SPRINGFIELD — The Wittenberg softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to North Coast Athletic Conference-leading DePauw on Saturday's Senior Day. Wittenberg entered play on a 5-game win streak but fell 8-6 in nine innings in Game 1 and 4-2 in Game 2.

The Basics

• Records: Wittenberg (19-17 overall, 5-5 NCAC), DePauw (22-11-1 overall, 10-0 NCAC)
• Venue: Dillahunt Field - Springfield, Ohio
• Prior to the game, Wittenberg honored Kira van Ravensberg (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista), Julia Burch (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome), Ashlynn Stamper (Yellow Springs, Ohio/Beavercreek), Hanna Ecker (Heath, Ohio/Heath) and Shannon Flaherty (Burlington, Ky./Saint Henry District) during a Senior Day ceremony.

Stat Leaders - Game 1

• Ecker led the Wittenberg offense, going 3-for-4 with one run scored.
• Junior Harper Crews (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) posted one hit, two RBIs and one run.
• Sophomore Meghan McCans (Arcanum, Ohio/Arcanum) had one hit, two RBIs and one stolen base.
• van Ravensberg got the pitching start for Wittenberg and allowed six runs (four earned) on 10 hits and one walk while striking out three over 6.1 innings. Sophomore Lilly James (Troy, Ohio/Troy) pitched the final 2.2 innings and tallied two strikeouts.
• Ella Ohrvall and Riley Heim led the DePauw offense with three hits each.

Game 1 - DePauw 8, Wittenberg 6 (9 inn.)

• DePauw scored one run in the first inning and four more in the second for an early 5-0 lead.
• Wittenberg answered in the bottom of the second with a 2-RBI single from Crews and RBI fielder's choice from McCans to cut the deficit to 5-3.
• An RBI groundout from McCans pulled Wittenberg within 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth.
• DePauw plated a run in the top of the seventh, but Wittenberg tied the score in the bottom of the frame after loading the bases on a walk to Burch and a two-out single from Ecker followed by a walk to junior Samantha Zungri (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester). The next batter, freshman Rebekah Giel (Amelia, Ohio/West Clermont), then reached base courtesy of a DePauw error that brought two runners home. Zungri tried to score the winning run on the play but was thrown out at home, sending the game to extra innings.
• After a scoreless eighth inning, DePauw plated a pair of runs in the top of the ninth for an 8-6 lead, and Wittenberg was unable to answer in the bottom of the frame.
• DePauw out-hit Wittenberg by a 15-7 margin and committed three errors to Wittenberg's two.

Stat Leaders - Game 2

• Burch led the Wittenberg offense with two hits, one RBI and one run.
• McCans posted two hits, including a double, to go with one run.
• Sophomore Julia Hall (Powell, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) got the pitching start for Wittenberg. She allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits while striking out one. James pitched the final 1.2 innings.
• Alex Romero-Salas pitched all seven innings for DePauw and recorded 11 strikeouts.

Game 2 - DePauw 4, Wittenberg 2

• DePauw scored two runs in each of the second and third innings for an early 4-0 lead.
• Wittenberg got on the board with an RBI groundout from Stamper in the bottom of the fourth.
• Wittenberg cut the deficit to 4-2 via an RBI single from Burch that followed a leadoff double from McCans in the bottom of the sixth.
• A Robinson hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, but Wittenberg was unable to take advantage as DePauw closed out the win.

Video Interview - Senior Day

Records & Milestones

• Wittenberg is now 12-27 all-time against DePauw.
• Burch has 157 hits and 43 steals in her career. She is tied for fifth all-time at Wittenberg in steals and is tied for fifth all-time in hits.
• Ecker has 122 hits and 71 RBIs in her career. She is 21 hits and seven RBIs shy of joining the program's all-time top 10 in those categories.
• McCans has a school-record 35 steals this season and is tied for fifth all-time with 43 career steals. The prior school record for single-season steals was 33 set by Loren Combs in 2014.
• In the circle, van Ravensberg has 27 career wins, which ranks ninth in program history. She also has 120 career strikeouts, which ranks 10th all-time at Wittenberg.
• James has 11 career saves, which is a program record.
• The Tigers have tallied a program single-season record 123 stolen bases this year. The prior record was 100 set in 2013.

Up Next

• The Tigers return to action on Wednesday hosting an NCAC doubleheader against Denison beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Above: The Wittenberg softball team honors its seniors during Saturday's Senior Day ceremony. | Photo by John Coffman