CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. - The Tiger sandlot club split a doubleheader with Thomas More College on Sunday, staying a game ahead of even before heading into the final stretch Tuesday and Wednesday against Kenyon and Heidelberg respectively. The Saints took Game 1 by a 2-1 count, and the Tigers came back big in a 7-0 win in the nightcap.
Offensively, the Red & White were slow to start, as they hit safely just three times in the early game. Senior slugging left fielder Jeremey Fruhwirth (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) drove home the Tigers' only RBI in a 1-for-3 day at the plate.
The pitching staff held up its end of the bargain, as sophomore Kory Winter (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) started and allowed just five hits and two earned runs while striking out four and issuing free passes to two batters in his 5 1/3 innings. Winter carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth where the Saints put two on with one down. Sophomore reliever Darin Mumaw (Fort Loramie, Ohio/Fort Loramie) came in to settle things down but the Saints capitalized and drove those two runs around before the frame ended. The runs were charged to Winter, who picked up the loss.
In Game Two, junior pitcher Tim Antil (Brookville, Ohio/Northmont) went the distance and picked up his third complete game shutout in his bid to be next year's ace of the staff. In one of his best performances of the season, he limited the Saints to just two hits and did not allow anyone past second base, and only one even made it that far.
The Tigers amassed 12 hits to score their seven runs, including two RBIs each from freshmen Ray Noe (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome), the designated hitter, and Michael Yednock (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), the second baseman, who batted first and second respectively. Noe hit 3-for-4 while Yednock went 3-for-5 in the game. Also hitting well was sophomore first baseman Chris Dorka (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), batting 3-for-5 with an RBI, and senior shortstop Joel Puthoff (Houston, Ohio/Russia), who was 2-for-4 with a run scored. The Tigers scored two runs in the first, three in the second, and added two more in the fifth to complete the victory.
Tiger baseball returns to Springfield for a Tuesday doubleheader with Kenyon at 6 p.m. to wrap up conference action, before heading to Heidelberg Wednesday for the last game of the season, a nine-inning affair, set to commence at 4 p.m. in Tiffin, Ohio.