Wittenberg Falls to OAC Foe Otterbein 8-1

Wittenberg Falls to OAC Foe Otterbein 8-1

WESTERVILLE, Ohio—With NCAC play awaiting the Tigers baseball program at the week's end, the team played their first of two OAC rivals this week. Wittenberg made the short-trip to Westerville to take on the Otterbein Cardinals, who entered Tuesday's slate with a record of 13-5. Otterbein's pitchers had the Tigers hitter's number all day, as the visitors were only able to produce one hit in the 8-1 loss. While the Tigers struggled at the plate, the team was able to steal four bases and produce one run on a throwing error by Otterbein's catcher on one of those stolen bases. The out of conference loss puts the Tigers at a 4-7 mark on the season with NCAC conference play opening up for the team this weekend against DePauw.

KEY STATS

  • Junior Dalton Boucher (Granville, Ohio/Granville) produced the lone hit for the Tigers, as the outfielder laced a two-strike pitch into the left-center gap early on.
  • Erik Olson (Chicago, Illinois/Loyola Academy), Timmy Bates (Westerville, Ohio/South) and Will Cousins (Medfield, Massachusetts/Medfield) all stole bases for Wittenberg, as Olson led the squad with two on the day, as well as the team's lone run.
  • The Tiger pitching staff scattered ten hits in the nine-inning affair, while dishing out 11 free passes to the Cardinals.

STAT CENTRAL

  • The Tiger offense is currently hitting a .260 clip through the season's first 11 games, with a slugging percentage of .329.
  • The Tigers have been efficient on the base paths, stealing 15 bases out of 19 attempts.
  • Remarkably, the Tigers have seen 365 batters walk up to the plate in 2016 and only 50 have struck out on the young season.
  • On the mound, Wittenberg has been led by senior hurlers Luke Black (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) and Jordan Hitt (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), who have combined for a record of 3-0 and an ERA of 3.95 on the year.

UP NEXT

  • Wittenberg returns to action Wednesday, March 30 at Carleton Davidson Stadium to take on the Capital Crusaders at 6:00PM.
  • The Tigers look to open up NCAC play Saturday, April 2 in Greencastle, Indiana against DePauw.
  • Game one of the double-header is set for noon on Saturday, with game two following the games conclusion.

 

Written By: Kuris Duggan