GAMBIER, Ohio – The Wittenberg Tigers pounded out 19 hits but were forced to settle for a doubleheader split against North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Kenyon.
The Tigers scored 13 runs in the doubleheader after managing just three in a sweep by Ohio Wesleyan three days earlier. The split, by scores of 7-4 in favor of Wittenberg in the opener and 8-6 in favor of the Ladies in the nightcap, left the Tigers with records of 10-5 overall and 1-3 in the NCAC. Kenyon is now 15-6 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
The split kicked off a busy week of NCAC road games for the Tigers, who next travel to Allegheny on Saturday before heading to Wooster on Wednesday, April 10.
In Game 1, eight of the nine starters in Wittenberg's line-up finished with a base hit, including freshman Aubrey Mendez (St. Louisville, Ohio/Utica), who went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in, a run scored and a stolen base. In addition, sophomore Shelby Knapp (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI, and freshman Kaela Hughes (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) chipped in with her first career home run, a third-inning blast that triggered the Tigers' offensive onslaught after the Ladies had opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
In the pitcher's circle, junior Rachel Ross (Westerville, Ohio/South) was solid as usual, scattering seven hits but not allowing a walk in tossing her eighth complete game of the season. She improved to 6-2 by allowing four runs, just one of which was earned.
Game 2 started with Kenyon jumping on top again, but this time the Ladies put five runs on the board in the fourth inning to move out to an insurmountable 8-1 advantage. The Tigers rallied for five runs in the fifth and sixth innings but were unable to draw closer than the final two-run margin.
Sophomore Julia Williams (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) started the game and picked up the loss after allowing four earned runs in three innings.
Offensively, junior Laura Rose (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) homered and drove in three runs, while sophomore Ashlee Wright (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) and Knapp each contributed two hits. Wright scored two runs and Knapp drove in a pair.