Home Run Record Falls as Tigers Sweep Kenyon

SPRINGFIELD, OH - The offensive onslaught continued for the Wittenberg Tigers in a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) doubleheader sweep of visiting Kenyon at Carleton Davidson Stadium. The Tigers pounded out 34 hits, including four home runs, en route to victories by scores of 18-3 and 15-7.

The two wins in the doubleheader, which was postponed from April 5 due inclement weather, ran the Tigers' win streak to five. Wittenberg has reached double digits in runs in four of those games, running the Tigers' total to 17 games with 10 or more in the 2025 season.

More importantly, Wittenberg improved to 23-8 overall and 7-3 in the NCAC. Heading into a Senior Recognition Day doubleheader against Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, April 26, the Tigers are fourth in the NCAC standings and in good position to advance to the four-team NCAC Tournament May 8-10 at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

The wins put some much-needed distance between Wittenberg and fifth-place Kenyon, which fell to 6-6 in the league and 13-14 overall.

After struggling with some slow starts this season, Wittenberg jumped on top of Kenyon in the first game with 10 runs across the first two innings and eight more in the fourth. The Tigers pounded 17 hits across just six offensive innings, led by Tommy Chilicki (Lewis Center, OH / Olentangy) with three hits, three runs, and four RBIs, Xander Rodriguez (Salinas, PR / Franklin County) with two hits, three runs, and four RBIs, Rocco Royer (Lake Bluff, IL / Lake Forest) with three runs, and Ben Seibert (Cincinnati, OH / LaSalle) with three RBIs.

After a scoreless first inning in Game 2, Wittenberg pounced with seven runs in the second inning and were off to the races again, tacking on runs in the four of the next five innings thanks to 17 more hits coupled with six Kenyon errors. Alex Nemunaitis (Perrysburg, OH / Ottawa Hills), Royer, Chilicki, Parker Gryskevich (Brownsburg, IN / Brownsburg), and Thatcher Dietz (Westerville, OH / Westerville South) all turned in multi-hit games, with Dietz driving in four runs and Gryskevich plating three, while Chilicki crossed the plate four times.

Four of Wittenberg's hits across the two games left the yard, giving the Tigers 43 home runs on the season. Chilicki and Seibert hit home runs in the first game, and Dietz and Nemunaitis hit home runs in the second game as the Tigers broke the program's season record of 41 set last year. Prior to 2024, Wittenberg had never hit more than 35 homers in a season.

The offense again got the headlines, but Wittenberg's pitching was solid again as well, starting with Charlie Schafer (Beavercreek, OH / Beavercreek) getting the win in the opener with five solid innings of work. Owen Treece (Van Wert, OH / Van Wert) and Colin Maynard (Pickerington, OH / Pickerington Central) followed Schafer to the mound and produced back-to-back scoreless innings of relief. Wade Thewes (Parker, CO / Lutheran) got the win in relief in the nightcap as he allowed just three hits and one unearned run in 3.2 innings.

"These were two big conference wins tonight," said first-year Wittenberg Head Coach Mitchell Griffiths. "The guys really dug deep, and they got the job done. We had great energy from our dugout, and I'm really proud of our players and coaches."