SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Wittenberg baseball team dropped its first two North Coast Athletic Conference West Division games to DePauw today, falling 10-4 and 10-5 at Carleton Davidson Stadium on Sunday.
DePauw jumped out to a sizeable lead in the first game, scoring three runs in the first inning, two in the third and one in the fourth to lead 6-0 before Wittenberg pushed across its first runs in the bottom of the fourth. In that frame, Wittenberg scored twice on back-to-back bases loaded walks for junior Corey Farnbauch (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) and Aaron Patrick (Eldorado, Ohio/Tri-County North).
DePauw scored two more in the fifth before Wittenberg got a pair in the sixth on consecutive singles by junior Will Cousins (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) and senior Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton). DePauw tacked on two more in the seventh to end the contest.
Senior Frank Sullivan (Milford, Ohio/Milford) took the loss in 4-2/3 innings pitched despite six strikeouts in the start. Senior Stu Haley (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) held the visitors scoreless with one hit and one strikeout through 1-1/3 innings of relief work, and freshman Corbin Dennis (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) surrendered two runs in his one inning on the mound.
Wilson finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and freshman Timmy Bates (Westerville, Ohio/South) scored twice. Farnbauch went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored and Cousins was 1-for-3 with one run driven in.
In the second game, it was a much different story. The host Tigers held a 5-2 lead through seven innings before DePauw posted a seven-run eighth to take the lead at 9-5, adding one more in the ninth for the final margin.
In the second inning, Wittenberg got on the board with RBI hits by Cousins and freshman Eli Goolsby-Broschart (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial) and a run scored on a fly ball by Wilson. In the fifth, sophomore Dalton Boucher (Granville, Ohio/Granville) launched his second home run of the season, a solo shot to make it 5-1.
For the game, Goolsby-Broschart was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI while Boucher was 2-for-4 with an RBI on a home run. Sophomore Josh Kaplan (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) finished 2-for-4, as did Bates and Cousins.
On the mound, sophomore starter Jon Ellerbrock (Tipp City, Ohio/Bethel) went six innings and allowed three hits to score two runs, both earned, one five strikeouts. Junior Jordan Hitt (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) took the loss in relief. Junior Luke Black (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) mopped up with 1-1/3 innings, allowing two hits and one run, unearned, to close the game.
Wittenberg and DePauw still owe each other two games originally scheduled for Saturday, March 28, the date and time of which have yet to be determined. The next scheduled action for Wittenberg is a Tuesday, March 31, single game against Capital in Bexley, Ohio, at 4 p.m.
John Strawn '07