Softball

2016 NCAC Tournament Champs | 2017 Regular Season Champs

Wittenberg Gets Must-Win Against Kenyon

GAMBIER, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers entered a doubleheader against North Coast Athletic Conference rival Kenyon knowing they needed a sweep. Only Mother Nature stopped that from happening as the Tigers won Game 1, 7-4, before lightning and heavy rain ended the day prematurely during Game 2.

The Tigers improved to 8-21 on the season and 4-5 in the NCAC, while Kenyon fell out of a sixth-place tie with the Tigers and is now 3-6 in the conference.

Several keys to the first game leap off the statistics page, starting with a zero in the errors column for the Tigers. Freshman Taryn Hensel pitched a solid game, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and one walk, giving the Tigers the opportunity to rally in the top of the seventh inning.

Trailing 4-3 with the season on the line, Wittenberg rallied at a most opportune time. Sophomore Stephanie Zorn drove in the tying run with a double and then sophomore Erin Collinsworth followed with a two-run double that broke the deadlock. Then Hensel helped her own cause with an RBI singles that provided the final three-run margin.

Next up for the Tigers is a very important Saturday doubleheader against Hiram back home at Dillahunt Field in Springfield. The Tigers must sweep those two games and then sweep Oberlin on April 30 to have a chance to participate in the 2005 NCAC Tournament, which includes just four teams. Wittenberg has never missed out on the tourney in its four years of existence.