April 8th, 2003: Baseball Review
It was a tough week for the Tiger baseball team, but all is well that ends well, as the saying goes. Wittenberg snapped a four-game losing streak with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Capital on Sunday.
It was a tough week for the Tiger baseball team, but all is well that ends well, as the saying goes. Wittenberg snapped a four-game losing streak with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Capital on Sunday.
Perhaps the biggest hit of the season was delivered in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 1 of the Capital doubleheader. Sophomore Matt Foster (Granville, Ohio/Granville), who finished 10-of-21 with six runs, four RBI and a home run for the week overall, singled home sophomore Brandon Godzik (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) with the game-winning run and a 7-6 victory. In that game, freshman Steve Less (Sheffield, Ohio/Elyria Catholic) had two hits, including his first collegiate home run, and freshman K.R. Schlievert (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) had three hits and two runs scored from the leadoff position.
In the second game of Sundays doubleheader, the Tigers built a 10-0 lead and hung on for a 10-6 victory. Senior Ryan Born (Marion, Ohio/Pleasant) led the offense with three hits, while Godzik added three RBI on a pair of doubles and sophomore Tom Pickering (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) chipped with two RBI hits as well.
The week started with a pair of losses to NAIA scholarship programs. On Wednesday, the Tigers were defeated by Ohio Dominican 5-1 at home and on Thursday, Cedarville hosted Wittenberg and claimed a 5-2 victory. Born had two hits and an RBI and senior Brian Robinson (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) threw a complete-game in the loss to ODU, and freshman Adam Keller (Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Mechanicsburg) hit a home run against Cedarville.
On Saturday, the Tigers dropped both ends of a doubleheader to nationally ranked perennial powerhouse Wooster in a nonconference match-up by scores of 13-7 and 11-4. Foster went 5-for-8 with four runs scored in the two games.
This week is a big one for the Tigers, who get a shot at NCAA Division I University of Dayton on Thursday before heading back into NCAC West Division action at home over the weekend. Earlham visits for a pair of doubleheaders as the Tigers try to get back into a crowded division race. The top two teams in the standings make the NCAC tournament May 3-9.