Westfield, Indiana – The Wittenberg University Baseball team clawed their way back to take a 6-5 lead over Albion after 7.5 innings of play, but the Britons put up a six-spot in the bottom of the eighth to post an 11-7 win over the Tigers in the season opener for both squads on Saturday afternoon at Grand Park in central Indiana.

How the Tigers Scored

After senior Patrick Kenny posted the first hit of the season, a single to right, in the top of the first inning, junior Mason Davis drove home the Tigers' first run of the season just two batters later on a RBI single to center field.

The Tigers than went scoreless over the next five at bats, while Albion added three runs in the first and two more in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead into the top of the seventh inning.

Wittenberg opened the seventh with back-to-back doubles off the bats of freshman Dylan Jackson and junior Tanner Boros to cut the lead down to 5-2.After a single to right by freshman Chase Whisner,  junior Gabe Stacy drove home Boros on a sacrifice fly to right field to make the score 5-3. Wittenberg's third run of the inning cam in unconventional fashion as Albion thought it had recorded its third out of the inning on a ground out by Kenny. As the Britons were making their way to the dugout to celebrate the end of the inning, Whisner raced around the diamond to score the fourth run of the game. After a short confusion on the field, the umpires confirmed there were only two outs, thus allowing Whisner's run to count.

After holding Albion scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, Wittenberg used two-out magic in the eighth to eventually take a one-run lead. After senior Ryan Probst smacked a two-out double down the right field line, Jackson drove in the tying run on a single to center. Boros then broke the 5-5 tie with a triple to center field that scored Jackson to put the Tigers up by one run with one inning to play.

Wittenberg did add another run in the top of the ninth on a double to left center from junior Jack Hollinshead, but it wasn't enough to overcome the six runs that Albion plated in the bottom of the eighth to pull away with the victory.

Boros, Jackson, Kenny and Hollinshead each finished the game with two hits apiece, with Boros leading the way with one double, one triple and two RBI. Sophomore right-handed reliever Cole Weaver suffered the loss on the mound for the Tigers after giving up four runs (two earned) on four hits in 3.0 innings of work that spanned from the bottom of the fifth to the bottom of the eighth innings.

Up Next

The Tigers will be back in action tomorrow (3/1) at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana, with a pair of non-conference games against Manchester (IN) at 11:00 a.m. and Benedictine (IL) at 2:30 p.m.