CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. - Tiger baseball may not be awaiting a spot in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) tournament, but they made an impact on it nonetheless over the weekend in a pair of doubleheaders against the Wabash College Little Giants. The Tigers went 3-for-4 in the series and dropped Wabash out of the tournament race with wins two and three on Sunday, by final scores of 13-1 and 11-3.
Wittenberg, averaging nearly two errors per game in the 2007-08 season, committed just one on the day in Game 1, finally getting back to solid, fundamental baseball. The rest of the Tiger machine was in working order as well as the pitching staff maintained effectiveness and the batting order stayed productive.
Game 1 featured sophomore Bobby Ciucki (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) in a complete-game, six-hit, one-run win, as he struck out four and issued no free passes. He moved back to even at 2-2 with the win. Game 2 saw sophomore Kory Winter (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) pick up his first win of the season, moving to 1-3, as he pitched five solid innings and allowed three runs on three hits and two walks. Sophomore Darin Mumaw (Fort Loramie, Ohio/Fort Loramie) dug in for two innings of relief, giving up just one hit versus three strikeouts for the hold.
The Tiger batsmen spread 27 hits around the field between the two games, as senior left fielder Jeremey Fruhwirth (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek)continued his torrid pace from the batter's box. On the day, he was 6-for-7, including a 4-for-4 performance in the early game, driving in five runs total. In the nightcap he was 2-for-3 with two RBI. His incredible .490 batting average leads the conference by nearly 30 points, and places him at fifth on the all-time single season batting average leaderboard currently.
Coming through at the plate for the Tigers in Game 1 were freshman third basemanTrent Nutter (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) and rookie designated hitter Ray Noe (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome). Nutter batted 2-for-2 with four RBI, while Noe went 2-for-5 with three RBI. In the nightcap, it was another pair of freshman that hit well, this time second baseman Mike Yednock (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and shortstop Seth Cosby (Springfield, Ohio/Kenton Ridge). Yednock knocked in three runs on three hits in five at-bats, while Cosby went 3-for-4 with two RBI.
The Red & White, now 14-15 overall and 5-9 in the NCAC West Division, come home to take on non-conference opponent Muskingum College on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Carleton Davidson Stadium.