SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Wittenberg Tiger softball team continued its late-season surge and put itself in excellent position to qualify or the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament with a split with Denison.
Wittenberg won the opener by a nailbiting 2-1 margin before dropping an 8-5 decision in the nightcap when the Big Red scored three times in the top of the seventh inning. Following the battle, the Tigers check in with records of 17-8 overall and 8-6 in the NCAC, while Denison is 18-12 overall and 6-4 in the league.
After a twice-rescheduled non-conference doubleheader at Wilmington on Sunday, the Tigers will round out the NCAC regular season portion of the season with two games at last-place Oberlin on Wednesday, April 24. If Wittenberg can execute a sweep of the Yeowomen, the Tigers would have an excellent chance to earn a spot in the four-team postseason competition.
The opener was a pitcher's duel, and the Tigers managed outmaneuver the Big Red on the strength of just three hits. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, Wittenberg tallied single runs in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by junior Rachel Ross (Westerville, Ohio/South) and in the sixth as sophomore Julia Williams (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) crossed the plate on an error.
Ross made the scant offensive production stand up as she shut Denison down, allowing a mere two hits and one unearned run. In winning her 12th game of the campaign, Ross struck out three batters but did not issue any walks.
Ross started Game 2 as well, but this time the Big Red got to her and three more pitchers toed the rubber for the Tigers. The loss eventually went to freshman Kaela Hughes (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), despite two innings of solid work – she allowed one hit and one walk, but the Big Red pushed across three runs, including a pair of the unearned variety.
Offensively, Wittenberg picked up a 3-for-3 game from junior Kaitie Harrison (Springfield, Ohio/Kenton Ridge), while Ross was a perfect 2-for-2 with one run and two RBIs. Also of note was the play of freshman Loren Combs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) with two hits and three stolen bases in the two games, while junior Laura Rose (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) swiped two more bases in the second game to run her total to 23 steals without being caught on the season.