SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg baseball dropped both ends of a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon to visiting Anderson University. The Tigers fell to 18-14 overall by scores of 5-3 and 12-3.
The Ravens took a 3-0 lead through 2.5 innings in Game 1 before the Tigers answered with one in the bottom of the third. Anderson responded with two more in the fourth, and Wittenberg posted two runs in the sixth but fell short of the comeback.
Senior starting pitcher Jim Clement (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) took the loss, falling to 2-2 on the season in 2 1/3 innings after allowing three runs, two earned.
Junior Matt Hampp (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) provided all three runs for the Tigers by clearing the left field wall with a fifth-inning drive to score two runs and a third-inning sacrifice fly.
Hampp went 1-for-3 in the game, while senior Ray Noe (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) was 2-for-4 and scored on Hampp's sacrifice, and senior Mike Yednock (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) went 2-for-2 with a walk.
Freshman Edison Henry (San Diego, Calif./Saint Augustine), junior Touby Bender (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison Comprehensive) and freshman Corey Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) all pitched scoreless innings in relief, Henry in three-up, three-down fashion.
The Tigers led Game 2 3-1 until the fifth, when Anderson took advantage of five walks and leveraged seven hits to score 10 runs. Junior closer Matt Rupert (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) again provided spotless late relief by striking out all four hitters he faced to close the game.
Noe again paced the Tiger lineup with 2-for-3 hitting, matched by senior Jason Haunty (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), who also provided an RBI. Sophomore Graham Wolff (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) went 1-for-4 in driving in one run, and Hampp collected his fourth RBI of the day on 1-for-3 hitting.
The Tigers resume North Coast Athletic Conference action with a doubleheader at Wabash on Sunday, April 17, at 2 p.m. The engagement was originally scheduled for March 27 but was cancelled due to ice accumulation following freezing temperatures the preceeding night.
Written by: John Strawn '07