On Saturday, March 25, the Wittenberg Baseball Team took on the Marian University Sabres at Carlton David Stadium. The Sabres traveled all the way from Marian, Wis. to take on the Tigers, bringing some fans with them. The Sabres walked in with a record of 4-6 this season while the Tigers were at 2-7.
With 129 people in attendance, the sunny Saturday double header started off with the first pitch thrown at 11 a.m. Marian and Wittenberg both came in strong, the first game providing neither team the ability to score until the top of the fourth inning, when Marian’s designated hitter slammed a ball out to center field. Cole Miklavcic, Marian’s center fielder, was knocked in, giving the team their first run of the game.
The Tigers held the Sabres and were able to score in the bottom of the fifth inning. Patrick Kenny, ‘20, got up to bat and hit a single to right field. Ryan Probst, ‘20, followed by reaching first because of an error made by the short stop. Jace Barga, ‘19, got up to bat and hit a single to right field.
This hit knocked Kenny around, allowing him to score and be the first run for Wittenberg. Building on this momentum, Matt Baker, ‘19, got up to bat and made it to first because of an error made by the third basemen, knocking in Probst and Barga. With these three runs, Josh Kaplan, ‘17, got up to bat and was struck out, followed by Timmy Bates, ‘18, grounding out to second base. Rounding out the fifth inning with three runs and two hits, this was the highest scoring inning for the Tigers.
However, the best inning for the Sabres was the seventh inning. They scored three runs, one as an RBI after their right fielder hit a double to right field. The runner on third scored because of an error on behalf of first basemen and the Sabres’ left fielder reached first base because of an error by the third basemen, which allowed him to score. The three runs the Sabres scored this inning tied the game with the Tigers at 4-4. Two innings later in the bottom of the ninth, Kaplan reached first base because of an error by the short stop, sending Baker in as an RBI. The Tigers won the first game 5-4.
The second game of the day began at 1:30 p.m., and the stadium had gotten a little warmer. The first inning went well for the Sabres, where their short stop was the first RBI and first run of the game. The Sabres and the Tigers were evenly matched as the game began with neither of the teams scoring again until the bottom of the fourth inning, where Brad Malott, ‘19, hit a single to left field, allowing Marshall Eippert, ‘19, to advance to second, giving Bates the chance to score, tying the game 1-1.
In the fifth inning, the Sabres brought their a-game, where one player hit a homerun. After the homerun, they had another run scored. The sixth inning brought nothing for the Tigers and two more runs for the Sabres, and yet another run the following inning. At the bottom of the seventh inning, Paul Stanley, ‘18, and Adam Mays, ‘20, both scored for the Tigers. The end of second game finished with the Sabres beating the Tigers 6-3.
All in all, it was a beautiful Saturday for Tiger baseball. The team currently sits with three wins and eight losses so far this season.
