Tigers Rally To Earn Doubleheader Split With Denison

Cal Slusarz and the Tigers earned a doubleheader split with Denison. File Photo | Erin Pence
Cal Slusarz and the Tigers earned a doubleheader split with Denison. File Photo | Erin Pence
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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - After a late-week rain made for unplayable conditions on Saturday, the Wittenberg Tigers split a doubleheader with visiting Denison.

The Big Red earned the win in the opener by an 8-0 count, but Wittenberg rallied to collect a 7-5 decision in the nightcap. The Tigers now stand 4-13 overall and 1-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) West Division, while Denison stands 6-9 overall and 3-1 in the league.

The two teams will conclude their four-game series with two games on Tuesday, April 8. First pitch in the doubleheader will take place at 4:30 p.m. at Carleton Davidson Stadium.

Denison jumped on the Tigers for eight runs in the first three innings of the opener en route to a shutout victory. Wittenberg managed just three hits in the game, and the Tigers committed five costly errors, leading to five unearned runs for the Big Red.

Wittenberg responded with four runs in the bottom of the first inning in the nine-inning nightcap and added another run in the second to take a 5-1 lead. The Tigers committed three more errors that led to two more unearned runs, but seven different Tigers pitched in the game, capped by a scoreless ninth by sophomore Jordan Hitt (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), who picked up his first collegiate save.

Four innings of two-run relief by six relievers made a winner out of sophomore Luke Black (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham), who allowed four hits and no walks in five innings of one-run baseball. Black has two of the Tigers' four pitching wins on the season.

Offensively, senior Tyler Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio/Cincinnati Moeller) went 3-for-4 with one run and two RBIs, and freshman Josh Kaplan (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook South) collected three hits in as many plate appearances and drove in a run. Junior Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) scored three runs and senior Tyler Grau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) added a pair of runs batted in.