SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Wittenberg baseball mounted a rally to erase a four-run deficit against Otterbein on Tuesday night, but ultimately fell 7-6 to the Cardinals.
Otterbein got started quickly, plating a run in the top of the first, only to have Wittenberg respond with a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Tyler Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio/Cincinnati Moeller) to even things up.
An uneventful second inning preceded a three-run Otterbein outburst in the third. The teams would again trade runs in the fourth, with the Tigers getting another sacrifice fly, this time off the stick of senior Tyler Grau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller).
The Cardinals scored one more in the fifth to expand their lead to 6-2. That set the table for a dramatic four-run comeback by the Tigers in the sixth.
Senior David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) pegged an RBI single to score sophomore Brian Raymond (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest), and a throwing error on the next play allowed Moore to score and freshman Josh Kaplan (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) to reach third after his single. Grau then reached on a fielding error while Kaplan scored from third, and after senior Alex Lochard (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) doubled down the right-field line, Preston Snodgrass (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) singled him home to complete the rally.
Otterbein took the sudden change in stride and answered with the go-ahead run in the seventh. Threatening again in the top of the ninth, a line-drive single into right field nearly scored a runner from first, but a well-executed relay from freshman right fielder Trent Champlin (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) to Moore and on to catcher Lochard nailed the runner at home and end the half inning before the lead could get any bigger.
The Tigers got a runner on in the bottom of the ninth but could not get the run back.
Grau finished 0-for-3 but picked up two RBIs by putting the ball in play. Hutchinson was 1-for-2 on his way to one RBI and Moore was 1-for-3 while driving in one run. Snodgrass finished 1-for-1 with an RBI after taking over late in the game in left field.
Junior Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) went 1-for-4 with a double, one of three Tiger extra-base hits. Lochard provided a double on a 1-for-4 outing, as did Champlin.
Freshman starting pitcher Dalton Boucher (Granville, Ohio/Granville) threw 2-2/3 innings and allowed three earned runs while striking out two. Junior Stu Haley (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) followed Boucher pitched 2-1/3 innings of relief while allowing four hits and just one earned run with a strikeout.
Sophomore Luke Black (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) was next with a solid inning on the mound, giving up just one hit with two strikeouts. He gave way to freshman Tyler Powell (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana), who got two strikeouts but allowed the go-ahead run on one hit and two walks to take the loss.
Sophomore Seth Parrish (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) pitched the eighth and set the Cardinals down in order on two flyouts and a groundout.
The Tigers, weather permitting, will travel to Wilmington (Ohio) for a 4 p.m. contest tomorrow, Wednesday, April 9.
John Strawn '07