Wittenberg Gets Key NCAC West Sweep Of Earlham
The Wittenberg Tigers held up their end of the bargain Saturday, pounding out a doubleheader sweep of host Earlham College by scores of 11-2 and 15-7.
RICHMOND, Ind. - The Wittenberg Tigers held up their end of the bargain Saturday, pounding out a doubleheader sweep of host Earlham College by scores of 11-2 and 15-7.
However, the Tigers are now on the brink of elimination from the annual four-team North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, which opens with semifinal series next weekend on the home fields of Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan, champions of the East Division and West Division respectively. Denison, which holds a slim half-game advantage on Wittenberg for second place in the division, swept a pair at Wabash on Saturday. Both teams play doubleheaders in the same locations on Sunday - if Wittenberg sweeps Earlham, the Tigers only need a single Denison loss to get into the tourney.
Wittenberg played like a team inspired to continue its season on Saturday, improving to 20-14 overall and 8-6 in the NCAC West by pounding out 35 hits in the two games. Earlham is now 9-22 overall but 0-13 in the NCAC West Division.
In the opener, the Tigers got another solid pitching performance from senior Jason Holmberg, who is now 7-0 on the season. Offensively, the Tigers' 16-hit attack included just two extra-base hits as seven of the eight position players collected at least one hit and all eight reached base in the game.
Junior first baseman Andrew Wellman led the way with three hits, two runs scored and three runs batted in. Sophomore catcher Matt Steinke added three hits and two RBI, while sophomore outfielder Jon Fox set the table expertly with two hits and three runs scored.
In the nightcap, Wittenberg jumped out to a 6-0 lead by the end of the second inning and never looked back. Earlham scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh to extend things, but freshman Chris Green came on to get the final out in relief of freshman starter Tim Antil, who gained his first collegiate victory.
Offensively, the Tigers pounded out 19 hits, 18 of which were singles. Senior shortstop K.R. Schlievert, freshman outfielder Patrick Williams and Wellman each scored three runs in the game and sophomore second baseman Tyler Christello was the team's top run producer with three RBI while hitting out of the No. 9 spot.