SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tiger baseball team scored one run in the first, three runs in the third, and two each in the fourth and fifth innings of a nine-frame matchup against visiting Heidelberg, giving themselves enough room to withstand a late, three-run rally the Student Princes were able to assemble in the eighth. The game finished at a 9-4 mark as Wittenberg sophomore starting pitcher Joel Assenheimer (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) picked up the win.
In five innings of work, Assenheimer gave up six hits and two runs, both earned, while striking out two. He was relieved by sophomore lefty Kory Winter (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto), who turned the game over to sophomore Darin Mumaw (Fort Loramie, Ohio/Fort Loramie) in the eighth after allowing the bases to load with no outs. Mumaw gave up two hits, but was not charged with any of the runs, as he inherited all three of the scoring runners. He finished off the eighth and pitched a relatively uneventful ninth to finish things out.
Wittenberg started scoring in the first, when senior catcher Matt Steinke (Wapakoneta, Ohio/St. Mary's Memorial) sacrificed a fly ball to score senior left fielder Jeremey Fruhwirth (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek).
In the third inning, Steinke earned his second RBI when he doubled to score junior right fielder Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield). After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Steinke came around to score on an error. Sophomore first basemanChris Dorka (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) filled in behind Steinke at third on the error, and scored on a hit from freshman center fielder Ray Noe (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) to round out the scoring in the third.
In the fourth, the Tigers added two when Fruhwirth knocked an RBI single to drive in senior shortstop Joel Puthoff (Houston, Ohio/Russia), and Steinke picked up RBI number three when he once again put a sacrifice fly into the outfield, this time to score Williams, who just previously had picked up his second and third stolen bases of the game. In the fourth, it was Williams turn as he singled to score two runs.
The Tigers added one more in the seventh, as Fruhwirth put in his second RBI with a double. On the night, Fruhwirth went 3-for-3 with two RBI, Williams batted 2-for-5 with two RBI and three stolen bases. Steinke finished with three RBI in a 1-for-3 game at the plate. Puthoff added a stolen base, while Steinke caught two runners stealing from his post behind the plate on defense. Steinke has now caught 7-of-9 would-be basestealers.
Assenheimer now owns a 2-1 record with the win. The Tigers next take a trip to Marietta for a nine-inning game to begin at 1 p.m.