Tigers Pull Out Improbable Win Over Nationally Ranked Aurora
Wittenberg capped its Spring Break trip with a dramatic rally, tying the score with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and winning it with two outs in the 10th.
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 16 | 4 |
|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 15 | 3 |
AUBURNDALE, Fla. - The Wittenberg baseball team ended a tremendous Spring Break with a dramatic, 11-10 walk-off victory over 24th-ranked Aurora.
Dramatic, indeed. The Tigers entered the ninth inning leading 9-7 only to see Aurora rally for three runs in the top half. But Wittenberg answered with a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning as junior Tyler Grau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) singled and pinch-runner Brian Raymond (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) scored his first collegiate run at a most opportune time, circling the bases when a fly ball off the bat of junior catcher Alex Lochard (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) was dropped in right field.
Aurora collected three hits in the top of the 10th inning against Wittenberg freshman pitcher Seth Parrish (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central), but amazingly the Spartans were kept off the board. With one out, Parrish picked off a runner at first base. That was followed by a double and a single, but Aurora's runner was gunned down at the plate on a throw from sophomore left fielder Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) to Lochard to end the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, Wilson led off with a single, and he followed by a bunt single by sophomore Brandon Reaman (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont). Senior Graham Wolff (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) then drove in the game-winner with an RBI single to center field.
After dancing his way out of trouble in the 10th inning, Parrish was awarded his first collegiate victory. He was the fifth Wittenberg pitcher in the game as the Tigers survived 16 hits and three errors.
Reaman finished with three hits, while Wilson, Wolff, junior Tyler Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio/Cincinnati Moeller), Grau and Lochard each added two hits in the game. Wilson scored three times, while junior David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) and Hutchinson each drove in a pair.
The win moved the Tigers to 6-1 on the young season.
