SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A week after rallying back into the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) West Division title chase with three wins in four tries against Wabash, the Wittenberg Tigers fell backward again with a pair of losses to Denison.

After losing 7-4 in 10 innings and 2-1 to the Big Red, the Tigers now find themselves in a dire situation. Wittenberg has six NCAC West games remaining and likely must sweep all of them to even have a chance to make the four-team NCAC Tournament.

Denison improved to 7-18-1 overall and 2-4 in the NCAC West, while Wittenberg fell to 17-10 overall and 3-7 in the conference. The two teams will meet for another doubleheader on Saturday, April 7, also at Wittenberg's Carleton Davidson Stadium.

In the opener, the Tigers rallied from an early 4-1 deficit, thanks in large part to two steals of home plate. Sophomore David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe)turned the trick in the fifth inning and junior Grant Goodwin (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) tied the game with a theft in the sixth.

The two teams went to extra innings, however, and Denison took advantage of a confusing umpires' call to break the game open in the top of the 10th inning. An interference call with the bases loaded and two outs allowed the winning run to score, followed by a back-breaking two-run double.

Goodwin went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, and he also drove in two runs. On the mound, junior Zach Finke (Maineville, Ohio/St. Xavier) turned in a solid performance, allowing four earned runs in seven innings.

The nightcap didn't go much better for Wittenberg, which got another strong starting pitching effort. Junior Kevin Tolle (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) went the distance, allowing just three hits and three walks.

Unfortunately, one of those three hits was a two-run home off the bat of Denison's Ryan Mulligan in the sixth inning. That came after the Tigers had finally dented the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by freshman Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) that plated Moore.