SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - A four-game losing streak ended on Tuesday for the Wittenberg Tiger baseball team when they won the first game of a doubleheader with Capital, 9-6, before dropping the second game by a score of 6-5.
The early game featured great hitting from junior designated hitter Ryan Montgomery (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty), who went 3-for-3 from the batter's box, accounting for two of the Tiger runs. Junior third baseman J.T. Thompson (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont) went 2-for-2 in his plate appearances, driving in two runs on a double and a single.
The Tigers used three pitchers to get through the early game, including starting junior Tim Antil (Brookeville, Ohio/Northmont), credited with the win after three innings and two runs, freshman southpaw Jim Clement (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young), and fellow rookie John Heeter (Lewisburg, Ohio/Tri-County North), who picked up the save.
In the nightcap the offense was not so productive and the pitching matched its earlier performance. After Capital scored two runs in the first half-inning, the Tigers scored a run in each of the first three frames to take the lead. In the top of the fourth, Capital opened up for four runs, putting them out to a 6-3 lead that would last until the bottom of the sixth when the Tigers made up two runs.
Sophomore pitcher Bobby Ciucki (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) gave up four runs in his starting assignment which lasted three-and-a-third innings. Junior Josh Fiebiger (Fletcher, Ohio/Miami East) made a brief appearance in relief, giving up two runs, including the game winner to get tagged with the loss. Freshman Manny Rodriguez (Lawrencevill, Ga./Central Gwinnett) held Capital at six runs through the end of the sixth before senior Joel Puthoff (Houston, Ohio/Russia) came in from his spot at shortstop to take the mound to start the seventh.
After forcing a ground out and striking out the second batter to start the inning, Puthoff allowed the Crusaders to load the bases on two walks and a double. He worked his way out of the jam by forcing one more ground out to keep the Tiger deficit to just one run heading to the bottom of the seventh and the Tigers' last chance to even the score. Unfortunately, a win was not in the cards as the Red & White went three up, three down to end the game.
Highlighting the day defensively were two outstanding, face-first diving catches in the nightcap by sophomore centerfielder Kory Winter (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto). The Tigers travel to Earlham this weekend for back-to-back doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, each scheduled to start at 1 p.m.