Tigers Just Miss Comeback Against Muskingum
A Wittenberg rally fell just one run short of prolonging a game against Muskingum College on Tuesday night, as the Tiger baseball crew dropped a 6-7 decision to the Muskies.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - A Wittenberg rally fell just one run short of prolonging a game against Muskingum College on Tuesday night, as the Tiger baseball crew dropped a 6-7 decision to the Muskies.
Wittenberg came up big in relief pitching, but the damage was already done, as Muskingum took starting freshmanZach Spring (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) for all seven of their runs in his four-inning performance. The Muskies hit safely just four times in the last five innings and could not score, as junior Josh Fiebiger (Fletcher, Ohio/Miami East), freshman Jim Clement (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young), and senior Joel Puthoff (Houston, Ohio/Russia) did their part to give the Tiger lineup a chance to come back.
It even looked as if they might accomplish the feat in the bottom of the ninth. Down 5-7, the Tigers put two on with no outs to start things off. But the Muskies took advantage of a Tiger baserunning error, as freshman designated hitter Ray Noe (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) got caught off of second and was gunned down before he could get back. But the next batter up, junior right fielder Patrick Williams (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) walked on to first base before senior left fielder Jeremey Fruhwirth (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) flied out to right field, allowing freshman shortstop Mike Yednock (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) to advance to third.
With runners on the corners and two down, the Tigers had one more shot to tie the game up. A throw down to second to try and catch Williams stealing ended up in centerfield, and Yednock came around to score to put the Tigers within one. But the next batter up struck out and abruptly ended the rally.
The strongest performance at the plate for the Red & White came courtesy sophomore first baseman Chris Dorka (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), who went 2-for-3 from the dish with two RBIs to his credit. Yednock had a strong night on 2-for-4 hitting with one RBI, and senior catcher Matt Steinke (Wapakoneta, Ohio/St. Mary's Memorial) delivered with two doubles to go 2-for-4 on the night. He came around to score each time he was on base.
The Tigers fell to 14-16 with the loss, with their conference record of 5-9 remaining unchanged. There is apparently no rest for the weary, however, as the Red & White take the field again Wednesday for a 7 p.m., nine-inning game against the Defiance College Yellow Jackets.