Springfield, Ohio – Sophomore Jack Hollinshead blasted three homers to lift Wittenberg to a 15-3 win over Wabash in game one on Wednesday (4/3) afternoon at Carleton Davidson Stadium, while classmate Gabe Stacy broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning in game two with a sharp single to center to help the Tigers eventually post a 6-1 victory over the Little Giants in game two. With the two victories, the Tigers jumped back above .500 overall on the season at 10-8, while the wins also even Wittenberg's record at 2-2 on the season in NCAC play.
Game One Breakdown
Each team plated a run in the opening frame of game one, which included Hollinshead's first round tripper of the game, a two-out solo shot over the center field wall. After a scoreless second inning, the Tigers exploded over the next four innings with 14 total runs. Hollinshead blasted another solo shot, this time to right center, in the third, while sophomore Mason Davis followed suite just two batter later with a two-run bomb over the right field wall. Junior Ryan Probst drove in the final run of the third inning on a single through the left side. While Wabash did push one across in the top of the fourth, the Tigers again struck for a four-spot in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by another solo shot from Hollinshead and a two-run single off the bat of junior Patrick Kenny. After the two teams traded runs in the fifth, Wittenberg ultimately put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the sixth. Hollinshead got the action started with a two-run single up the middle, while Davis rounded out the frame with an RBI double down the right-field line to cap off the 15-3 victory for the Tigers. Senior Jace Barga picked up the win on the hill for the Tigers to improve to 2-0 on the year after striking out six and allowing just three earned runs on five hits in 6.0 innings of work.
Game Two Breakdown
After the scoring outburst in game one, the Tigers bats were held silent for the better part of game two; however, Wittenberg struck for six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure the 6-1 victory over the Little Giants. The Little Giants pushed their run across in the top of the fourth and Wittenberg threatened in the bottom half of the inning, but the two-out rally ultimately fell short. Wittenberg sophomore right-hander Rusty Hayhurst settled in over the next three-plus innings and kept the Wabash bats at bay while the Tigers' offensive unit tried to find its stride. With Wabash still leading 1-0, the Wittenberg offense finally broke loose in the bottom of the eighth inning, starting with a double to center field off the bat of Davis. After Davis advanced to third on a wild pitch, senior Matt Baker delivered with a looping single over the second baseman's head that brought Davis home for the game-tying run. After back-to-back singles from Probst and sophomore David Hamrick, Stacy broke the 1-1 tie with a sharp single to right center that plated Probst and Baker for the go-ahead runs. Sophomore Hayden Knox then put the game away in the very next at-bat with a towering three-run homer down the right-field line that secured the 6-1 come-from-behind win for the Tigers. Hayhurst was a rock on the mound for the Tigers throughout game two as he struck out five and allowed just the one earned run on four total hits in 7.1 innings of work. Junior right-hander Adam Mays came in in relief in the top of the eighth and tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless ball over the four outs to earn his fourth win of the season on the mound.
Up Next
The Tigers continue NCAC play this Saturday (4/6) at home with a 12:00 p.m. double header against Hiram. Following the league tilt against the Terriers, Wittenberg travels to Thomas More on Tuesday (4/9) for a single 9-inning non-conference game, before returning to league action on Saturday, April 13th or a twinbill at Oberlin.