Round Up: May 5th, 2005: Baseball Review
The Wittenberg baseball team saw their 2005 season come to an end last weekend at nationally ranked Wooster in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals. By losing the first two games of a three-game series at Wooster, the defending conference champion, by scores of 4-0 and 15-8, Wittenberg bowed out with records of 21-16 overall and 9-5 in the NCAC West Division.
That mark in the division was good for a second-place tie with Ohio Wesleyan, which was broken on tiebreaker criteria favoring the Tigers. It was Wittenberg's first appearance in the four-team NCAC Tournament in three years.
In the opener, the Tigers got a solid pitching performance from junior starter Steve Less (Sheffield, Ohio/Elyria Catholic), who allowed five hits and four walks in five innings before departing with an injury. He allowed two runs (one earned), but he took the loss as his teammates were unable to generate any offense. He was relieved by junior Jason Holmberg (Miamisburg, Ohio/Miamisburg), who went three innings and allowed three hits, one walk and two earned runs.
Offensively, the Tigers never got a leadoff hitter on base in the nine-inning game. All five hits, by five different players, were singles. No Tiger runner even passed second base.
Game 2 was decided relatively early, even though the Tigers did rally to make a game of it. Wooster's offense was just too much as the Scots pounded out 19 hits and pushed across 15 runs, including seven in a decisive second inning against senior Ryan Goldschmidt (Fort Loramie, Ohio/Fort Loramie).
Six of the Tigers' eight runs were scored in the final two innings but the rally was far too little, far too late. Junior Brian Hampp (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) and senior Matt Foster (Granville, Ohio/Granville) each collected three hits in the game, but again all 11 Tiger hits were singles.