Bryan Burke

Lance Dill

The Tiger baseball team gave it a good shot but came up empty at the College of Wooster in the NCAC Tournament Semifinals last weekend, concluding the season with losses of 9-2 and 13-7 in a Saturday doubleheader. The Scots, ranked first in the nation in NCAA Division III and owners of a 9-7 win over Big Ten leader Ohio State earlier this year, advanced to the title series later this week against Ohio Wesleyan, which tied Wittenberg for first place in the NCAC West Division at 10-2.

Both games were essentially decided in the first inning as the visiting Tigers were pounded for six unearned runs in the first game and then seven earned tallies in the second. In the opener, the score for the rest of the innings was 3-2 in favor of Wooster, while in the nightcap, the Tigers actually outscored Wooster 7-6 the rest of the way. But, of course, the damage had long since been done.

In the first game, freshman Ryan Goldschmidt (Ft. Loramie, Ohio/Ft. Loramie) and senior Brad Cerovac (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) combined to allow just three earned runs. Offensively, Wittenberg collected eight hits against one of the best pitchers in the Midwest Region, but just two runs crossed the plate. Freshman Matt Foster (Granville, Ohio/Granville) had three hits and an RBI, while junior Ryan Born (Marion, Ohio/Pleasant) and senior Nate Williams (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana) each collected two hits.

In the nightcap, Wittenberg scattered 11 hits and seven runs, but it wasn't enough against the barrage of Scots' hits. Junior Trent West (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) had three hits, senior Lance Dill (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) chipped in with two hits, including a home run, and two RBI, and senior Bryan Burke (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) also finished with a pair of base knocks.

Wittenberg wound up tied for third in the final NCAC standings, joining Allegheny, the runner-up in the East Division, in that position. The baseball All-NCAC team will be announced next week, and a press release will follow shortly thereafter.