GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Wittenberg Tigers ran out of steam in the second game of the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament, dropping an 8-1 decision to red-hot Allegheny.
As a result, Wittenberg now must climb its way back on the tournament's second day, starting with the daunting task of defeating top-seeded DePauw on its home field. The Tigers, who defeated Kenyon in the NCAC Tournament opener by a 4-1 score, are the No. 2 seed in the competition after finishing in a four-way tie for second place in the conference's regular season title chase, while DePauw posted a 14-2 league record before splitting a pair of games on the opening day of the tournament.
After junior Rachel Ross (Westerville, Ohio/South) picked up her 16th complete-game victory in the win over Kenyon, she was touched up for four earned runs in four innings by the Gators. With the score tied at 1-1 in the top of the fifth, Ross allowed a two-run homer before giving way to sophomore Julia Williams (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South), who pitched the last three innings, allowing four runs, although just one was earned.
Allegheny, the fourth seed in the tournament after finishing the regular season as part of the aforementioned second-place tie, advanced to the championship game at noon Saturday. Before tripping up Wittenberg, the Gators stunned DePauw to the tune of 8-0 in five innings in the tourney's first game.
The Tigers, who managed just three hits and pushed across their lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly from junior Laura Rose (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins), are now 21-12 overall in 2013. To claim their first NCAC Tournament crown since 2003, the Tigers will have to win three games on Saturday, starting with the match-up against DePauw, which suffered a doubleheader sweep at Wittenberg during the regular season.
The elimination game is set to start at 10 a.m.