KISSIMMEE, Fla. - For the second straight day, the Wittenberg Tigers came out with a split in action at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The Tigers topped Emerson 4-2 before losing to St. Francis, 9-4.
The split left the Tigers with a 4-2 overall record. Interestingly, all four Wittenberg wins have been of the come-from-behind variety.
Against Emerson, it was once again the sixth inning in which the Tigers did the most damage - for the season, Wittenberg has scored 14 of its 26 runs in that frame. After falling behind 1-0, the Tigers got on the board in the fifth inning as junior Sarah Fetters (Maumee, Ohio/Maumee) scored on a single by freshman Cameron Catalfu (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland). However, Emerson came right back to take another one-run lead in the top of the sixth inning.
That set the stage for a decisive three-run sixth for the Tigers, starting with an RBI single from junior Amy Myser (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) that plated senior Stephanie Zorn (Grapevine, Texas/Colleyville). Later in the inning, sophomore Julie Ziegler (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins) executed a suicide squeeze to score Myser and then pinch-runner Erin Meredith (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) came around to score while Ziegler was in a rundown between first and second base.
The rally gave sophomore Rachael Hatcher (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton) her third pitching win in as many days.
In the nightcap, the Tigers banged out 10 hits, but they also three costly errors, which opened the floodgates for St. Francis to nine runs in the first three innings. Freshman Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) entered the game in the third inning and held St. Francis scoreless for the rest of the way, but Wittenberg was only able to scratch four runs across. Three of the runs were scored by Fetters, who enjoyed a 3-for-4 day at the plate from her lead-off spot. Senior Lucy Huelsman (Wellington, Ohio/Wellington) had a pair of RBI doubles, Zorn added a run-scoring single and Catalfu produced an RBI single.
Despite the loss, the Tigers actually headed into their off-day in Florida on a positive note after showing some fight despite trailing 9-1 through three innings against St. Francis. The top four hitters in the Tiger lineup combined to go 9-for-16 on the day, and St. Francis was forced to make a pitching change in the seventh inning as the Tigers scored a run and loaded the bases before finally going down.