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FORT MYERS, Fla . – Otterbein University baseball is off to the best start in program history, winning nine of 10 outings on the annual spring break trip in improving to 13-2 on the season.

The 13-2 record equals the start of the 2002 squad, which also won 13 of its first 15 outings and went 10-1 on its Florida trip.

Weather permitting, the Cardinals are scheduled to jump right back into action upon return to Westerville with the home opener against NAIA Rio Grande slated for Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.

After two days off in the middle of the trip, the Cardinals returned to the diamond Friday with a doubleheader against Plymouth State University.

Otterbein got the offense started early yet again, posting five runs in the first inning and four over the next three innings to open a nine-run lead. The Cardinals added three more runs in the sixth in cruising to a 12-4 victory.

Offensively the Cardinals were led by Billy Harkenrider who when 2-for-4 with a two-run homerun, Wes Meadows who hit 1-for-2 with a solo homerun, and Tyler Rose who was 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBI and a run scored.

Senior David Cydrus threw his second-consecutive complete-game to move his record on the season to 2-0. He struck out two batters and did not walk any over his seven innings of work.

Game two between the Panthers and Cardinals was much closer, but Otterbein held on for the 6-5 victory.

Senior Matt Frey started on the hill but struggled with his control over four innings of work, walking two batters and hitting four others.

This contest would mark the first time over spring break that the Cards were held scoreless over the first two innings of a game. Both teams got a run on the board in third inning and Plymouth State scored three more in the bottom of the fourth to put Otterbein behind for the first time all trip.

Relief pitchers Alex Lake and Dominic Porretta came in and shined for Otterbein. Lake pitched one inning and Porretta tossed two, with neither giving up a hit and Poretta striking out two batters.

The resilient Cardinals would score four runs in the top of the fifth and another in the top of the seventh inning to escape with the win.

Senior Scott Staarmann paced the Cardinals at the plate, hitting 2 for 3 with a double and two runs scored. Sean Kettering hit 1for 3 but accumulated four RBI.

Otterbein earned its third victory over Lasell College on the trip with a 12-3 triumph on Saturday morning. The Cards encountered an early 2-0 hole, but the bats broke through in the fourth and fifth innings to eventually plate five runs.

Otterbein continued to trend of putting their opponents away with huge offensive innings, tallying seven runs in the eighth frame to take a 12-2 lead and never look back.

Taylor Ellis (2-0) got the start and win for the Cardinals, giving up six hits, no earned runs, no walks, and sitting down four Laser batters.

Otterbein was paced at the plate by sophomore Billy Harkenrider’s 4-for-5 day, with the sophomore recording two RBI and three runs scored.

Senior Wes Meadows, now with 42 doubles for his Otterbein career, becomes the school’s all-time leader in the category after surpassing Bobby Wright’s previous mark of 39. Meadows also passed Wright for fifth on the career RBI list.

Meadows built his pitching record to 2-0 on the season in the second game of the day against Knox College as the Cards won handily, 13-3.

The Prairie Fire scored three runs in the top of the third and looked to have all the momentum, but it wouldn’t affect an Otterbein squad that scored four runs in the bottom of the third, two stemming from Sean Kettering’s third home run of the trip.

The Cardinals would later score four more in the fifth and five more times in the eighth.
Meadows helped his pitching performance out by going 2 for 3 at the plate, registering four RBI and scoring two runs. He also hit a three-run homerun in the eighth inning.

Kettering was near flawless at the plate, hitting a perfect 5for 5 with two doubles, four RBI and three runs scored.

The Cardinals nearly capped off a perfect trip on the final day against Knox. Freshman hurler Adam Collier got into some trouble in the second, allowing Knox to post five runs and open a 6-1 advantage.

Otterbein battled all the way back to the the game, 6-6, in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Prairie Fire plated two in the seventh for an 8-6 lead. Tyler Kent scored on a wild pitch for the Cards in the ninth, but Otterbein was unable to plate the tying run in suffering the close loss.

Kettering finished the trip on fire, going a combined 7 for 7 with five RBI, five runs scored, a double, triple, and home run in the two outings against Knox.

Otterbein will soon enter Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play after its affair with Rio Grande, opening with road doubleheaders at the University of Mount Union and Heidelberg University.