PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - The Wittenberg Tigers rounded out their annual Spring Break trip with a doubleheader split. After rallying for a thrilling 6-5 win in the opener against Kings College, the Tigers dropped a 7-5 decision in the nightcap.
The split left the Tigers with a 5-3 record on the young season, heading into a week off before getting the rest of the campaign kickstarted with the Wittenberg Tournament March 16-18. Wittenberg will play three games in three days, starting with a Friday night match-up against Adrian College.
In their Florida finale, the Tigers got things started well enough. Through six innings, Wittenberg held a 3-1 lead with senior Tyler McClain (Springfield, Ohio/North) tossing a gem. However, Kings struck for four runs in the top of the seventh inning, setting the stage for a clutch Tiger rally.
After pushing a run across, the Tigers loaded the bases. Junior Jeremey Fruhwirth (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) coaxed a free pass that scored junior Matt Steinke (Wapakoneta, Ohio/St. Mary's Memorial) to tie the game, and then juniorJoel Puthoff (Houston, Ohio/Russia) drew a second straight bases on balls to push across the game-winner in the form of freshman pinch-runner Sam Stough (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto).
That made a winner for the second time in a week of sophomore Josh Fiebiger (Fletcher, Ohio/Miami East), who came in relief in the seventh inning. Offensively, the Tigers were paced by sophomore Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield), who went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
In the second game, the Tigers fell behind 3-0 in the first inning before rallying for a pair of tallies in the second inning and a three-spot in the fourth. However, Kings, which banged out 15 hits in the game to just six for Wittenberg, rallied with single runs in the fourth and fifth and the two decisive runs in the sixth.
The Tiger offense was keyed by Puthoff with a double and a triple, two runs scored and an RBI. Freshman Josh Bunnell (Cleves, Ohio/Harrison) added a two-run triple.