SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers came tantalizingly close to starting off the 2010 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) portion of their schedule with a clutch sweep of visiting Ohio Wesleyan, winning the opener 4-1 before losing a late lead and the nightcap by a 3-2 score.
The split leaves the Tigers with records of 9-13 overall and 1-1 in the NCAC, compared to 13-9 overall and 1-1 for the Battling Bishops. Wittenberg hits the road for its next game at NCAC rival Oberlin at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 10.
The Tigers got the perfect combination of strong pitching and timely hitting to pick up the win in the opener. Senior Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) went the distance in the pitcher's circle, allowing just four hits, one walk and one hit batsman. The Battling Bishops scratched their lone run across in the second inning with an offense all but completely neutralized over the last four innings.
Offensively, Boswell drove home the first run with a first-inning double. With the score tied at 1-1, the Tigers finally broke the game open with a pair of clutch two-out RBI singles by senior Jade Chivington (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) and sophomore Tori Amicon (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby).
Boswell went the distance in the second game as well, but this time the Tiger offense was repeatedly stymied with runners in scoring position. Despite 11 hits, two walks and a hit batsman, Wittenberg managed to push just two runs across while stranding a whopping 12 runners.
Still, the Tigers had a 2-1 lead heading into the seventh inning, but OWU rallied to tie the game without getting the ball out of the infield. A pair of infield singles after the leadoff hitter was hit by a pitch and a pinch-runner stole second base sent the game into extra innings. Then the Battling Bishops took the lead in the eighth on a two-out RBI single just seconds before the umpires suspended the game due to concern about the possibility of inclement weather.
The game was delayed for more than 15 minutes before the coaches and umpires decided to continue the game. After OWU left the bases loaded, it was Wittenberg's turn - only the Tigers were unable to push a run across before the third out, stranding three runners and losing the game.