FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The Wittenberg baseball team staged a late-inning comeback for a 6-5 win over Immaculata at host Methodist on Sunday to close out its Armstrong Invitational schedule.

The Basics

• Records: Wittenberg (4-2 overall), Immaculata (3-3 overall)
• Venue: Armstrong-Shelley Field - Fayetteville, N.C.

Stat Leaders

• Junior Rocco Royer (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) led the Wittenberg offense with two hits in the game.
• Sophomore Tommy Chilicki (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) finished with one hit and a team-best two RBIs.
• Sophomore Alex Nemunaitis (Ottawa Hills, Ohio/Ottawa Hills) tallied a double for the Tigers' lone extra-base hit of the game.
• Seniors Conor O'Malley (Avon, Ohio/St. Edward's) and Matt Moore (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) and freshman Xander Rodriguez (Salinas, P.R./Franklin County) each posted one hit and one RBI.
• Senior Austin Luther (Hughesville, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) got the start on the mound for the Tigers and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out six over 6.2 innings.
• Senior Joe Horoszko (Seven Hills, Ohio/Saint Edward's) earned the win in relief, pitching the final two innings and giving up two hits and two walks while striking out two.
• Immaculata starting pitcher Jason Hughes threw seven innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk while striking out five.
• Joey Wright had three hits, including a home run, and three RBIs to lead the Immaculata offense.

The Game

• Wittenberg opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the third inning, and Immaculata tied the score with a run in the top of the fourth. The teams remained tied through six frames.
• In the top of the seventh, Immaculata scored a pair of runs via a Wittenberg failed pickoff attempt throwing error and increased its lead to 5-1 with a two-out, three-run homer from Wright.
• An RBI sac fly from Chilicki brought Wittenberg within 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh.
• The Tigers' comeback continued in the eighth, as junior Ben Seibert (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) hit a one-out single, and Nemunaitis followed with a double to put runners on second and third.
• O'Malley and Moore followed with back-to-back RBI singles to bring the Tigers within one, 5-4.
• After an Immaculata pitching change, junior pinch hitter Jalen Williams (Catonsville, Md./Western Tech) drew a walk to load the bases. An RBI sac fly off the bat of Rodriguez tied the score, and Chilicki followed with a two-out RBI single for a 6-5 lead.
• In the top of the ninth, Immaculata put runners on first and second via a one-out single and walk, but Horoszko generated a flyout and groundout from the next two batters to secure the win for the Tigers.
• Both teams finished with eight hits and two errors.

Quote - Head coach Brian McGee

• "We never backed down, never gave up and never stopped believing in the brotherhood today. Players, staff, family and fans just all pulling for one another. Baseball can be do fun, especially when you have this group to share it all with. Tiger Up!"

Records & Milestones

• Eighth-year head coach Brian McGee is now 137-101 all-time at Wittenberg.
• O'Malley has 115 hits, 28 doubles, 11 home runs and 98 RBIs in his career. He is 51 hits, eight doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs shy of breaking into the program's all-time top 10 in those categories.
• Senior Luke Thomas (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge) has 111 hits and 27 doubles in his career. He is 55 hits and nine doubles shy of breaking into the program's all-time top 10 in those categories.
• On the mound, Luther has a 10-4 career record with 115 strikeouts. Horoszko is 11-5 with 92 career strikeouts.

Up Next

• The Tigers return to action on Tuesday at No. 5 Lynchburg at 2 p.m.