Junior Reid Pittard scores a run Friday afternoon in the Tiger’s 19-6 victory over Iowa Wesleyan.
DePauw went on to sweep Wabash during a four game series on Saturday and Sunday. SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW
The Tigers caught fire against conference rival Wabash, winning all four games in their first series sweep of the season.
After a 19-6 win over Iowa Wesleyan on Friday that saw the Tiger offense collect 22 hits, the four-game sweep of Wabash (16-13) pushed DePauw’s record back over .500.
“Our series against Wabash couldn’t have come at a better time this season,” said junior Andrew Quinn. “We knew going into the weekend that we needed to do everything we could to win four games, but we tried focusing on it one game at a time.”
Second baseman Ryan Grippo agreed.
“[It doesn’t get] much better than sweeping Wabash at home,” the junior slugger said, “especially with the tremendous fan support we had this weekend, it made it that much more fun.”
DePauw, now 18-15 on the season, won game one on the late-inning heroics of outfielder Lucas Italiano, who ripped a game-winning RBI double to center field to score junior infielder Reid Pittard in the bottom of the ninth.
Juniors Ryan Grippo (left) and Reid Pittard (right) attempt to tag an Iowa Wesleyan player at second base. SAM CARAVANA / THE DEPAUW
Italiano had already come up clutch for the Tigers in the seventh. With the team trailing 4-2 and down to it’s final out, the senior captain hit another shot into the gap to score two and tie the game.
It would be Zack Wade who would come up with the big hit in game two of the doubleheader on Saturday.
With the Tigers down 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, the junior catcher drilled a three-run, go-ahead homer to give DePauw the lead. The Tigers would tack on another run before winning 4-1.
“The difference this weekend was the timely hitting,” Grippo said. “When people perform like that, it makes it easier to win.”
Having been streaky throughout the season, the Tiger lineup stayed hot against the Little Giants.
“Obviously, it’s great to do that against Wabash, but more importantly, the sweep got our confidence back up to where we need it,” Pittard said.
Games three and four on Sunday saw DePauw again post big offensive numbers, as the team combined for 24 hits in their 10-9 and 9-5 wins. Grippo and junior centerfielder Jack Thompson both homered in the double header.
“I thought this series was the first stretch of games where our whole team was clicking,” Quinn said. “I think we can continue to stay hot now that the pressure of regular-season conference play is over.”
While the offense provided plenty of run support, the Tigers' talented pitching staff once again held its own. Quinn, senior Wyatt Spector and juniors Mike Hammel and Riley Futternect all gave DePauw five-plus innings in each of their respective starts.
Futternect’s complete game in game two on Saturday (10 K, 1 ER) was good enough to earn him NCAC Pitcher of the Week, as well as his fifth win of the season.
Pittard also earned NCAC Player of the Week honors, going 10-13 with four RBIs and five runs scored during the Wabash series.
“I think the series against Wabash really showed us that when we get on a roll as a team, we’re going to be very tough to beat,” Quinn said. “I don’t think anyone will be excited to play us in the cross-over in a couple weeks.”
The Tigers travel to Missouri this weekend to play in their final four-game series of the regular season. The games will be against Washington University, a team that has been ranked at various points during the season.
“It’ll be a great test coming into the final leg of the season,” Spector said. “We’re going to go into this weekend with the same mindset we’ve had all season: to compete and play our game.”
Saturday and Sunday’s doubleheaders are scheduled for noon and 3:00 p.m. starts.