DELAWARE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers hit an unexpected roadblock at arch-rival Ohio Wesleyan as the host Battling Bishops pulled off a doubleheader sweep by scores of 9-1 and 2-1.
Wittenberg came into the day in first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) standings after an emotional Senior Recognition Day sweep of defending NCAC Tournament champion Allegheny on Saturday. The Tigers are now in the middle of a tightly packed league regular season title chase with an NCAC record of 5-3.
DePauw heads into the week atop the standings at 8-2, followed by Wittenberg, Denison and Allegheny in a deadlock at 5-3, and Ohio Wesleyan, which improved to 6-4. The Tigers are scheduled to return to action Tuesday, April 15, with two home games against Oberlin.
In the opener, Ohio Wesleyan struck for runs in five of the six innings that were played, and along the way the Battling Bishops got the best of senior Tiger hurler Rachel Ross (Westerville, Ohio/South), who had won both games on Saturday in the pitcher's circle. Ross managed just 3.1 innings, allowing eight hits and six runs (four earned), before giving way to freshman Alyssa Durette (Geneva, NY/Geneva) for the final 2.1 innings.
The Tigers committed three errors defensively, which certainly didn't help the cause, and Wittenberg was also unable to dent the scoreboard more than one time in the game. The Tigers' lone run came on a first-inning homer from senior Laura Rose (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins).
In the nightcap, the Battling Bishops opened with runs in the first and second innings, and the lead stood up despite a stellar pitching performance from sophomore Kaela Hughes (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), who allowed two earned runs on seven hits and four walks in six innings. The Tigers made two more errors in Game 2.
Offensively, freshman Abby Baker (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) and sophomore Loren Combs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) led with two hits each. Junior Ashlee Wright (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) contributed Wittenberg's lone run batted in, which scored senior pinch-runner Shelby Knapp (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield).