Wabash used the long ball in its two victories on Friday. The Little Giants trailed 1-0 in the first when freshman Jason Jablonski (Poland, OH/Cardinal Mooney) reached first on error. Junior catcher Jake Knott (Lafayette, IN/Jefferson) (photo right) followed Jablonski with a blast over the centerfield fence to give Wabash a 2-0 lead. WPI answered, taking a 4-2 lead in the third.
Another two-run home run, this time off of the bat of junior centerfielder Jake Martin (Rushville, IN/Rushville), tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth. The Little Giants took the lead in the last half of the sixth inning when pinch-hitter Dan Matusik (Highland, IN/Highland) reached on a one-out error. He was replaced by pinch-runner Darin Graber (Kokomo, IN/Northwestern), who raced home to score the game-winning run three batters later on a Martin single.
Freshman Jim Sink (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) earned his first victory in a Wabash uniform, giving up five hits and three earned runs while striking out five in the complete game win.
Wabash jumped on the scoreboard first in the second game against St. John Fisher College, scoring in the top of the fourth on a two-run, two-out double by senior co-captain Bryson Renbarger (Converse, IN/Eastern). The Little Giants added three more runs in the sixth when junior Josh Stanton (Mooresville, IN/Mooresville) brought home two runs on a home run to centerfield, followed by a double by sophomore Mike Mack (Butler, IN/Eastside). Mack scored on two consecutive wild pitches to make it a 5-0 contest.
Junior pitcher Marc Rowe (West Point, IN/McCutcheon) scattered six hits while giving up only one run in the seventh inning to earn his first win of the season to go along with one save. He struck out three batters and walked three.
Wabash will conclude its southern trip on Sunday morning with a doubleheader against Westfield State College.