SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—Wittenberg baseball looks to open up at home this weekend on Sunday, March 19, against the Purple Raiders of Mount Union. The Tigers double-header is set to start at 1:00PM, as the Tigers are currently 2-4 overall in 2017.
Wittenberg is led by first-year head coach Brian McGee, but the team will honor long-time head coachJay Lewis prior to game one on Sunday, as he is set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Lewis left his perch as head coach of the Tigers after 20 seasons at Wittenberg, as St. Paris, Ohio native took the job as Athletic Director as his alma mater, Graham High School.
Both a Wittenberg and Graham graduate, Lewis was hired as the head baseball coach in 1996, with his first season at the helm in 1997. Lewis excelled on the diamond for the Tigers in the early 1990s. Lewis was a three-year starting catcher for Wittenberg from 1991-1993 after spending his first season at West Virginia Wesleyan.
During his head coaching stint at Wittenberg, Lewis' teams finished second in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament twice. Several players, including Brent Parke, Ryan Born, Ryan Peters, Steve Less and Kurt Hartfelder, went on to play professional baseball after their careers at Wittenberg ended.
Lewis broke the school record for career baseball coaching victories during the 2006 season, and leaves the program with 379 career wins.