WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Wittenberg baseball team opened its 2013 season in style with a 12-7 win over Saint Vincent to open the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Sunday.
Freshman catcher Will Cousins (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) doubled in the tying run in the fifth inning, scoring junior second baseman Cam Chambers (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) to make it a 5-5 game, and came around to score on a single by sophomore center fielder Brandon Reaman (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) that gave Wittenberg the final lead of the game.
Cousins did his part for the win, scoring in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings. He finished 2-for-4 with three runs, a walk and an RBI.
The rest of the Tiger lineup also seemed in midseason form at the plate, racking up 17 hits against the Bearcats' 11. The offense was led by Reaman and senior shortstop Graham Wolff (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest), who both went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two walks. For Reaman it translated into two RBIs, for Wolff one.
Junior third baseman David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) and sophomore first baseman Mike Burgher (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm) both went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk and Chambers was 2-for-5 on the day.
Freshman righty Jordan Hitt (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) picked up the victory on the mound in his first collegiate appearance with five solid innings allowing five runs, three earned, on seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
In relief, sophomore right-hander Frank Sullivan (Milford, Ohio/Milford) pitched 1-2/3 innings and allowed two runs on four hits. Freshman righty Seth Parrish (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) took over for Hitt with a runner on base but his work was easy, as St. Vincent was caught stealing, gunned down by Cousins.
Junior right-hander Edison Henry (San Diego, Calif./St. Augustine) and freshman lefty Luke Black (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) closed the game out with one hitless inning apiece.
The Tigers are slated for a doubleheader tomorrow against Worcester Polytechnic Insitute, beginning at 1 p.m. in Chain of Lakes Stadium, former spring training home of the Cleveland Indians. The weather should be cooperative, with the Weather Channel calling for 62 degrees and sunny skies for the first pitch and the duration of the contests.
