SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – An exciting finish and an impressive pitching performance powered a sweep of Mount Union on Saturday as Wittenberg baseball improved to 8-1 on the season at Carleton Davidson Stadium.
Junior Tyler Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio/Cincinnati Moeller) hit a walk-off double to win game one 7-6, and senior Kevin Tolle (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) kept Mount Union under control in game two with a three-hit complete game on the mound to push Wittenberg to a 4-2 win.
In the first game, Wittenberg led 5-2 heading to the fifth, but Mount Union posted runs in the fifth and six and took the lead with two in the top of the seventh.
The Raider effort left the Tigers trailing 6-5 heading to their last at-bat, but sophomore Brandon Reaman (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) singled for an RBI to tie the game before Hutchinson sent a two-out double into right field to score Reaman and win the game.
Hutchinson finished the first game with three RBIs on 2-for-4 hitting, including a two-run home run in the third.
Senior Graham Wolff (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) finished the game 1-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI and junior Brandon Jordan (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Hutchinson kept raking into the second game, launching his second home run of the day to lead off the fourth while drawing an intentional walk and being hit by a pitch to finish 1-for-1.
Freshman Will Cousins (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) went 1-for-2 with two RBIs as the Tigers finished with seven hits to the Raiders' three. Kevin Tolle kept Mount Union under control, allowing two runs, both earned, on four strikeouts and four walks to improve to 2-0 on the season.
In the first game, senior Zach Finke (Maineville, Ohio/St. Xavier) allowed nine hits, four runs, two earned, with two strikeouts and two walks over six innings, but junior Edison Henry (San Diego, Calif./St. Augustine) picked up the victory by taking over in the seventh.
The Tigers and Purple Raiders were schedule for a doubleheader in Alliance, Ohio, home to Mount Union, but a forecast for heavy snow caused the pair to be postponed without an announced makeup date.
The postponement leaves a four-game series at Wabash to open North Coast Athletic Conference competition as the next scheduled date, with doubleheaders beginning at Noon on Friday, March 29, and Saturday, March 30, in Crawfordsville, Ind.
John Strawn '07
