CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — A late-season rally came to an unfortunate end for the Wittenberg Tigers as they split a rescheduled doubleheader at North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) West Division rival Wabash and were eliminated from postseason contention in the process.
The Tigers lost the opener 3-0 before rallying for a 7-1 victory to move into a three-way tie for second place in the division at 9-7, two games behind Denison. Wabash won the tiebreaker for the second and final spot in the NCAC Tournament, however, because the Little Giants beat both Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan three times in four meetings this year.
Offense was at a premium in the first game as Tiger senior starter Bobby Ciucki (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) scattered eight hits and two walks in a complete-game performance. Wittenberg managed just five hits - all singles - in response. The Tigers left the bases loaded in the fourth inning and two runners on in the seventh.
After spotting Wabash a first-inning run in the nightcap, the Tiger offense finally got untracked, powered by freshman Nate Lavey (Covington, Ohio/Covington), who went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer and three runs batted in overall. Senior A.J. Bush (Troy, Ohio/Troy) and freshman Graham Wolff (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) also finished with two hits each in the game.
The offensive outburst made a winner of freshman Zach Clark (Sidney, Ohio/Anna), who improved to 4-0 with six innings of seven-hit baseball. He struck out three before giving way to senior Darrin Mumaw (Fort Loramie, Ohio/Fort Loramie), who set the Little Giants down in the seventh.
Wittenberg, now 16-19 overall, is scheduled to close out the 2010 season with a game at Thomas More on Tuesday, April 27.