WILMINGTON, Ohio — The Tiger baseball lineup was nearly impossible to contain in a record-setting 28-5 win over Wilmington on the road Wednesday afternoon, propelling Wittenberg to a 14-7 overall record.
In game-by-game records stretching back to 1966, there are no instances of a Tiger baseball team scoring more runs in a single game. The next-best effort came in a 27-8 win over Thomas More in 1997.
The gaudy run total, tied for the eighth highest single-team, single-game output in Division III this season, came as a result of 26 Tiger hits, eight walks, five Wilmington errors, three hit batters, one wild pitch and one balk. Among the hits, the Tigers recorded six doubles and a triple.
The offensive numbers add up to season-highs of 57 at bats, 27 RBIs and 34 total bases. On the flipside, Wittenberg turned a season-best five double plays in the game while in the field.
Fourteen players recorded a hit in the game, led by four from freshman centerfielder Brandon Reaman (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont), who went 4-for-7 with two RBIs, five runs scored and one walk in the game.
Freshman Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton), junior Grahamm Wolff (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) and sophomore Brandon Jordan (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) each tallied three hits, while freshman Mike Burgher (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm), junior Grant Goodwin (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) and senior Tim Little (Broadview, Ill./Kenwood Academy) all recorded two.
Wolff, Hampp, Goodwin and sophomore Cam Chambers (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) led the team with three RBIs each. Chambers posted all three in the Tigers' 11-run eighth inning, while Hampp's season total now stands at 26 halfway through, already matching his team-leading 2011 output.
Reaman, Burgher, Little, Jordan, sophomore Alex Lochard (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney) and sophomore Matt Powell (Troy, Ohio/Troy) all drove in two runs. Wilson, sophomore David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) and sophomore Tyler Grau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) each added one RBI.
Wolff was part of four of the five Wittenberg double plays turned, bringing his team-best total to nine on the season.
Five Tigers toed the rubber in the game, started out by six innings of four-hit ball from freshman Stu Haley (Chicago, Ill./New Trier), who recorded his first win of the season while allowing just one run.
Sophomore Rob Lamonde (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley), freshman Simeon Monroe (Essex, Conn./Valley Regional) and Burgher each threw an effective inning of relief. Wilmington touched Burgher for two runs, one earned, but could not reach Lamonde or Monroe.
The Tigers' 14-7 record represents the team's best 21-game start since 2004, and is not far off from the best start in head coach Jay Lewis' career, which came in his second year as coach in 1998 with a 16-4-1 record through 21 games. Wittenberg finished the 1998 season 24-10-2 overall.
Wittenberg now heads into an important four-game series with Wabash this weekend, beginning Saturday, March 31 at 1 p.m., looking to improve on an 0-4 record following a tough encounter with 18th-ranked DePauw.
John Strawn '07