Wittenberg Falls To Wilmington, 8-7
The Wittenberg Tigers need some momentum heading into the home stretch of the 2006 season, but none was to be found on Wednesday in just their second road game all year.
WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers need some momentum heading into the home stretch of the 2006 season, but none was to be found on Wednesday in just their second road game all year. The Tigers coughed up a 6-1 lead and wound up falling by an 8-7 count to host Wilmington.
The loss, coming less than 24 hours after the Tigers pulled out a one-run win over Defiance, left Wittenberg with a 12-10 overall record going into this weekend's absolutely crucial four-game series at Wabash. The Tigers likely must take at least three games over the Little Giants to keep hopes alive for a berth in the annual four-team North Coast Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament at season's end.
Against Wilmington, the Tigers fell behind 1-0 in the first inning before rallying for six runs in the third. Wittenberg banged out five hits in the inning, but the rally was fueled by three Wilmington errors.
The Quakers used the long ball to get back into the game and then capitalized on the second Wittenberg error of the night to win the game with a pair of runs in the ninth. Wilmington hit four homers in the game, countered only by the first dinger of the season by senior shortstop K.R. Schlievert.
Sophomore Joel Puthoff came on in the ninth to get the final three outs for Wittenberg and sew up his fifth save of the season. Instead, an error on the first play of the inning opened the floodgates and the Quakers scored twice with one out to claim the victory.
With Denison and Ohio Wesleyan playing a four-game series this weekend, the Tigers must hope to keep pace against Wabash. Wittenberg split previous four-gamers against the Big Red and Battling Bishops.