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ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Otterbein baseball team endured a disappointing doubleheader sweep to finish its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) schedule Saturday afternoon, dropping both games at the University of Mount Union by scores of 5-1 and a wild 17-16 contest.

The Cardinals, falling to 23-13 overall and an even 9-9 within league play, were officially eliminated from postseason contention after the game-one defeat. Otterbein will finish out its 2015 season with a doubleheader at La Roche College (Pa.) on Monday afternoon.

Mount Union (22-14, 9-9 OAC) took an early 1-0 lead in the first game and never relinquished the advantage behind the arm of pitcher Kyle Toma, who improved to 9-1 on the mound by holding the Cardinals to just one run over 7.2 innings on the bump.
Otterbein's lone run came in the sixth inning when Ty Compton scored on a wild pitch. Tyler Kent went 2 for 3 on the day while Jake Simmerman and Nich Pitzer also tallied multi-hit games.

The Crads held a 5-3 lead midway through the second matchup, only to allow the Purple Raiders to explode for 11 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and seize a 14-5 advantage.

The lead was double digits (15-5) entering the eighth inning, but a gritty Otterbein group strung together six runs in the top-half of the frame to claw back within striking distance. Included in the stretch was an RBI-single from freshman Pat Birrer, a 2-RBI single from catcher Stephan Hernon and another 2-RBI single from Pitzer.

Otterbein refused the quit, carrying the momentum over to its final at-bat and plating another five runs in the ninth, good enough for a 16-15 advantage. Hernon roped another 2-RBI single during the sequence before Sam Severance and Comtpon both drove in runs as well.

Mount Union would unfortunately get the last laugh, getting a walk-off triple from Tyler Simcox that ended a wild contest.
Birrer, Pitzer, Sean Kettering and Brock Frentzel all registered two hits for the Cardinals in a game that saw 37 combined hits between the two sides. One of Frentzel's hits was a two-run homer in the fourth inning.

Otterbein will look for another victory, or two, against La Roche come Monday afternoon after the Cardinals escaped with an 11-inning win over the Red Hawks earlier this season in Chillicothe.

Compton, nearing the end of his collegiate career, could be in line to win the OAC batting title after Monday. He currently leads the league with a .417 average at the dish.