Tigers Settle For Unusual Split At Otterbein
After Chelsea Zang tosses shutout in opener, teams battle to 4-4 draw in nightcap shortened by darkness.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
WESTERVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers extended their best-ever start with a 3-0 win over Otterbein before settling for an unusual 4-4 tie in the nightcap of the season's first doubleheader in the Buckeye state.
Wittenberg stands 11-0-1 following the unusual "split" of a doubleheader originally scheduled for Saturday. Otterbein is now 11-2-1 in the early going of the 2016 season. The Tigers are scheduled to open the home portion of the 2016 schedule against Thomas More on Sunday, March 20.
The Tigers got things started with a shutout in the opener as sophomore Chelsea Zang (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) continued her stellar work in the pitcher's circle. She allowed seven hits but no Cardinals crossed the plate in the game as Zang recorded her sixth complete game and her third shutout in seven appearances so far in 2016.
Zang's earned run average fell to 1.09 and her record is a perfect 6-0 after the Tigers pushed three unearned runs across in the decisive fifth inning. A bunt single by senior Loren Combs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) produced a pair of runs on a throwing error, and senior Shannon Lance (Loveland, Ohio/Kings) followed that with an RBI single.
Zang and freshman Missy Lee (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) each finished with two hits in the game to lead the Tigers' offense.
Game 2 was ruled a rare tie after the two teams each scored four times before nightfall. Wittenberg led 4-0 going into the bottom of the third inning, but the Cardinals scored three times in the third and evened things at four with a run in the fourth.
Combs continued to do her job at the top of the lineup, drawing three walks and stealing two bases in the game, while freshman Lauren Buelow (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) collected a pair of base hits. Combs, Lance and freshman Rachel Black (Avon, Ind./Avon) accounted for the RBIs in the game.
Sophomore Abby Haab (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) started in the pitcher's circle, allowing seven hits and three earned runs. Zang closed by allowing three hits and one earned run in three innings.
Written By: Ryan Maurer