SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - If the early going of the 2007 softball season is any indication, the Wittenberg Tigers have established a trend. In winning their 10th and 11th games of the campaign - by scores of 4-3 and 9-3 over visiting Urbana - the Tigers recorded their seventh and eight come-from-behind victories.
At any rate, the Tigers improved to 11-7 overall, heading into the conclusion of a weeklong homestand Saturday against Heidelberg.
In the opener, Urbana scored three runs in the fifth inning off Tigers' starting pitcher Rachael Hatcher (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton). That turned a 2-0 Wittenberg lead into a 3-2 deficit, merely setting the stage for another trademark comeback.
The catalyst of the rally was junior Sarah Fetters (Maumee, Ohio/Maumee), who led off the bottom of the fifth with her third hit, a double to left field. Junior Erin Meredith (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) was credited with a bunt single. After a hit-by-pitch and a fielder's choice, senior Lucy Huelsman (Wellington, Ohio/Wellington) came up big with a two-run single.
Hatcher did the rest to pick up her seventh win of the season.
Game 2 started off with a bang - for the Blue Knights, who picked up a pair of runs in the first inning on a long homer. However, senior Grace Wigton (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Christian) settled down after that, allowing a total of three earned runs on eight hits and one walk in a complete-game victory, her third of the season.
While there were plenty of offensive heroes in the game for Wittenberg, no one stepped up bigger than sophomore Julie Ziegler (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins). Her two-run single in the second inning tied the game, her two-run single in the third was part of a game-breaking five-run outburst and her RBI single in the fifth provided a key insurance run.