SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - On a clear, breezy, and warm day, the weather was about all that was normal at Betty Dillahunt Softball Field in Springfield, Ohio. The Wittenberg women's softball team dropped two crucial games to the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops by scores of 0-9 and 8-15.
To start the odd afternoon off, the Tiger batting order was virtually silent in Game One. Only two hitters reached base safely: senior shortstop Sarah Fetters (Woodhaven, Mich./Maumee (Ohio)) led the game off with a single, and sophomore center fielder Cameron Catalfu (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) walked in the fifth. Fetters made the best of a bad day when she earned her 308th career assist in the top of the second inning, taking over the leader's spot in the category. She also nailed a double in Game Two, leaving her just one two-bagger shy of the career leader, Julie Broderick, who played from 1994 to 1999.
Sophomore pitcher Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) took the loss in Game One, pitching six innings and allowing nine runs, six of them earned, while walking one and striking out four. Sophomore Meghan O'Neill (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) pitched one inning of no-hit relief.
The offense reawakened in Game Two, although not enough to overcome strong Ohio Wesleyan batters. Fetters went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI, while senior right fielder Nicole Ottavi (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) went a perfect 4-for-4 with 2 RBI. Freshman second baseman Amanda Henderson (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton) added a 3-for-4 performance and crossed the plate three times.
As the culminating moment of oddity, the home plate umpire delivered a message to the public address announcer in the fifth inning, and shortly thereafter an announcement came that the entire crowd was being asked to leave the field. For the remaining half-inning, the Tiger faithful watched from the parking lot before a call to the softball umpire's association determined that an entire crowd cannot be thrown out of a game. The fans returned and the game continued, but under a sharp haze of disbelief.
Tiger pitching again had a rough outing, this time going through four different hurlers before the game was over. Starting the game was sophomore Melisa Shock (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook), and her 2 2/3 innings of work, including eight runs, seven earned, gave her the loss, and dropped her to 3-2 on the season. She was relieved by junior ace Rachael Hatcher (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton), but the Bishops scored three runs, all earned, on four hits again her in 2 2/3 innings of her own. Freshman southpaw Kim Mowrey (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy) got the Tigers out of the sixth inning, but not before allowing four runs, three earned, and O'Neill made an encore no-hit performance in the seventh.
With home-field advantage now a question mark for the opening round of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament, the upcoming trip to Oberlin on Saturday for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. takes on a new measure of importance, as today's losses dropped the Tigers to 4-4 in the conference. The team is 18-10 overall.
Written by: John Strawn