TIFFIN, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers suffered the cruelest of fates Saturday afternoon, dropping both ends of a doubleheader by narrow margins in the cold and occasional snow of a typical March day in northern Ohio. After holding early leads in both games, the Tigers lost 4-3 and 6-4 before heading for home.
The losses extended Wittenberg's losing streak to six straight games and kept the Tigers winless since their Spring Break trip to Kissimmee, Fla. Wittenberg's record is 6-10 heading into a Wednesday doubleheader against Mount St. Joseph. That doubleheader was scheduled as a road game for the Tigers originally, but it will now be played in Springfield.
In the opener, the Tigers again got off to a good start, jumping out to a 3-0 lead through three innings. Collinsworth's lead-off double in the second inning led to two unearned runs, and junior Stephanie Zorn added her second home run of the season in the third, a solo shot, to stake freshman Rachael Hatcher to the lead. However, Heidelberg pulled to within one run in the fourth inning and then stole the victory with a two-out, two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning.
In the nightcap, Wittenberg took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, only to have the Student Princes tie the game by the end of the second inning. The big blow for the Tigers in the opening inning was provided by junior Erin Collinsworth, who doubled in the second run.
Collinsworth struck again with an RBI double in the third inning, but after that the Tigers were stymied offensively. Heidelberg took the lead with two runs in the fourth inning and tacked on an insurance run against Wittenberg starter Taryn Hensel in the sixth. The Tigers had three baserunners in their last three at-bats, but they were unable to push any runs across.