DELAWARE, Ohio - A late push for the final North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) playoff spot came down to the final series of the season as Wittenberg forced a winner-take-all game for the fourth conference playoff spot with Ohio Wesleyan thanks to a 5-1 win in the opener. The Bishops bounced back, however, with a 6-0 win in the nightcap to eliminate the Tigers from postseason contention.
All began well for the visitors, as freshman Jessica Snyder (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) scored twice on a pair of hits in the first contest. Single runs in the second, fourth and fifth, and a pair in the sixth lifted Head Coach Becky Hall's team to within a game of the postseason.
Senior Rachael Hatcher (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton) pitched well in the opener to earn her 12th win of the campaign, allowing only two hits and two free passes. The magical run ran out of steam, however, in the second affair, as Wesleyan piled up their run total in the first two frames against Hatcher to advance to this weekend's NCAC tournament. Junior Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) relieved and shut the Bishops down, but the Tigers managed just two hits of their own in the entire game.
Wittenberg moved to 16-20 with the split and finished in a fourth-place tie with OWU at 8-6 after a furious second-half rally. The season wraps up Wednesday, April 29, when the Tigers travel to Wilmington for a 3:30 p.m. appointment with the Quakers.