ANGOLA, Ind. — The Wittenberg baseball team split a non-conference road doubleheader with Trine on Sunday, dropping a narrow 3-2 contest in the opener but coming back for a 4-0 shutout in the nightcap to advance to 8-7 overall on the season.
Sophomore Jonathan Long (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) was saddled with the loss in Game 1 despite a complete game in which he allowed just six hits and struck out two while walking only one. After both teams scored their runs in the third inning, Trine got 1-2/3 innings of perfect relief to keep the Tigers from evening the score.
Senior Mike Yednock (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) knocked in the Tigers' first run in the third with an RBI groundout, and a two-out dropped fly ball later allowed Wittenberg's second run to cross.
The Trine pitching staff limited Wittenberg's lineup to no more than one hit apiece, led by 1-for-2 outings, each with a walk, for senior Jason Haunty (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), sophomore Grant Goodwin (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) and sophomore Nick Van Dyne (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson). Van Dyne scored a run, as did senior Ray Noe (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome), who went 1-for-4 at the plate.
In the late game, the Tiger pitching staff turned the tables on the Thunder by posting a four-hit shutout on the combined efforts of starting sophomore Zach Finke (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and junior Matt Rupert (Evanston, Ill./Evanston).
Finke moved to 2-0 on the season by limiting Trine to three hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Finke relief on his infield, which helped him retire 11 batters on groundouts. Rupert did not qualify for the save, but set three batters down in order in the seventh to preserve the shutout.
Finke leads the Tiger staff with an ERA of 1.20 in 15 innings pitched, having allowed just eight hits and four runs, two earned, while striking out 11 and walking only three in three appearances.
The Tiger offense posted three runs in the third inning and another in the fifth on six total hits and four walks. Haunty, Goodwin and freshman David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) each plated one RBI, while Noe and Hampp led the team with matching 2-for-4, one run games.
Wittenberg next hosts Heidelberg, ranked No. 1 in both the NCBWA/d3baseball.com and Collegiate Baseball national polls, in a single game, nine-inning engagement at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22, at Carleton Davidson Stadium.
John Strawn '07