SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers needed a doubleheader sweep against visiting Kenyon on Wednesday, but they settled for a split after dropping Game 1 by a 2-0 decision and then bouncing back to claim a 3-1 victory in the nightcap.
The Tigers are now 15-15 overall and 3-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, and they officially have no room for error heading into the final 10 days of the regular season. Kenyon is one of four teams ahead of the Tigers in the NCAC standings, with a 6-4 conference record, but Wittenberg does have a path laid out to earn a berth in the four-team NCAC Tournament May 5-6. Wittenberg has six conference games remaining - two each against Hiram, Wooster and Oberlin - but the Tigers almost certainly have to win five of those games to reach the tourney.
In the opener, the Tigers were undone by their inability to string hits together. Wittenberg's five hits - all singles - came in four different innings. However, the Tigers did have their chances in the sixth and seventh frames, ending the sixth with a caught stealing at third base and the seventh with the tying runs left on base. While the Tigers were pounding the ball into the ground - Kenyon's first baseman recorded 14 putouts in the game - the Ladies scratched out single runs in the third and fifth innings to claim the win. Wittenberg freshman starting pitcher Rachael Hatcher allowed an uncharacteristic 11 hits in the game, but she was touched for just one earned run.
In Game 2, the Tigers got a strong pitching performance from sophomore Taryn Hensel, who allowed just two hits and two walks in a complete-game victory, her fourth of the season. Hensel allowed just a lone unearned run in the sixth inning.
Offensively, the Tigers were hardly crushing the ball, but they did enough, pushing across single runs in the first three innings. Junior Erin Collinsworth was in the middle of two of the three scoring rallies, scoring a run in the first and driving in a run in the second. She finished the day 3-for-3. Sophomore Nicole Ottavi also was perfect on the day with two hits in two at-bats.