KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The Wittenberg Tigers kicked off the 2007 season in the best way possible Sunday by sweeping a pair of quality opponents in two very different games. The Tigers got key contributions from a variety of players in a 2-1 win over Ursinus and an 8-5 victory over Waynesburg on the first day of the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla.
The win over Ursinus was particularly positive considering the Bears finished the 2006 season with a 30-8 record. More importantly, the Tigers were pushed in this game as they came up with an improbable rally to win a tight one-run game with equal parts pitching and defense.
The key was a stellar pitching performance from sophomore Rachael Hatcher (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton), who picked up right where she left off a year ago. After allowing two hits and run in the second inning, Hatcher shut Ursinus down, yielding just one hit. The Tigers finally broke through offensively with a pair of runs in the sixth. Junior Sarah Fetters (Maumee, Ohio/Maumee) reached on an error and came around to score on a wild pitch and an RBI fielders' choice by freshman Cameron Catalfu (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland). After another wild pitch, senior Stephanie Zorn (Grapevine, Texas/Colleyville) singled in the winning run.
In the second game, the Tigers once again came through offensively when it counted. With the game tied at three in the sixth inning, Wittenberg scored five runs with two outs to make a winner out of freshman Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield), who came on in relief in the fifth inning and the Tigers trailing by two runs. Zorn and Boswell had the RBIs in the fifth as the Tigers tied the game, and then senior Lucy Huelsman (Wellington, Ohio/Wellington) had the game-breaker in the sixth, a two-run double that ignited the big rally. Waynesburg pushed two runs across in the seventh, but it wasn't enough.