Tigers Survive Day 1 At NCAC Tournament

GREENCASTLE, Ind. - The Wittenberg Tigers opened the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament with a win over Allegheny before settling for Day 1 split after losing a 1-0 pitcher's duel to host and top-seeded DePauw.

The day's results left Wittenberg, the No. 2 seed in the tournament after finishing in sole possession of second place in the final regular season standings, with a 20-16 overall record. The Tigers will take on fourth-seeded Denison in an elimination game at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 2, also at DePauw, with the winner advancing to the championship round against the host Tigers.

The win over Allegheny was earned thanks to complete-game pitching from freshman Chelsea Zang (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) in combination with opportunistic offense. Zang allowed six hits and an uncharacteristic four walks, but the Gators managed just a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning.

The Allegheny runs were countered immediately by a Wittenberg two-spot in the bottom of the frame as sophomore Abby Baker (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) scored on a passed ball and sophomore Casey Hobbs (Fairborn, Ohio/Carroll) followed her into home on an error. Wittenberg's first two scores came on an RBI infield single by freshman Charlee Clark (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) in the first inning and an error in the third that allowed junior Loren Combs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) to scamper home.

Zang toed the rubber again the Tigers' second game of the day, allowing six hits and no walks in six innings en route to the hard-luck loss. DePauw scratched just one run out against Zang in the fourth, but the visiting Tigers were unable to match that lone score.

Combs went 2-for-3 at the top of the lineup, but Wittenberg was limited to four singles in the game.

Written By: Ryan Maurer