ADA, Ohio – A total of 47 players saw action in a late-season non-conference match-up between Wittenberg and Ohio Northern. When the final pitch had been thrown, the Tigers emerged with a 13-8 victory for their 12th win in the last 16 games.
Wittenberg heads into the first-ever North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Crossover Weekend match-up against Oberlin with plenty of momentum. The Tigers have won five of their last six games, including three of four last weekend against NCAC West Division rival DePauw, and they have their highest win total since 2006 (24-15).
The Polar Bears scored six runs in the first two innings before the Tigers evened the score with six runs in the third. The key blows in the outburst were provided by junior Alex Lochard (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) with a two-run double and freshman Brian Raymond (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) with a two-out, two-run single.
The game-winning hit was supplied the next inning as junior David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) had an RBI single. The Tigers went on to add two runs in the sixth, three in the eighth and an insurance tally in the ninth to account for the final margin.
Sophomore Brandon Reaman (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) continued to rake, pounding four hits in five plate appearances and scoring a career-best five times. He raised his batting average to .422 on the season – he started the week ranked sixth in the NCAC with a .398 mark.
Senior Graham Wolff (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) added two hits and scored three runs, while Raymond finished with his best collegiate performance, going 3-for-3 with two runs batted in and a run scored.
Wittenberg ran seven pitchers into the game, with the win going to sophomore Mike Burgher (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm). He threw two innings in relief, allowing a lone unearned run.
