GAMBIER, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers and Kenyon Lords kicked off a non-conference four-game weekend series with a doubleheader split.
The Lords opened the things with a 13-7 win in the opener, but Wittenberg bounced back to claim a 4-2 victory in the nightcap. The results left the Tigers at 6-16 on the 2014 season, while Kenyon is 10-14 heading into the final two games of the series at Carleton Davidson Stadium in Springfield, starting at 1 p.m. Sunday.
In Saturday's opener, the Tigers fell behind 7-1 through the first two innings but rallied with two runs in the third and four more in the fourth. The seven-inning game turned in the bottom of the sixth, however, as the Lords exploded for six runs to claim the victory.
Four different Tiger pitchers allowed at least two runs apiece, with the loss going to senior junior Stu Haley (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier), who went four innings in relief. Offensively, senior David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) stood out for Wittenberg with three hits in three at-bats and two runs batted in. Freshman Dalton Boucher (Granville, Ohio/Granville) scored two runs and drove in two more.
The Game 2, the two teams traded runs in the opening inning. Kenyon added a run in the third and Wittenberg responded by tying the game in the sixth. In the bottom of the seventh, Kenyon loaded the bases with one out but senior Alex Lochard (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) delivered for the Tigers by setting down two of the Lords' top hitters to get out of the jam.
Lochard's stellar work in relief set the stage for a game-winning rally for the Tigers in the top of the eighth inning. Sophomore Will Cousins (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) doubled in the go-ahead run and senior Brandon Jordan (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) added an RBI single to drive Cousins home.
Lochard followed that with another scoreless inning in the bottom of the eighth to pick up his first career pitching victory.
Cousins drove in a pair of runs in the game, with Moore and Jordan getting credit for the other two RBIs.