Junior outfielder/designated hitter Trent West hit a home run against Wabash on Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader sweep.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Catching fire at just the right time, the Wittenberg University baseball team has put itself in prime position to win the North Coast Athletic Conference West Division. To stake a final claim to that coveted first-place position, however, the Tigers must first play a critical three-game series against nationally ranked Ohio Wesleyan this weekend at Springfield's Municipal Stadium Annex. Game time for Saturday's scheduled doubleheader is noon. Sunday's single nine-inning affair is slated for first pitch at 1 p.m.
Wittenberg, winner of nine of its last 10 games, comes into the series sporting a 20-11 overall record and a first-place NCAC West mark of 9-0. Ohio Wesleyan, which beat the Tigers in two out of three games at home a year ago to clinch the division crown before going on to win the NCAC tournament, comes in with records of 26-7 overall and 8-1 in the NCAC West.
Whichever team wins at least two games this weekend will head into the NCAC tournament as the No. 1 seed from the West Division. Allegheny and Wooster are playing this weekend for bragging rights and positioning out of the NCAC East Division. The No. 1 seed from each division hosts a three-game series May 4-5 against the No. 2 seed from the other division, with the winners advancing to the NCAC Championship Series in Canton, Ohio May 11-12. The winner of that competition receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Tigers are a senior-dominated team that is on pace to shatter several offensive school records. Spearheading an offensive attack that has reached double-digits in runs on nine occasions in 2002 and has a .362 team batting average are five players hitting .398 or better. Senior Scott Hirsch (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) tops the squad with a .477 batting average, senior shortstop Bryan Burke (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) checks in at .457, senior centerfielder Lance Dill (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) owns a mark of .416, junior first baseman Ryan Born (Marion, Ohio/Pleasant) is at .398 and junior outfielder Trent West (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) is also at .398.
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