Widup needed to record his fifth victory of the season.

Wabash advanced to the tournament championship game as the number three seed. The Little Giants opened with a 17-9 victory against Ohio Wesleyan on Thursday night, followed by a 3-2 win Friday against top-seeded Wooster to earn the berth in the championship game.