Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinal baseball team secured its first two victories of Ohio Athletic Conference play Monday afternoon, posting a doubleheader sweep at crosstown-rival Capital University.

Otterbein University improves to 12-6 on the season with the wins, hanging on for a 6-5 win in game one before a dominant 19-0 triumph in the second affair.

The Cards played to an initial 3-0 lead in game one, eventually extending the advantage to 6-0 in the top of the ninth after first baseman Jake Simmerman blasted his second home run of the game.
 Junior right-hander Taylor Ellis was cruising on the mound, allowing just three hits over eight shutout innings before finding trouble in the last frame. Capital plated five runs in its final at-bat before freshman Caleb Norton came on to earn his second save in as many games, forcing a game-ending double play that preserved the win.

The Cardinal offense produced 16 hits throughout the contest, including five players with a multi-hit performance. Lead-off hitter Taylor Hutchison went 3 for 5.

The second game would be all Otterbein, taking an early 6-0 lead into the fourth before 10 runs over the ensuing three innings helped blow the game wide open. The Cards tallied another 16 hits as a unit en route to the lop-sided win.

Simmerman went 3 for 4 in game two, blasting his third home run of the day during his first plate appearance. Shortstop Sean Kettering finished 3 for 5, driving in five runs and scoring another two himself.

Freshman Robert Kemer was solid on the bump, striking out eight batters over five scoreless innings to record his second win of the spring.

Otterbein has a busy week, continuing with a 6 p.m. game tomorrow evening at Wittenberg University before a home game Wednesday against OU-Lancaster.