Fort Myers, Florida – The Wittenberg University Baseball team wasted little time acclimating to the warmer climate of Southwest Florida as the Tigers opened their Spring Break Trip in the Sunshine State on Sunday (3/8) with a doubleheader sweep of Haverford. The Tigers plated the game-winning run in the top of the seventh in game one to top the Cougars by a 7-6 margin, before running away with a 10-3 victory over HC in the nightcap.
Game One
After a scoreless opening frame, both teams lit up the scoreboard in the second inning of game one, starting with Wittenberg scoring three times in the top half of the inning. The Tigers opened the frame with three-straight hits from junior Jack Siefert, freshman Matt Moore and senior Ryan Probst, which eventually led to junior Tanner Boros driving in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly to center. The Tigers then added two more runs later in the inning on back-to-back singles to left field from freshman Chase Whisner and junior Gabe Stacy. Haverford did plate three runs in the bottom of the second, but the Tigers quickly got one back in the third with a sacrifice fly to center from Moore that brought Siefert home from third base.
The Cougars then went on to post a single run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to hold a 6-5 edge after the first five innings of action. Freshmen magic then propelled the Tigers to the one-run victory as Whisner delivered the game-tying run on a sharp single to center in the sixth and Jake Hutchins smacked a pinch-hit single to right that broke the 6-6 tie and launched the Tigers to victory.
Siefert was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in game one, which included two doubles and two runs scored, while junior Tanner Griggs earned the win on the hill for the Tigers after striking out one and allowing one base hit in his one inning of work late in the game. Senior Adam Mays then slammed the door shut for his first save of the season after striking out one in the game's final frame.
Game Two
Wittenberg posted crooked numbers in each of its first four at-bats in game two to cruise to the 10-3 victory over HC. With the Tigers holding a 5-1 lead after two innings of play, junior Mason Davis delivered the back breaker in the bottom of the third inning as he blasted a two-run homer over the left field wall for Wittenberg's first round tripper of the year.
While the offense busted out in game two, it was the performance of freshman right-hander Nick Cunninghamthat stole the show for the Tigers in his first collegiate start on the mound. He improved to 2-1 on the young season after striking out six and allowing just one earned run on five hits over the first 5.0 innings of the game.
Up Next
The Tigers will be right back in action tomorrow (3/9) morning with a pair of nine-inning games at the Lee County Player Development Complex in Fort Myers, opening with a 9:00 a.m. tilt against Skidmore, before wrapping up the day with a scheduled 12:00 p.m. start against Plymouth State.