SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Moving up a doubleheader one day in order to play for just the third time in more than two weeks, the Wittenberg Tigers came away with their third straight North Coast Athletic Conference split Friday. Taking on visiting Hiram in a game moved up a day due to an ominous weather forecast for Saturday, the Tigers lost 2-0 in the opener before rallying for a 5-1 victory in the nightcap.
The split left Wittenberg with an 18-10 overall record, including a mark of 3-3 in the NCAC. Hiram is now 12-8 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
The opener was a pitchers' duel as each team's ace lived up to that billing. However, Hiram pushed across a pair of runs with two outs in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie. That was all Terriers' pitcher Jenna Nemeth needed, as she limited the Tigers to just three hits thanks to some solid defense behind her.
Wittenberg pitcher Rachael Hatcher (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton) went the distance, allowing just three hits herself to go along with one walk. She allowed two runs, one of them earned.
In the nightcap, freshman Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) came to the rescue for the second straight doubleheader. After winning a crucial Game 2 at Kenyon on Tuesday, Boswell allowed just five hits and one earned run in a complete-game performance. The key to her third collegiate victory was a zero in the opposing walks column.
Offensively, the Tigers spread the wealth and took advantage of three Hiram errors. The big blow was provided by sophomore Julie Ziegler (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins), who hit her first career home run in the third inning.