NEW CONCORD, Ohio – A late-innings comeback fell just short for the Wittenberg baseball team, which fell by a final score of 6-5 at Muskingum on Thursday afternoon.
The game nonetheless held significance for at least one player. Sophomore Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) stole two bases to move to 22 on the season, moving into a fourth-place tie with Brad Kellenberger's 1988 total in the team record books. Wilson is a perfect 22-for-22 in stolen bases thus far.
Sophomore Brandon Reaman (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) also managed to take two bases while leading the team at the plate. He went 2-4 with a team-best two RBIs out of the two-hole, and scored a run himself.
Wilson finished the game 1-4 with two runs and a walk. Senior Graham Wolff (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) and senior Grant Goodwin (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) went 2-4, helping the team to 10 hits in the game against nine for the Muskies. Wolff notched the Tigers' only extra-base hit with a double in the eighth.
Muskingum hit the Tigers early with a three-run second inning, tacking on two more in the fifth, all coming off of Wittenberg's freshman starting pitcher Ryan King (Rockville Centre, NY/Cushing Academy), who took the loss.
Wittenberg started a late five-run rally with two in the sixth inning on a single by Reaman. Muskingum answered in the bottom of the frame with the run that would prove the difference, making it a 6-2 ballgame heading to the final three innings.
The Tiger pitching staff buckled down fairly well thereafter. Junior Edison Henry (San Diego, Calif./St. Augustine) and freshman Seth Parrish (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) each pitched an inning of scoreless relief to close the game.
Back at the plate, Wittenberg pushed across one run in the seventh on three consecutive one-out singles provided by Wolff, junior Brandon Jordan (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) and Goodwin. Two more runs followed in the eighth as Wilson scored on an error and junior David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) grounded out to allow Reaman to score.
The rally lost steam in the ninth and the Muskies held on to the narrow victory.
The Tigers return to Springfield for a crucial four-game series with North Coast Athletic Conference West Division leader DePauw University this weekend, with doubleheaders scheduled for Saturday, April 27, at 1 p.m., and Sunday, April 28, at Noon.
Wittenberg stands in a three-way tie for third place in the West Division with Ohio Wesleyan and Wabash, all with 5-7 records in divisional play. The Bishops and Little Giants play one another this weekend, possibly giving each the chance to knock the other into fifth place and out of conference tournament contention, depending on the results of the Wittenberg-DePauw series.
The fifth-place team in the final West Division standings will play the East's fifth-place team to determine ninth place in the final NCAC standings, while the top four from each division will play in a crossover weekend to determine who earns a bid to the conference tournament.
The top seed from each division will host the fourth-seed from the opposite division, and second-seeds will host third-seeds in the same fashion. The winners of those series, regardless of division, will continue on to the conference tournament, scheduled for May 9-11 in Chillicothe, Ohio, at V.A. Memorial Stadium.
John Strawn '07
