SPRINGFIELD — The Wittenberg softball team split a doubleheader with Otterbein in its 2024 home opener on Sunday. The Cardinals won 4-1 in Game 1, and the Tigers came back to get a 4-1 victory in Game 2.

The Basics

• Records: Wittenberg (12-12 overall), Otterbein (5-7 overall)
• Venue: Dillahunt Field - Springfield, Ohio

Stat Leaders - Game 1

• Sophomore Meghan McCans (Arcanum, Ohio/Arcanum) had a team-high two hits and for the Tigers and had one of the team's four stolen bases in the game.
• Graduate student Samantha Casteel (Loveland, Ohio/Little Miami) added one hit and one RBI. Her double was the Tigers' lone extra-base hit of the game.
• Sophomore Julia Hall (Powell, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) got the pitching start for the Tigers and allowed four runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out one over 4.2 innings.
• Sophomore Lilly James (Troy, Ohio/Troy) tallied four strikeouts and allowed just one hit over the final 2.1 innings.
• Isa Lewis led the Otterbein offense with two hits — a triple and a double — to go with three RBIs.
• Riley Hamm pitched all seven innings for the Cardinals, allowing the one run on six hits and one walk while striking out six.

Game 1 - Otterbein 4, Wittenberg 1

• Otterbein plated a run in the top of the first inning via an RBI sac fly.
• A 2-RBI triple from Lewis and RBI single from Emma Calkins put the Cardinals up 4-0 in the top of the fifth.
• The Tigers plated their lone run via a two-out RBI double from Casteel in the bottom of the seventh.
• Otterbein out-hit Wittenberg by a 9-6 margin and committed two errors to the Tigers' one.

Stat Leaders - Game 2

• McCans led the Tiger offense with three hits, one RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.
• Three other Tigers posted a multi-hit game. Sophomore Ashlynn Stamper (Yellow Springs, Ohio/Beavercreek) recorded two hits and two RBIs, senior Hanna Ecker (Heath, Ohio/Heath) had two hits and one RBI, and freshman Rebekah Giel (Amelia, Ohio/West Clermont) added two hits.
• Junior Samantha Zungri (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) tallied a double for Wittenberg's lone extra-base hit of the game and added a stolen base.
• Senior Kira van Ravensberg (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) got the pitching start for the Tigers and allowed one unearned run on five hits while striking out four over six innings to earn the win and improve to 5-5 on the season.
• James pitched a scoreless seventh inning with one walk and two strikeouts for her fifth save of the season.
• Megan Payne tallied a team-best two hits for Otterbein.

Game 2 - Wittenberg 4, Otterbein 1

• The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI single.
• Wittenberg answered to tie the score in the bottom of the first courtesy of an RBI single from Ecker.
• In the bottom of the fourth, a one-out RBI single from McCans put the Tigers up 2-1, and Stamper followed with a 2-RBI single to increase the lead to 4-1.
• van Ravensberg allowed just one hit over the next two frames before giving way to James in the seventh to secure the victory.
• Wittenberg out-hit Otterbein by a 14-5 margin and committed two errors to the Cardinals' none.

Quote - Head coach Ashley Goodwin

• "It was good to get our home opener in today. We had a huge turnout of friends and family supporting our Tigers. Otterbein has a solid squad and was another great out-of-conference competitor for us. We were flat offensively in Game 1 but came out swinging in Game 2 to earn the split. I am proud of this team's resilience and am looking forward to our two home games against Capital tomorrow."

Records & Milestones

• Wittenberg is now 28-17-1 all-time against Otterbein.
• Senior Julia Burch (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) has 138 hits and 33 steals in her career. She is tied for seventh all-time at Wittenberg in steals and ranks 10th all-time in hits.
• Ecker has 108 hits and 67 RBIs in her career. She is 30 hits and 11 RBIs shy of joining the program's all-time top 10 in those categories.
• McCans has 25 steals this season and 33 in her career. She is tied for sixth all-time at Wittenberg on the single-season steal list and is tied for seventh on the program's all-time top 10 list for career steals.
• In the circle, van Ravensberg has 25 career wins, which ranks ninth in program history. She also has 110 career strikeouts, which ranks 10th all-time at Wittenberg.
• James has eight career saves, which is a program record.

Up Next

• The Tigers return to action on Monday hosting a doubleheader against Capital beginning at 3 p.m.