Delaware, Ohio – The Wittenberg University baseball team traveled to Ohio Wesleyan on Sunday afternoon to close out the 2018 campaign. The afternoon started with Wittenberg tallying 12 hits, as Ohio Wesleyan would take game one 11-7. Wittenberg would bounce back in game two with an 8-0 shutout win, recording 16 hits through the game. The 2018 Wittenberg baseball team would improve to 14-23 on the season, improving in the North Coast Athletic Conference with an 8-10 record this season.

GAME ONE

The Battling Bishops took an early 6-0 lead after the first two innings of action. Wittenberg would come back with a three-run third inning, as Ryan Probst would get the Tigers on the board with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring David Hamrick. Through the aggressive baserunning of the Tigers, Gage Carpenter would advance to third and score on the error. Late in the inning, Tim Bates would drive home Matt Baker on a single to center field. Ohio Wesleyan would take on three more runs in the third inning. Gage Carpenter would double to right center, plating the fourth Wittenberg run of the game bringing home Hamrick. The fifth inning saw one Wittenberg run to cross the plate, as Ohio Wesleyan maintained an 11-5 lead. Wittenberg would chip away at the Battling Bishop lead by scoring two runs in the seventh inning. Bates singled through the left side to score Patrick Kenny. The final Tiger run would come across after Jack Siefert doubled to right center, bringing in Bates. On the hill for Wittenberg, Tanner Griggs would get the start, facing 12 batters striking out one and allowing five hits. Rusty Hayhurst and Michael Martin each went two-plus innings. Brandon Beegle closed out the game, facing six batters with one strike and one hit allowed.

GAME TWO

Wittenberg would start by plating their first run in the second inning after Carpenter singled to third bringing home Bates. Completing the sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, Carpenter brought home Siefert to push the Wittenberg lead to 2-0.  The Tiger offense would come alive in the sixth inning, as four Wittenberg runs would come across the plate. Jack Hollinshead would double to right center to scoring the next two Tiger runs, starting off the scoring rally. Continuing the rally would be Paul Stanley with a single through the right side, scoring Hollinshead. Capping off the inning would be Matt Baker with a single up the middle, scoring Stanley and extending the Wittenberg advantage to 6-0. Hayden Knox would knock in the seventh Wittenberg run on a single to right. Hollinshead would complete the Tiger scoring in the ninth inning with a single to center field, bringing home the eighth Wittenberg run. Taking the mound for Wittenberg, Jace Barga would go the distance for the Tigers with nine innings pitched. Barga would allow four hits while striking out five.