NEW CONCORD — The Wittenberg softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader at Muskingum on Thursday, falling 7-3 and 7-1.

The Basics

• Records: Wittenberg (8-8 overall), Muskingum (11-3 overall)
• Venue: Donna J. Newberry Field - New Concord, Ohio

Stat Leaders - Game 1

• Senior Julia Burch (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) recorded a team-best two hits.
• Sophomore Meghan McCans (Arcanum, Ohio/Arcanum), freshman Caylee Roe (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua) and junior Samantha Zungri (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) had one hit each. Roe's hit was a double, marking the Tigers' lone extra-base hit of the game, and she added two RBIs.
• Senior Hanna Ecker (Heath, Ohio/Heath) tallied one RBI.
• The Tigers posted five stolen bases in the game, getting two from Zungri and one each from Burch, McCans and graduate student Samantha Casteel (Loveland, Ohio/Little Miami).
• Sophomore Julia Hall (Powell, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) got the pitching start for the Tigers and allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk while striking out one over five innings.
• Sophomore Lilly James (Troy, Ohio/Troy) pitched one inning in relief and was charged with the loss, dropping to 4-2 on the season.
• Morgan Layne led the Muskingum offense with a triple, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Game 1 - Muskingum 7, Wittenberg 3

• The game was scoreless through three innings.
• In the bottom of the fourth, the Muskies took advantage of three Tiger errors and a wild pitch to plate a pair of runs.
• Wittenberg answered quickly, though, after loading the bases in the top of the fifth. Zungri hit a leadoff single and stole second base, and Casteel drew a one-out walk. A two-out double steal put runners on second and third, and McCans drew a walk to load the bases. A walk to Ecker plated Zungri, and Roe followed with a 2-RBI double to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.
• The game was halted at the start of the bottom of the fifth inning for a rain delay.
• The Muskies took a 4-3 lead on a 2-RBI triple from Layne in the bottom of the sixth and added three more runs in the frame, two of which scored on wild pitches.
• Each team recorded five hits in the game, and Wittenberg committed five errors to Muskingum's none.

Stat Leaders - Game 2

• Burch and Ecker led the Tigers with two hits each in the game. Ecker had the team's lone RBI, and Burch added a stolen base.
• Roe, Casteel and sophomore Kayla Drake (Wilmington, Ohio/Clinton Massie) had one hit apiece.
• Senior Kira van Ravensberg (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) got the pitching start for Wittenberg and allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits while striking out one over 4.1 innings. She was charged with the loss, dropping her to 3-4 on the season. James and Hall pitched in relief.
• Susie Blocher led the Muskies' offense with a home run and two RBIs.
• Tareyn Brown pitched all seven innings for Muskingnum and improved to 3-2 on the season. She allowed the one run on seven hits and one walk while striking out four.

Game 2 - Muskingum 7, Wittenberg 1

• The Tigers opened the scoring in the top of the first inning after Burch hit a leadoff single and stole second base. McCans followed with a walk and later scored on a two-out RBI single from Ecker.
• The Muskies tied the score at 1-all in the bottom of the first on an RBI sac fly.
• Muskingum took command with a sixth-run fifth inning that included a solo home run, an RBI triple, a 2-RBI double and an RBI single.
• The Tigers put runners on first and second with singles from Burch and Roe in the top of the sixth but were unable to bring them home.
• The Muskies out-hit the Tigers by a 10-7 margin, and each team committed one error.

Records & Milestones

• Wittenberg is now 3-14 all-time against Muskingum.
• Burch has 127 hits and 30 steals in her career. She ranks eighth all-time at Wittenberg in steals and is three hits shy of breaking into the program's all-time top 10 in that category.
• Ecker has 100 hits and 62 RBIs in her career. She is 16 RBIs shy of joining the program's all-time top 10 in that category.
• McCans has 18 steals this season and 26 in her career. She is tied for ninth all-time at Wittenberg on the single-season steal list and ranks 10th on the program's all-time top 10 list for career steals. She entered play on Thursday ranked second nationally in steals on the season.
• In the circle, van Ravensberg has 23 career wins, which ranks ninth in program history. She also has 98 career strikeouts, which is eight shy of breaking into the program's all-time top 10 in that category.
• The Tigers entered play Thursday ranked second nationally in Division III with 55 steals on the season and added six more in the doubleheader.

Up Next

• The Tigers return to action on Saturday for games against Marietta at 2 p.m. and Alma at 4:30 p.m. at the Marietta BSN Sports Softball Classic.