“I just kind of said to them,” McGee said, “‘Hopefully, this program’s more to you guys than just about winning. This is supposed to be preparing us for life.’ I expressed to them that this win is more than just a championship. Hopefully, it’s a reward or some proof to them that their hard work and their resiliency and their commitment and loyalty, togetherness and determination came to fruition. This is the return, and this is the payoff for all those things. That’s how life works.”
Wittenberg (24-15 overall) tied Denison (35-5) atop the NCAC standings with a 13-3 record. Denison has won or shared the championship four years in a row.
Wittenberg has played in the NCAC since the 1990 baseball season. It finished second five times, including the last two seasons.
“We’re glad to get it for ourselves and for the university and for the athletic department,” McGee said. “We’re all proud of ourselves because we’ve worked for this and it’s something that we’ve had to be a little bit more patient for than we would liked to have been, but we got it this year. That’s for all the hard work the guys have done not only this year, but in years past to get the program to this level.”
McGee is in his eighth season. Wittenberg posted the best record in school history (32-10) last season. It has now topped the 20-win mark four seasons in a row for the first time since the 1990s.
Wittenberg will try to record another program first this week when it plays in the NCAC tournament. It has never won the event. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed and play No. 4 seed Kenyon (21-15) in the first round at noon Thursday at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe.
No. 2 seed Denison, ranked third in the country, plays No. 3 DePauw (23-15) in the other other first-round game at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. It’s a double-elimination tournament. Denison has won the last four NCAC tournaments.
Wittenberg lost 7-2 to Denison in the NCAC championship game last season. This season, the teams split two regular-season games on April 27. Wittenberg won the first game 10-7 and lost the second 9-8.
“I don’t think there’s a team in the country that we can’t compete with when we play our game,” McGee said, “and in this game, you’ve got to have a little bit of luck on your side, too, and get the breaks or make the plays. We’re more than capable and talented enough to play with anybody.”
Wittenberg’s standout performers include:
• Freshman first baseman Xander Rodriguez leads the team with seven home runs and 47 RBIs. He’s hitting .358.
• Senior right fielder Connor O’Malley is hitting .372 with six home runs and 24 RBIs.
• Sophomore third baseman Alex Nemunaitis is hitting .394 with six home runs and 39 RBIs.
• Senior second baseman Luke Thomas is hitting .400.
• Senior Austin Luther (4-2, 3.45 ERA) and senior Nick Cunningham (4-2, 5.77) are the team’s top starters.
• Senior Joe Horoszko (4-1, 1.29) leads the team with four saves.
McGee said the rotation for the tournament is to be determined.
“We have such a great plethora of guys to choose from,” he said. “Pitching has been the strength of our team down the stretch. I’d like to say that’s the reason why we won the conference, but we got a lot of help offensively at the beginning of the year and we got a ton of help from a pitching standpoint at the end of the year. We have a lot of guys pitching real well right now, and I’m not sure who will get the ball but we’re confident when we talk with the guys and look over the scouting reports we’ll pick the right matchups and set it up the right way.”
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