ADA, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers pulled out an improbable win over Ohio Athletic Conference rival Ohio Northern, tying the game with two outs in the top of the ninth inning on an error and then stunning the Polar Bears with a four-spot in the 10th inning for a 5-1 decision.
The win moved the Tigers to 18-12 on the season, two more wins than they had in the entire 2010 season. Wittenberg also evened the score with ONU, which had claimed a 4-2 win in Springfield on April 7. The Polar Bears dropped to 14-10 on the campaign.
The key once again was pitching, featuring an outstanding six-inning start from senior Zach Spring (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty). He allowed just two hits and five walks while striking out five before giving way to four relievers. After tossing a scoreless ninth inning to get the game into extra innings, senior Sam Clement (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) picked up the win by working a scoreless 10th as well.
The offense banged out 10 hits in the game, including a pair of critical knocks by freshman David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe). His one-out double in the ninth set the stage for the unlikely rally to tie the game, and then he added an RBI double in the 10th. That came after junior Matt Hampp (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) drove in what turned out to be the winning run with a single in the 10th and before sophomore Nick Van Dyne (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) capped the rally with a two-run, pinch-hit double.
Also of note was the play of lead-off man Ray Noe (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome). He reached base four times in five plate appearances, including three singles, and he stole his team-best eighth base in nine tries in 2011.