SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg baseball picked up a split on Sunday against Wabash to secure a 3-1 series win following a pair of victories Saturday, winning 6-3 via comeback before dropping the final game 12-8.
The Tigers improved to 17-8 and 3-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference's West Division, and with the series win secured tiebreaker criteria over Wabash come conference tournament selection time. That could prove an important bargaining chip with 18th-ranked DePauw taking a clear lead in the division race following a 4-0 sweep of Denison to move to 8-0 in the division.
Wabash opened Game One in the same fashion they had opened both of Saturday's games, by getting ahead early. The Little Giants scored two runs off Tiger senior starting pitcher Matt Rupert (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) in the first frame, but for a third straight game Wittenberg answered the challenge.
In the bottom of the first, freshman Brandon Reaman (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) and junior Graham Wolff (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) got on board with back-to-back singles, and both scored to tie the game on a throwing error by Wabash third baseman Andrew Rogers that allowed senior Matt Hampp (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) to reach and advance to third.
Sophomore Alex Lochard (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) then launched a double into left field to score Hampp and put the Tigers in charge with a 3-2 lead.
Wabash was quieted by Rupert in the top of the second, but Wittenberg scored one in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Reaman to make it 4-2.
After Rupert put away Wabash in order in the third, Wittenberg scored two more in the bottom half on RBI singles by Lochard and senior Tim Little (Broadview, Ill./Kenwood Academy) to take a 6-2 lead.
Wabash scored one run in the fourth, but that ended the scoring from both teams. Rupert held Wabash scoreless on two hits throughout the remainder, finishing the complete game for a victory to move to 5-1 on the season.
For the game, Rupert held Wabash to just six hits and three runs, all earned, and two walks, while earning four strikeouts over seven innings.
In Game Two, Wabash again jumped out to an early lead with three runs through four innings and a big five-run sixth to build an 8-0 lead. Wittenberg responded with five runs and each team posted one in the seventh to make it 9-6.
Wabash put three more runs in the ninth to add some separation, and a ninth-inning, two-run rally fell short of changing the result.
For the day, Hampp and Lochard led with three RBIs apiece, followed by one each from Reaman, Little and sophomore David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe). Reaman went 4-for-7 at the plate with two doubles, a walk and a sacrifice fly to lead the team in batting.
Lochard put up five RBIs in the four-game series against Wabash while the team hit .333, including eight of 10 position players above .333 for the series.
The Tigers continue NCAC action with another home series next weekend against Denison starting Friday, currently scheduled to start at 1 p.m. (time subject to change) at Carleton Davidson Stadium. Follow along with live statistics and live audio on the Tiger Sports Network.
John Strawn '07