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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinal baseball team wrapped up its conference slate with a doubleheader split against Baldwin Wallace University Saturday afternoon, winning 9-3 and losing 9-7 at Fishbaugh Field.
The split is good enough to clinch a spot in the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament for Otterbein University, which will be making its first appearance in the league’s postseason event since 2009.
The Cardinals will be the tournament’s No. 4 seed, opening against host and two-time defending champion Marietta College Thursday afternoon.
Baldwin Wallace, 27-13 overall, finishes tied for third in the OAC regular-season standings but forfeits its spot in postseason play as a result of self-imposed sanctions.
Otterbein got to BW ace Pat Havens early in game one, using RBI from Billy Harkenrider, Wes Meadows, and Sean Kettering in the second inning to open a 5-0 advantage.
The Yellow Jackets cut into the deficit with a pair of runs in their next at-bat, but the Cards blew the game open with another four-run inning in the bottom of the fifth.
Cardinal senior Wes Meadows improved to 6-1 on the mound with the win, allowing three runs (two earned) over his 5.1 innings on the bump.
Harkenrider, Kettering, and freshman centerfielder Tyler Kent all tallied multi-hit games as eight different Cardinals drove in a run.
Otterbein held a 4-1 lead entering the fifth inning of game two, but Baldwin Wallace plated three runs to even the score.
BW took a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but a timely three-run blast over the right-field fence from Meadows vaulted Otterbein back on top.
The Jackets took advantage of a couple Cardinal miscues in the next inning, and Havens came back on to notch his first save of 2013 as the visitors escaped with the win.
Meadows went 3 for 4 with four RBI in the second outing, bringing him within four hits of tying Tory Allen for the school’s all-time record of 209.
Kent went 2 for 5 and scored a pair of runs while Kettering contributed a 2 for 4 effort at the dish.
Prior to game one, Otterbein recognized seniors Scott Staarmann, Dominic Porretta, Matt Frey, Jon Cheyney, Wes Meadows, and David Cydrus for their contributions to the program.
