With the season well under way and conference competition in the near future, it’s time to take a dive into the stats to see the ins and outs of Wabash baseball.
In their last week of play, the Little Giants closed out two series, including beating Illinois Wesleyan University in two out three games between March 22 and 23. The series, which has been a competitive highlight of Wabash’s calendar over the past few years, saw the Scarlet & White sluggers pull off two ninth-inning rallies to win from behind.
Pitching:
The center of attention for Wabash baseball so far has been the pitching staff. After Wabash brought in Pitching Coach Mac Lozer, fans have been eager to see how the change would affect the bullpen.
So far, the Little Giants hold a 5.31 ERA (108th nationally), down from a 5.50 in 2024 (a lower/higher ERA is better). An accompanying shift in B/AVG to .278, down from .300, shows that Wabash is heading in the right direction.
The standout figure for the Little Giants has to be the strikeout totals. Last season the team threw 206 SOs in 40 games. This season the team struck out 104 batters in its first 13 games. Wabash’s arms are 80th in the nation for their strikeout-to-walk ratio.
“In our opinion, strikeouts are a byproduct of confidence and control,” said Lozer. “As long as we continue to stay on our approach of attacking hitters and getting ourselves into advantageous counts, strikeouts are bound to happen.”
Grant Stratton ’25 and Caleb Everson ’25 have been the key starters for the Little Giants, pitching 22.1 and 23.0 innings, respectively. With two wins in five appearances, Stratton has one of the better ERAs on the team (4.03). Everson has a 5.48 ERA but has given up fewer hits over more innings pitched. Aiden McConnel ’26 and Jarod Kirsch ’28 fill out the remainder of the starting needs.
Ten other Wabash pitchers have five or more appearances. The relieving and closing roles are still taking shape, as the season continues.
“We have a great amount of hungry pitchers who serve as our bullpen arms,” said Lozer. “We are still in the process of defining roles in the bullpen. Our goal is to quickly define five to seven bullpen arms who will log a good amount of appearances and innings pitched.”
With naționally ranked opponents like Denison on the horizon, the pitching staff will have its work cut out to keep the numbers low. But the bullpen has already handled some of the best bats in the country.
Wabash has played the 13th (Washington College, .344 AVG), 17th (Manchester University, .341 AVG) and 40th (Illinois Wesleyan University, .329 AVG) best hitting teams in the nation by batting average. Over six games, Wabash held those three teams under average to a .281 AVG.
“We believe our bullpen has been progressing more times than they have regressed,” said Lozer. “Our wins against these offense-heavy programs have not been the prettiest or cleanest when it comes to pitching our brand of pitching; however, we were able to get the job done as a team.”
Batting:
In the batters box, Wabash was expected to take a bit of a hit in the hitting department after AJ Reid ’24 — the College’s all-time hits leader — and three other notable batters graduated.
The Scarlet & White hold a respectable, but diminished .286 AVG – down from .315. But the upside is that the team has been more efficient in scoring runs, recording 111 runs on 138 hits. The OB% has remained fairly intact at .410 (123 nationally) down only a few points from 2024’s .417.
“Overall, we have been very competitive offensively when we play to our strengths,” said Head Baseball Coach Jake Martin ’03. “This combination of lineups will not produce the extra base numbers we are used to, but we are more dynamic. We can play a little more aggressively by creating action on the bases and with our bunt game. We have some work to do as we get into our conference season, but I believe we will be a tough lineup to get through.”
Ben Henke ’26 leads the Little Giants from the plate with a .373 AVG and a .464 OB%. He leads the team in hits and RBIs.
The conference season will definitely be the harder half of the season for Wabash hitters, as both Denison and Wittenberg sit in the top 25 for ERA this season. So far Wabash has not faced any top-50 teams in that category.
“The conference has good arms – no question about it,” said Henke. “But aside from the work we put in on a daily basis, hitting is also an attitude. Keeping a consistent approach, whether you’re hitting well or not, is equally as important. We don’t care who’s on the mound. At the end of the day they have to throw three pitches in the zone past you to get you out. When you are being aggressive and hunting your pitch and getting a mean swing off, good things are going to happen.”
Conference:
Wabash holds the third-best record in the NCAC, only behind Denison (ranked 7th in the nation by D3baseball.com) and Wittenberg. Without an obvious gap in strength of schedule, Wabash has a fair argument that they are a top-three team in the NCAC so far.
“The biggest improvement we can make as a lineup is to stay focused on the opportunities where we can extend a lead or shrink an opponent’s lead in the back half of the game,” said Martin. “That takes a relentless approach to not give up at bats and stay aggressive in RBI situations. We feel like we’ve made strides in those situations, but we need to continue that trend if we expect to contend for a spot in the NCAC tournament.”
The Little Giants will begin play in the NCAC with a double-header against Hiram on Saturday, March 29 at Goodrich Ballpark.