XENIA, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers kicked off the northern portion of their 2011 season with a 12-8 loss to the University of Dayton in a game played at the Athletes in Action complex a day after it was originally scheduled.
The two teams were scheduled to square off at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, at UD's Time Warner Stadium, but rain forced a pair of postponements and a change in location. The Tigers fell to 7-4 on the young season, while Dayton squared its record at 8-8.
After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, the Tigers rallied to take an 8-6 lead into the seventh inning. That's when the Flyer offense got untracked, scoring twice in the seventh and four more times in the decisive eighth inning. Conversely, Wittenberg was held hitless over the final three innings.
Seven different Wittenberg pitchers toed the rubber, with sophomore Zach Finke (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) posting the best line, working hitless third and fourth innings. In an odd twist, he was charged with one unearned run after UD's lead-off hitter in the third reached on a two-base error and advanced the final two bases on groundouts.
Wittenberg's offense was sparked by sophomore Graham Wolff (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), who collected three hits, including a pair of doubles, and drove in three runs. Senior Ray Noe (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) and junior Matt Hampp (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) each finished with two hits, while sophomore Nick Van Dyne (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) contributed two runs batted in.