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KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Otterbein University softball team closed out its spring trip with three wins over the final two days at the Rebel Spring Games. The Cardinals finished the showcase with a 6-4 record, picking up a win over Anderson University (Ind.) and a pair of victories over Endicott College (Mass.) to round out the week.
GAME 1 – Otterbein 2, Anderson University (Ind.) 1
The Cardinal pitching staff held the Anderson hitters in check, and Otterbein received timely hitting in their 2-1 win over the Ravens at the OCSB Complex Wednesday morning.
After three scoreless innings, the Cards broke through in the fourth with a clutch two-out RBI-single by junior Kristen Ramer that put the Otterbein in front, 1-0.
Otterbein tacked on another in the fifth thanks to three-consecutive two-out base hits. After sophomore Maggie Zych and junior Erin Carpenter both singled, freshman Bryn Allen drove in Zych with an RBI-single to extend the lead to 2-0.
After Anderson trimmed the lead to one, 2-1, in the bottom half of the fifth, junior Kelsey Long came in to pitch the final two and a third innings to pick up a save. She limited the Ravens to just one hit and struck out one to preserve the victory.
GAME 2 – Otterbein 10, Endicott (Mass.) 9 – FINAL / 9
Junior Laura Basford hit a walk-off double to help the Cardinals pick up a thrilling 10-9 win over Endicott Wednesday afternoon at the OCSB Complex.
The Cardinals held a 7-3 lead through four innings, before the Gulls rallied to tie the game at seven with a four-run fifth inning.
After Endicott scored in the top of the eighth to take their first lead, Otterbein responded when Carpenter drove a sacrifice fly to left that scored Basford and evened the game at eight.
Endicott scored again in the ninth to reclaim the lead, but another sacrifice fly, this time from junior Kayla Woodward, evened the game at nine with two outs.
Facing an 0-2 count, with Ramer on second base, Basford drilled the ball into the opposite field gap, giving the Cardinals another win on the day.
Carpenter was brilliant at the plate; she finished the game 4-for-4 with two-RBI, including the extra-inning sac fly that evened the game in the eighth inning.
Long entered in the fourth and picked up her fourth win of the season, allowing two earned runs on four hits, while striking out one.
GAME 3 – McDaniel 3, Otterbein 2 – FINAL / 8
For the second time in Florida, the Cardinals and McDaniel played to a scoreless tie through seven innings, but once again the victory went to the Green Terrors, 3-2, at the OCSB Complex.
The Cardinals broke the scoreless game in the top of the eighth when Allen, with runners at second and third, drove in Zych with a sacrifice fly to put Otterbein up, 1-0.
The next batter, Albright, bunted the ball back to the pitcher, but in an attempt to pick off sophomore Elyse Brigham, McDaniel sophomore pitcher Caroline Brehm overthrew her third baseman. The error allowed Brigham to extend the Cardinal lead to 2-0.
Unfortunately, Otterbein failed to record an out in the bottom of the eighth. The Green Terrors loaded the bases and a pair of singles drove in three runs to give McDaniel their second extra-inning win over the Cardinals in Florida.
McDaniel’s Brehm, who rung up 14 in their previous meeting, struck out 16 Cardinals and limited them to just three hits in the game. Otterbein was patient at the plate against the power right hander, drawing a total of seven free passes (four walks, three hit by pitch).
GAME 4 – Otterbein 4, Endicott (Mass.) 2
The Cardinals concluded their 2013 Rebel Games schedule with a 4-2 win over Endicott Thursday afternoon at the OCSB Complex.
The Otterbein pitching staff limited the Gulls to three hits and struck out four to help the team pick up its sixth win in Florida.
Long started the game on the bump and picked up her fifth win of the season, pitching three shutout innings and yielding just one base hit. Junior Chelsea Burns followed suit in the next three innings, allowing just two hits, while junior Maggie McMahan pitched a perfect seventh inning to earn her first save of the season.
The Cardinals got off to a fast start when Basford led off the bottom of the first with a triple. After Zych reached on a walk, a double steal of second and home put Otterbein on top 1-0 in the first.
The Cardinals tacked on another in the second and two in the third to go up 4-0 headed into the fourth inning.
Endicott pushed across two, with one in the fourth and one in the fifth, to trim Otterbein’s lead to 4-2, but the Cardinal pitchers allowed just one hit in the final two innings to preserve the win.
Albright led the Cards at the plate with a pair of base hits, while Ramer and Woodward each had an RBI.
Otterbein is scheduled to return to action Wednesday, March 27, when they host the College of Wooster for a pair of non-conference games. The first game of the twinbill is slated for 3:30 p.m.
The Cardinals were scheduled to head to Berea Saturday, March 23, and open Ohio Athletic Conference play with Baldwin Wallace University, but those games have been postponed to a later date.
