Baseball Splits With Oberlin In NCAC Twinbill

Sophomore Mason Davis went 3-for-5 at the plate in the 21-7 game one victory over Oberlin, highlighted by blasting a three-run homer for the Tigers in the fifth inning.
Sophomore Mason Davis went 3-for-5 at the plate in the 21-7 game one victory over Oberlin, highlighted by blasting a three-run homer for the Tigers in the fifth inning.

Oberlin, Ohio – After erupting for 21 hits in a 21-7 win over Oberlin in game one on Saturday afternoon, the Wittenberg University Baseball team ultimately settled for a split against the Yeomen as Oberlin posted an 8-3 win in game two at Dill Field. With the split, the Tigers now own an overall record of 14-9 and are right in the mix for one of top for spots in the NCAC standings with a 5-3 mark in league play.  

Game One Breakdown

In the game one 10-run rule victory, Wittenberg scored at least one run in all seven at-bats, highlighted by an eight-spot in the sixth that helped secure the 14-run victory over the Yeomen. Junior Jack Siefert got the scoring started for the Tigers in the first as he drove home sophomore Jack Hollinshead on a double to right center. Junior Ryan Probst was credited with an RBI in the second on a ground out to first base that drove home senior Matt Baker, while junior Patrick Kenny and Baker both smacked RBI singles in the top of the third. After an RBI single from sophomore Hayden Knox in the fourth, the Tigers broke out for six runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a three-run homer over the right field wall from sophomore Mason Davis. Davis was again the focal point of the eight-run sixth inning as he smacked a two-run double into right center, while Siefert closed out the scoring in the top of the seventh on a two-run double into the right center gap. While the Yeomen did push seven runs across in their half of the seventh off the Wittenberg bullpen, senior left-hander Jace Barga was nearly unhittable on the mound for the Tigers as he finished the game by striking out six and allowing just three hits in 6.0 innings of scoreless work. Barga is now a perfect 3-0 on the season with a 2.59 ERA in 24.1 total innings of work.   

Game Two Breakdown

After scoring 21 runs in the opener, the Tigers bats were silenced in the night cap as the Yeomen pulled out the 8-3 victory in game two. Oberlin pulled out to an early 1-0 lead in the first and stretched the lead out to 3-0 with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Wittenberg did pull within one, 3-1, in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Davis, but Oberlin got the run right back in the bottom half of the frame on a sacrifice fly of its own. The Yeomen put two more on the board in the seventh on a two-run homer from Lawrence Hamilton, before putting up runs seven and eight in the bottom of the eighth. Wittenberg did push two runs across in the top of the ninth on an RBI double from junior Ryan Probst and a run-scoring single off the bat of sophomore Gabe Stacy, but it wasn't enough as the Yeomen salvaged the split with the 8-3 game two win. Despite only allowing two earned runs, sophomore right-hander Tanner Griggs was credited with the loss on the hill for the Tigers after striking out two and giving up four total runs (two earned) on six hits.

Up Next

The Tigers are now scheduled to back in action tomorrow (4/14) for a 2:00 p.m. non-conference game against Adrian, before returning to NCAC action on Tuesday with a 12:00 p.m. doubleheader at DePauw.