Port Charlotte, Florida – The Wittenberg University Baseball team opened their Spring Break trip on Monday by splitting a pair of games late into the night at Centennial Park as part of the Snowbird Classic in the Sunshine State.
After being scheduled to start game one at 4:00 p.m., the Tigers and the Misericordia Cougars (PA) didn't get underway until 5:00 p.m. The Tigers pushed 6 runs across in the opening frame, but the Cougars clawed their way back and ultimately captured an 18-11 win over Wittenberg in the first game of the night. After falling to Misericorida in a game that lasted 3:27, the Tigers then returned to action at 9:15 p.m. for first pitch against Lebanon Valley (PA).
Junior right-hander Joe Horoszko was dominate on the hill for the Tigers in the game two start as he struck out eight batters and allowed just four hits in 5.2 innings of work as the Tigers cruised to an 8-0 win over Lebanon Valley in the nightcap.
While Horoszko shut down the Dutchmen at the plate, junior catcher Matt Moore and sophomore designated hitter Ian Ash did the bulk of the damage for the Tigers at the plate in the game two victory. Ash, who also had two hits in the opener against Misericordia, drove home two runs for Wittenberg in the bottom of the third, while Moore followed in the next at bat with an RBI double to left center that brought Ash around to score. Moore then added a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to push the Tigers' lead out to 6-0.
In addition to Horoszko, senior left-hander Michael Osmond played a pivotal role in the game two victory as he stuck out four batters and allowed just two hits in two innings of work to help preserve the shutout victory for the Tigers.
Up Next
After playing nearly 7 hours of baseball on Monday night, the Tigers will return to action on Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. for a single nine-inning game against Mitchell College (CT) at Centennial Park in Port Charlotte, Florida.
Wittenberg then takes on Swarthmore (PA) on Wednesday, March 9th, at 11:00 a.m., also at Centennial Park, before closing out the trip with rematches against both Lebanon Valley and Misericordia on March 10th and 11th, respectively. Thursday's game against Lebanon Valley is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m., while the final game of the trip against Misericordia is set to start at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning.