MOLINE, Ill. — The Wittenberg softball team headed to the Augustana Tournament for two games Saturday, but came up empty with a 2-0 loss to Northland and a 6-1 loss to Ripon. The Tigers play two more on Sunday, weather permitting, versus host Augustana and Martin Luther. The losses drop Wittenberg to 4-8 overall on the season.
In the day's late game versus Ripon, the Tigers put up one run on four hits, but three errors in the field allowed their opponent to turn 10 hits into six runs. Only three of the six runs charged to Wittenberg senior starting pitcher Melisa Shock (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) were earned. She went the complete game and struck out three.
Wittenberg scored its run in the top of the fifth after sophomore shortstop Jessica Snyder (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) singled her way on then stole second and moved to third on an infield single off the bat of junior left fielder Jessi Allen (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley). Senior right fielder Amanda Delagrange (Akron, Ohio/Firestone) launched a sacrifice fly into left field to score Snyder and put the Tigers on the board.
Snyder and Allen both earned one hit in the game. Sophomore Fallon White (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) pinch hit in the designated player spot in the seventh inning and tallied a base hit, and senior center fielder Cameron Catalfu (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) singled in the fourth to finish 1-for-3.
In the day's first game, a 2-0 loss to Northland, the Tigers had trouble getting the bats going, reaching on base hits three times in the game. Despite a strong complete-game outing from senior starting pitcher Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) in which she allowed just six hits and three walks against eight strikeouts, the Tigers' efforts to help it stand up fell short.
Written by: John Strawn '07