CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — Down to their final three outs, the Wittenberg Tigers pulled off yet another improbable comeback victory in a season filled with them to gain a much-needed split of a doubleheader hosted by North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Wabash.
The Little Giants won the opener 10-9, rallying from a pair of late-game deficits to win in the bottom of the eighth inning on a two-out, walk-off home run. Then Wabash appeared to have a hammer-lock on the sweep before the Tigers pulled off a tremendous rally, banging out seven straight hits en route to seven runs in the top of the seventh inning of Game 2 to claim a 12-9 victory.
The split left the Tigers with records of 19-14 overall and 8-4 in the NCAC, compared to 15-20 overall and 7-5 in the conference for the Little Giants. Both teams have just four games left in NCAC regular season play — the Tigers will host Ohio Wesleyan for a pair on Friday, April 22, before hitting the road to take on Hiram on Saturday, April 23. Only the top four teams in the final regular season conference standings earn the right to compete in the season-ending tournament.
In the opener, the Little Giants jumped out to a 4-1 lead through the first three innings before the the Tigers rallied for four in the fourth. Wittenberg held the advantage until the sixth inning, when a three-spot by Wabash tied things up. A two-out single by senior Ray Noe (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) put Wittenberg back ahead 9-8 in the top of the seventh, but the Little Giants came up with a two-out RBI hit of their own to tie the game and then NCAC home run leader John Holm ended the game with a two-out long ball in the bottom of the eighth.
Noe was the offensive catalyst in the first game, banging out three hits and reaching base four times in his five plate appearances. He drove in a pair and scored a pair while collecting his second home run of the season. In addition, sophomore Grant Goodwin (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) finished with three hits and two runs batted in and sophomore Graham Wolff (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) added two hits and two runs scored.
As if the opener wasn't wild enough, the nightcap topped it, starting with a six-run outburst over the first two innings for the host team. Wittenberg battled back to within one run in the top of the sixth before the Little Giants seemingly took control for good with three tallies in the bottom of the sixth. That's when the Tigers strung together seven straight hits to complete the rally, netting seven runs in the top of the seventh to make a winner out of freshman J.C. Birr (Dayton, Ohio/Carroll), who was credited with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief work.
The heroes were numerous in the game-winning rally, perhaps most notably freshman David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe). He started the inning with a single and scored the first run, then he capped the comeback with a two-run double after Goodwin's single tied the game and a double by senior Zach Spring (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) gave the Tigers the lead. For the game, Moore went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, junior Jason Haunty (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) finished a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, senior Mike Yednock (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) chipped in with three base hits and Goodwin drove in three runs.