CRAWFORDSVILLE, IND. -- In the second doubleheader in as many days, the Trine University baseball team was defeated by Wabash College, 20-2 and 19-9, to conclude a four-game weekend series at Goodrich Ballpark in Crawfordsdville, Ind.
Trine (0-9) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead to start game one thanks to a two-run home run by freshman Cory Erbskorn (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) in the top of the first inning. Those ended up being the only runs in the game for the Thunder as Wabash (7-5) struck for 20 unanswered runs starting with a run in the bottom of the first.
The Little Giants took the lead in the second with three runs to make it a 4-2 ball game and didn't look back. Wabash went on to post five runs in the fourth, a run in the fifth, three runs in the sixth, two more runs in the seventh and five in the eighth to round out the scoring and cruise to the 20-2 victory.
Trine recorded five hits in the game, all by different individuals. Erbskorn's two-run shot in the first was his only hit of the game and finished one-of-four with a run scored and the two RBI. Junior Brenden Warner (Richland, Mich./Hackett Catholic Prep) also scored on the Erbskorn homer and ended the day with a hit in two official at-bats.
Senior Drew Bradford (Huntington, Ind./Whitko) started the game at pitcher and was one of five total hurlers to see action for Trine. Bradford ended up with the loss after pitching three-and-a-third innings while giving up nine runs, five earned, on six hits and struck out four batters.
The afternoon didn't get any easier for the Thunder in game two as the Little Giants started things off with back-to-back innings scoring four runs to jump out to a sizeable 8-0 advantage. Trine made a small dent in the Wabash lead in the top of the third when Erbskorn hit his second home run of the day, another two-run shot, that made it an 8-2 ball game. But Wabash answered the two runs with a pair of runs of its own in the bottom of the inning to regain an eight-run margin, 10-2.
In the top of the fourth inning, Trine tacked on another couple of runs with a RBI-fielder's choice with bases loaded by sophomore Tyler Robinson (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) and was accompanied by a defensive error during the same play that allowed fellow sophomore Jeremy Rossen (Manhattan, Ill./Lincolnway West) to score. The other run scored during the very next at-bat when sophomore Avery Fulford (Conifer, Colo./Conifer) hit a sacrifice fly that made the score, 10-4. But the momentum quickly shifted back to the home team as Wabash struck for six runs in its half of the fourth to take a 16-4 lead.
Trine erased all but one of the runs scored by Wabash in the fourth with a five-run top of the fifth that included a two-run single by sophomore Josh Belanger (Goodrich, Mich./Goodrich) that was later followed by another RBI-fielder's choice by Robinson and then a RBI-single by Fulford. The final run came early in the inning off of an error by the Little Giants that plated freshman Dalton Nikirk (Bedford, Ind./Bedford North Lawrence).
The five-run fifth were the final runs scored in the game by the Thunder as Wabash added a run in the bottom of the fifth and added two more in the sixth en route to the 19-9 final.
Trine had nine hits in game two and had a pair of players record multiple hits in Fulford and Erbskorn. Fulford finished two-of-three at the plate with two RBI, while Erbskorn was two-of-four with two runs scored and two RBI. Robinson ended with one hit in five at-bats to go along with a run scored and a pair of RBI. Belanger had a one-for-three performance with a pair of runs scored and RBI and Nikirk also recorded a hit in four plate appearances in addition to scoring a run. Rossen didn't record a hit in two official at-bats, but crossed home plate twice to score two runs.
Senior Drew Cebulak (Oakmont, Pa./Central Catholic) made his second start on the mound of the season, but suffered the loss after pitching three innings and gave up 10 runs, nine earned, on nine hits and had two strikeouts.
Trine will begin a four-game set against Adrian (Mich.) College next weekend on Saturday, Mar. 27 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association opener in Adrian, Mich. The first game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.