Tigers Jump into First in NCAC Standings with Sweep of DePauw

The Tigers took down the previously undefeated DePauw Tigers on their home turf 7-5 and 8-4. While game two was called due to darkness, the Tigers lead for the majority. Game one featured a Wittenberg comeback that took the wind out of DePauw’s sails for the remainder of the day.

Tigers Jump into First in NCAC Standings with Sweep of DePauw
April 18, 2018
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GREENCASTLE, Indiana—Wittenberg softball moved into first place in the NCAC league standings with a sweep of DePauw on Wednesday night. The Tigers took down the previously undefeated DePauw Tigers on their home turf 7-5 and 8-4. While game two was called due to darkness, the Tigers lead for the majority. Game one featured a Wittenberg comeback that took the wind out of DePauw's sails for the remainder of the day. Wittenberg now sits at 7-1 in NCAC play, while DePauw moves to 8-2.

GAME ONE: Wittenberg trailed 5-2 entering the fifth inning of play, but the Tiger bats would come to life, plating four runs in the top of the frame. Alex Gibson got the scoring started in the inning with an RBI single to left field, followed by a Katy Baumgartner double to right field, cutting the DePauw lead to 5-4. After a sac fly by Lauren Buelow that tied the game up, freshman Elise Freeland put the finishing touches on the inning with an RBI single down the right field line, scoring Baumgartner. Chelsea Zang commanded the zone in game one, as the senior went the distance for Wittenberg, surrendering two earned runs on ten hits and a walk. In a game that featured seven errors, Wittenberg recorded four defensive miscues in the victory. Baumgartner, Buelow, Curnutte, and Freeland all recorded two hits at the plate, while Freeland had a team-high three RBI's in the win.

GAME TWO: Wittenberg didn't need a comeback effort in game two, as the Tiger's grabbed the lead In the second inning and never looked back. After Victoria Toetz recorded and RBI single in the first, DePauw knotted things up at 1-1 in the bottom of the opening inning, and then took the lead 2-1. Wittenberg again plated five runs in an inning, as the second inning gave the Tigers of Wittenberg a 6-2 lead. The Tigers jumped out in front after a bases loaded walk, a Missy Lee single up the middle, a wild pitch that plated Freeland, and a Rachel Black RBI single down the left field line. After DePauw plated a run in the third, the 6-3 Wittenberg lead was still intact come the sixth inning, as Toetz put the exclamation point on the day with a two-RBI double to left field in the top of the sixth as Wittenberg went up 8-3. After the bottom of the sixth for DePauw, the game was called due to darkness, giving Wittenberg an 8-4 win.

NCAC STANDINGS: At. 500 for the first time in 2018 overall, the Tigers jumped over DePauw in the league standings. Wittenberg now sits in first with a 7-1 league mark as DePauw and Denison are now tied for second at 8-2. Wittenberg's win streak stretches to five games, as the Tigers are 6-4 in their last ten contests. Wittenberg took down a DePauw team on Wednesday that was 9-1 in their last ten, undefeated in NCAC play and 2-1 at home.

UP NEXT: Wittenberg is back in action this Saturday, April 21 against Oberlin. The NCAC doubleheader is set for 1:00 P.M. at Betty-Doughman Dillahunt Field.