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KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Wittenberg Tigers split a pair of games on Day 2 of their 2011 Spring Break trip, starting with a 3-1 win over Misericordia and ending with a 4-1 loss to NAIA scholarship program Walsh University.
It was the second straight split for the Tigers, after they opened on Saturday at the annual Rebel Spring Games with a loss to Albion and a victory over Alverno. The busy schedule continues on Monday with games against Baldwin-Wallace and Defiance, followed by games against Webster and Geneva on Tuesday and then an off day.
The key to the win over Misericordia was the pitching of freshman Rachel Ross (Westerville, Ohio/South), who made her first collegiate start a good one. She tossed a complete game, allowing six hits and three walks while striking out five. Misericordia stranded eight runners in the game.
Offensively, it took the Tigers six innings to break through. Junior Fallon White (Fairborn, Ohio/Northmont) broke the ice with a two-out RBI double, which pushed freshman Shelby Ross (Springfield, Ohio/Kenton Ridge) across the plate after she served as a pinch-runner. Senior Jessi Allen (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) followed by reaching on the second error of the inning, which allowed White to come around from second base to score.
After Misericordia got one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Tigers picked up a key insurance run when freshman Laura Rose (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) crossed the plate on a groundout by junior Tori Amicon (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby).
In the nightcap, the Tigers fell behind by two in the second inning before getting a run back on an RBI single by Amicon, one of her two hits in the game, to drive in Rose. Walsh added a third run in the fourth inning to chase Wittenberg freshman Caitlin Gowins (Coshocton, Ohio/River View) from the pitcher's circle. Junior Anna Kvartunas (Springfield, Va./Paul IV Catholic) tossed three solid innings of relief, allowing the game's final run in the sixth inning.