DELAWARE, Ohio – The Wittenberg baseball team dropped the first two games of a four-game series at Ohio Wesleyan on Friday by scores of 12-1 and 10-3.

The losses moved Wittenberg to 8-19 overall on the year and 1-9 in the West Division of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).

The Tigers got seven hits in the opener, led by a 2-for-3 outing by senior Tyler Grau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) and 2-for-4 by senior David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe).

Freshman Dalton Boucher (Granville, Ohio/Granville) drove in the Tigers' only run when he doubled in freshman Cal Slusarz (Chesterland, Ohio/West Geauga) in the top of the seventh. Slusarz himself finished 1-for-1 with a run scored and two sacrifice bunts.

Junior Mike Burgher (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm) fell to 2-3 with the loss on the mound.

In Game Two, the Tigers got more out of the lineup but again fell to the Bishops. Wittenberg totaled nine hits to OWU's 10.

The effort was led by senior Brandon Jordan (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca), who went 2-for-4 with an RBI on the Tigers' first run in the top of the third. Jordan singled in freshman Josh Kaplan (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North), who was 1-for-2.

Senior Tyler Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio/Cincinnati Moeller) drove in a run on an eighth-inning groundout before Grau followed that up with an RBI double to left center to score Boucher. Grau finished the game 1-for-4.

Junior Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) had a nice game at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a double, a run scored and a walk.

Junior Frank Sullivan (Milford, Ohio/Milford) and junior Stu Haley (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) combined for 3-1/3 innings of scoreless relief, each allowing only one hit. Sullivan pitched 2-1/3 innings and struck out three. Sophomore starting pitcher Jordan Hitt (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) was saddled with the loss, moving to 2-4.

The series with the Battling Bishops continues on Saturday, April 19, at Noon, with one seven-inning game and one nine-inning game.

John Strawn '07