SPRINGFIELD — The Wittenberg baseball team split a doubleheader with Wooster in North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday. The Fighting Scots survived a late Wittenberg comeback to take Game 1 by a score of 13-12, and the Tigers came away with a 9-4 win in Game 2.

The Basics

• Records: Wittenberg (10-12 overall, 3-1 NCAC), Wooster (12-10 overall, 2-2 NCAC)
• Venue: Carleton Davidson Stadium - Springfield, Ohio

Stat Leaders - Game 1

• Five Tigers had a multi-hit game led by freshman Xander Rodriguez (Salinas, P.R./Franklin County), senior Matt Moore (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) and junior Ben Seibert (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle).
• Rodriguez was 4-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and one run scored.
• Moore was 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs.
• Seibert tallied two hits, including a grand slam, to go with five RBIs and one run.
• Senior Luke Thomas (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge) added two hits, one RBI and one run.
• Senior Conor O'Malley (Avon, Ohio/St. Edward's) tallied two hits and two runs.
• Ryan Kramer led the Wooster offense with two hits, including a double, to go with two RBIs and three runs.

Game 1 - Wooster 13, Wittenberg 12

• Wittenberg made a furious late comeback after trailing 12-2 at the end of the fourth inning.
• The Fighting Scots plated seven runs in the top of the first inning and added one more in the second for an 8-0 lead.
• The Tigers scored a run in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Moore and added one more in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI fielder's choice from Rodriguez after Wooster scored four runs in the top of the frame, putting the score at 12-2.
• An RBI single from Seibert brought Wittenberg within 12-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
• The Scots went back up by 10 with a run in the top of the sixth.
• The Tigers' rally began with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth. Wittenberg got RBI singles from Thomas, Moore and senior Parker Gryskevich (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) before Seibert added his grand slam that brought the Tigers within three, 13-10.
• Wittenberg continued its comeback in the eighth, plating a pair of runs via an RBI single from Rodriguez and RBI sac fly from Moore.
• After keeping Wooster scoreless in the top of the ninth, the Tigers were unable to tie the score, as Wooster pitcher Alex Gerdenich induced three straight flyouts to pick up his fourth save of the season.
• The teams combined to use 13 pitchers in the game.
• Wittenberg out-hit Wooster by an 18-13 margin and committed one error to the Scots' none.

Stat Leaders - Game 2

• Freshman Thatcher Dietz (Westerville, Ohio/South) finished with two hits, including a double, to go with two runs.
• Thomas added two hits and two RBIs.
• Rodriguez tallied one hit, one RBI and two runs.
• Sophomores Alex Nemunaitis (Ottawa Hills, Ohio/Ottawa Hills) and James MacAuley (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North) each had a double and an RBI.
• Senior Austin Luther (Hughesville, Md./St. Mary's Ryken) got the pitching start for the Tigers and earned the win to improve to 2-1 on the season. He allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out four over 5.2 innings.
• Two relievers, junior Charlie Schafer (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) and senior Joe Horoszko (Seven Hills, Ohio/Saint Edwards) combined to allow just one hit over the final 3.1 innings. Horoszko tallied four strikeouts.
• Kramer led the Wooster offense with two hits, including a home run, two RBIs and one run.

Game 2 - Wittenberg 9, Wooster 4

• The Tigers took command of the game early, scoring two runs in the second inning and four more in the third for a 6-0 lead.
• The second-inning runs came via an RBI single from Thomas and RBI fielder's choice from Nemunaitis.
• The Tigers added four runs in the third via a 2-RBI single from Dietz and a pair of wild pitches that brought runners home.
• The Scots plated a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to get within three, 5-2, but the Tigers responded quickly with two runs in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single from Rodriguez and RBI double from MacAuley for a 7-2 edge.
• A two-run homer from Kramer cut Wooster's deficit to three, 7-4, in the top of the sixth.
• An RBI grondout from Thomas plated an insurance run for the Tigers in the bottom of the eighth en route to the victory.
• Wittenberg out-hit Wooster by an 8-6 margin and committed five errors to the Scots' two.

Records & Milestones

• Eighth-year head coach Brian McGee is now 143-111 all-time at Wittenberg.
• Moore has 142 hits, 21 doubles and 103 RBIs in his career. He is 24 hits, 15 doubles and six RBIs shy of breaking into the program's all-time top 10 in those categories.
• O'Malley has 133 hits, 30 doubles, 15 home runs and 108 RBIs in his career. He is tied for sixth all-time at Wittenberg in home runs and is 33 hits, six doubles and one RBI shy of breaking into the program's all-time top 10 in those categories.
• Thomas has 119 hits and 27 doubles in his career. He is 47 hits and nine doubles shy of breaking into the program's all-time top 10 in those categories.
• Luther has a 12-5 career record with 129 strikeouts.

Up Next

• The Tigers return to action on Sunday for a home non-conference game against Wilmington at 2 p.m.