Ryan Peters

Wittenberg University's baseball team completed the 2001 season on May 5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference West Division playoffs at Ohio Wesleyan. The second-seeded Tigers lost the first two games of a best-of-three semifinal series by scores of 16-8 and 9-5. The Bishops, the No. 1 seed and one of the nation's top-ranked teams, advanced to take on East Division winner and No. 3 ranked Allegheny in the championship series this weekend.

Wittenberg led 4-1 early in the opener, only to see Ohio Wesleyan score nine straight runs to take command. Senior rightfielder Ryan Peters (London, Ohio/London) and junior centerfielder Lance Dill (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) both hit home runs for the Tigers, but both came late in the game after seven errors helped the Bishops build a big lead.

In the nightcap, Wittenberg took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth only to see Ohio Wesleyan hit a leadoff home run to tie the game, then load the bases and win on a walk-off grand slam. Peters hit his 14th home run of the season in the top of the eighth inning to give the Tigers that ill-fated lead, and junior shortstop Bryan Burke (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) ended his season on a high note at the plate with a 4-for-4 day.

Peters is tied for the NCAC lead in home runs (14) and is fourth in batting (.438). He ranks among the nation's leaders in homers per game with 14 in 35 outings.

Peters had a spectacular 2001 season to conclude a fine career. His 14 round-trippers tied Bryan Magoteaux's season record from 1998, his 48 runs batted in ranks fifth in school history, his 108 total bases are one short of Magoteaux's 1997 record, his 45 runs scored tie him for sixth in school history and his 56 base hits rank in a tie for seventh. For his career, despite the fact that he was only a two-year starter, Peters wound up second to Magoteaux in home runs with 25, third in batting average (.397) and a tie for 10th in total bases with 209.

As a team, Wittenberg set a team record for batting average in a season at .349, which ironically was only good for fourth in the homer-happy NCAC in 2001. The team's 32 home runs rank No. 2 in school history and 84 doubles rank fourth.

Finally, freshman pitcher Kurt Hartfelder (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) is eighth in the conference in earned run average (3.91) and led the Tigers in wins with five.