SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan split a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon in games that could not have been more different. The Tigers won a 6-5 walk-off thriller while the Battling Bishops picked up a 10-3 victory in the nightcap.
Wittenberg moved to 8-20 overall and 3-11 in the West Division of the North Coast Athletic Conference with the split, while Ohio Wesleyan is now 22-9 overall and 10-4 in NCAC divisional play.
The exciting finish came as the Tigers entered the top of the seventh defending a 5-4 lead after a long, tough slog. Ohio Wesleyan pushed one across to tie it up, but singles by freshman Timmy Bates (Westerville, Ohio/South) and senior Aaron Patrick (Eldorado, Ohio/Tri-County North) set the table for junior Will Cousins (Medfield, Mass./Medfield), who doubled off the left-center field wall to score Bates and win the game.
Ohio Wesleyan picked up the first run of the game in the first inning and scored on in the third and two in the sixth before tying things up in the seventh. Senior Stu Haley (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) was solid in his 6-2/3-inning start, allowing eight hits to score five runs, all earned, with four strikeouts and one walk.
Haley gave way to freshman Tanner Combs (Wytheville, Va./George Wythe) with the score tied, two outs and runners on second and third. Combs induced a fly ball out to right field to retire the Bishops and get the statistical win, and then the Tigers mounted their walk-off attack.
The Tigers got a bulk of their scoring in a three-run second inning as Cousins singled a run in, junior Corey Farnbauch (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) hit a sacrifice fly and senior Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) hit a bases-loaded fielder's choice to score a run.
Cousins had a day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs, including the walk-off, and two runs scored. Bates finished the game 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored and Patrick was 2-for-4, while Farnbauch finished with one sacrifice hit, one sacrifice fly and an RBI.
In between games, the departing senior class of senior Ben Bennett (Maineville, Ohio/Kings), senior Mike Burgher (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm), Haley, Patrick and Wilson was honored with commemorative Wittenberg bats. The presentation preceded the ceremonial first pitch thrown out by Inez Sloan to her grandson, Head Coach Jay Lewis, to celebrate her 100th birthday on April 9.
In the second game, Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan were tied at three through four innings, but down the stretch it was the Bishops pulling ahead with one in the fifth, three in the seventh, one in the eighth and two in the ninth.
Patrick went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Cousins had an RBI while Burgher was 3-for-4 at the plate, sophomore Dalton Boucher (Granville, Ohio/Granville) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and Bates was 2-for-5.
On the mount, senior Frank Sullivan (Milford, Ohio/Milford) took the loss on six innings, nine hits and four runs, three earned, with five strikeouts and five walks.
The Tigers and Battling Bishops are back at it tomorrow afternoon, Monday, April 27, at 4 p.m., in the concluding doubleheader originally scheduled for Saturday, April 25, which was postponed because of rain.
John Strawn '07