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Steve Less

RICHMOND, Ind. - The Wittenberg Tigers have new life. A combination of outstanding play and good fortune pushed the Tigers into second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference West Division over the weekend.

Wittenberg improved to 22-14 overall and, more importantly, 10-6 in the NCAC West after completing a dominating four-game sweep of host Earlham on Saturday and Sunday. The Tigers followed up Saturday's doubleheader sweep with a pair of convincing victories on Sunday by scores of 6-0 and 18-5.

But the Tigers weren't going to the annual NCAC Tournament without a little help, and they got just that in most unlikely fashion Sunday. Denison, which entered the weekend with a slim half-game advantage over the Tigers (thanks to a rainout last weekend against Earlham), came one inning away from a four-game sweep at Wabash. But in the final game of the series, the Little Giants rescued Wittenberg with a three-run rally in the seventh inning, giving the Tigers the half-game advantage in the final regular season standings (Wittenberg would have had the tiebreaker on Denison if the two teams had finished in a tie at 10-6). 

Wittenberg will now face top-ranked Wooster, the preseason NCAC favorite after winning a second consecutive conference championship a year ago, on the Scots' home field in a best-of-three series that opens Saturday, April 29. Wooster, which finished third in the nation a year ago, won the NCAC East Division with a 15-1 record. The Tigers lost in the NCAC Tournament semifinals a year ago, also at Wooster.

The Tigers won the two games on Sunday in disparate ways. The opener was all about pitching as senior Steve Less continued his dominating ways. A week after overpowering visiting Oberlin for his first career one-hit shutout victory, Less ran his scoreless innings streak to 14 with a four-hit masterpiece against Earlham. Less is now 4-3 in eight starts this season with five complete games and a team-best 1.66 earned run average. He'll need to toss at least one more shutout this season to have a chance to get into the top five in school history in season ERA, but at least he now knows that opportunity will come.

Offensively, the Tigers scored twice in the first inning, three in the fifth and an insurance tally in the seventh. Senior shortstop K.R. Schlievert finished with three hits in the game, while freshman outfielder Patrick Williams continued his impressive rookie campaign with two hits, two runs scored and a team-high three runs batted in.

In the nightcap, the Tigers established season-highs for hits (20) and runs (18). The hitting stars were plenty for Wittenberg, as four different players - sophomore outfielder Jon Fox, sophomore outfielder Joel Puthoff, freshman third baseman Jacob Michael and sophomore catcher Matt Steinke - scored three runs in the game and three players - Fox, Schlievert and Puthoff - drove in three runs.

On the mound, the combination of junior Trey Richardson and freshman Josh Fiebiger was enough to keep the Quakers at bay. Richardson allowed seven hits, three walks and four earned runs in four innings, while Fiebiger was touched for an earned run on two hits and two walks in three innings of relief.