CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — For a second straight day, the Wittenberg Tigers lost a slugfest in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament, dropping out of the double elimination competition with an 11-9 loss to Ohio Wesleyan.
Coming on the heels of Thursday's 17-13 setback against Wooster, the loss to the Battling Bishops ended the Tigers' season with a record of 20-18. Ohio Wesleyan then advanced to Saturday's tournament final against Wabash with a 10-2 win over the Scots. Wabash, which beat Ohio Wesleyan on Thursday and Wooster on Friday, needs just one more win to take the title, while the Battling Bishops will have to win twice Saturday to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
For a second straight day, the Tigers got off to a solid start, jumping on top with a pair of runs in the first inning. Ohio Wesleyan scored the next seven runs, however, and never trailed again. Wittenberg battled back to within 10-9 with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Battling Bishops tacked on an insurance run in the ninth and set the Tigers down in order for just the second time all game in the bottom of the final inning.
The Tigers banged out 12 hits after collecting 19 against Wooster on Thursday, but they stranded a whopping 25 runners in the two games, including nine against OWU. On the other hand, the Battling Bishops were efficient against four different Tiger pitchers, parlaying 14 hits and three walks into 11 runs while stranding just four.
Wittenberg's offense was sparked by sophomore Graham Wolff (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), who went 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI, senior Jason Haunty (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), who contributed two hits and a team-best three runs batted in, and freshman David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe), who collected three hits, scored a run and drove another in.
For the second straight day, the Tigers were victimized by the long ball. After allowing just 11 homers all season, Wittenberg gave up three against Wooster on Thursday and three more against Ohio Wesleyan on Friday.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: After the competition ended, Wolff was selected to the 2011 NCAC All-Tournament Team.