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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein baseball team suffered a tough pair of losses Sunday afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play, falling by scores of 9-6 and 18-3 to visiting, and No. 7-ranked, Heidelberg University.

The losses move the Cardinals to 22-11 on the season and 9-7 within the brutal OAC, dropping the group out of the top-four in the league standings. Otterbein will need to sweep Mount Union next weekend and also receive help from a few different teams to have a chance at making the postseason tournament.

Otterbein fell behind 6-0 early in game one, but got on the scoreboard when freshman Sam Severance ripped his first-career home run to left field in the third inning. The Cards added three more in the fourth frame, on a wild pitch and 2-RBI single from Severance, before unfortunately leaving the bases loaded with a strikeout.

The Student Princes (27-7, 13-3 OAC) extended their lead to 8-4 in the top of the sixth, but Otterbein answered right back with two of its own in the bottom of the inning, getting an RBI-single from Tyler Kent through the left side and a sacrifice fly from Sean Kettering.

Otterbein left a runner in scoring position in the eighth and would never be able to threaten the remainder of the way. Adam Manner improved to 6-0 on the mound for the visitors while Sam Ankrom notched his first save of the season.

Severance turned in perhaps the best game of his young career, going 3 for 4 with three RBI and two runs scored.

Heidelberg quickly grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second game, but Otterbein split the lead in half with a solo home run from designated hitter Jordan Ashbrook in the bottom of the second. It would be all Heidelberg from that point on as the Student Princes batted around in the third inning, scoring seven times before adding eight more over the next three frames.

Ashbrook went 2 for 4 with a pair of RBI on the day, but the Cardinals committed five errors and surrendered 19 hits to a productive Heidelberg offense. Derek Hendrixson, the OAC leader in earned-run average (0.77) also moved to 6-0 on the bump with just one earned run over six innings of work.

Otterbein is scheduled to be back in action Wednesday with a 6 p.m. game at Wittenberg University.

Prior to the game, Ashbrook, Kettering and classmates Nich Pitzer, Ty Compton, Taylor Ellis and Chase Thompson were recognized as part of Senior Day.