SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers wrapped up a once-promising 2007 season with a 19-9 loss to defending national champion Marietta on Senior Recognition Day at Carleton Davidson Stadium.
The loss was Wittenberg's sixth straight to cap a topsy-turvy season with an 18-19 overall record. Playing their fifth game in three days, the Tigers went through eight pitchers, who yielded a whopping 16 walks to the Pioneers. Marietta improved to 25-11.
The game started well enough for the Tigers, who scored four times in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a two-run single from freshman Chris Dorka (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington). However, the Pioneers added six runs in the second inning to the one they pushed across in the first, while Wittenberg scored two in the second and one in the third to make it 7-7.
Even after Wittenberg leftfielder Jeremey Fruhwirth (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) twice robbed Marietta hitters of home runs, saving as many as seven runs in the first three innings, the Pioneers combined patience with heavy hitting to eventually put the game out of reach. Marietta scored five times in the fourth inning on just two hits - the keys being four walks and two wild pitches by the four Tiger hurlers who took the mound in the inning. The Pioneers, who hit four home runs and five doubles in the game, added two tallies in the fifth, three in the sixth and two in the seventh before emptying the bench.
Wittenberg, on the other hand, managed only single runs in the sixth and eighth. The Tigers did bang out 15 hits in the game, compared to 16 for the Pioneers, including a perfect 4-for-4 from junior Matt Steinke (Wapakoneta, Ohio/St. Mary's Memorial) and 2-for-4 with three runs scored by senior Andrew Wellman (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington). The two teams combined for 28 runs, 31 hits, 19 walks, three hit batsmen and 24 runners left on base in a game that took nearly three-and-a-half hours to play.
Before the game, the Tigers' three seniors - Wellman and pitchers Tyler McClain (Springfield, Ohio/North) and Trey Richardson (Urbana, Ohio/West Liberty-Salem) - were recognized.