Box Score

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Cardinal baseball team picked up a hard-fought victory Wednesday morning at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic, scoring twice in the ninth inning to upend SUNY Old Westbury by a score of 3-1.

The Cardinals, improving to 5-0 on the young season, will have Thursday off before getting back at it Friday morning against Mitchell College (Conn.). The Mariners went 32-7 last season, falling in the NCAA regional against top-seeded Kean University.

Otterbein struck immediately against Old Westbury, getting a lead-off triple from senior Taylor Hutchison to start the game before a sac-fly from classmate Tyler Kent gave the team an early 1-0 advantage.

The matchup settled into an old-fashioned pitcher's duel from there, with Otterbein sophomore Craig Prince and Westbury's Vinny Caputo, a graduate transfer from Binghamton, maintaining the 1-0 score until the bottom of the sixth.

Westbury, also an NCAA regional team last spring and recent victor over nationally-ranked Kean, tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth after a lead-off triple led to an RBI-single through the right side.

Both teams remained solid defensively in a game that featured no errors, keeping the contest locked at 1-1 until Otterbein strung together the difference-making sequence in the top of the ninth.

Senior catcher Mark Walton got the ball rolling with a lead-off double to left field before advancing to third on a wild pitch. The next-two batters struck out before Walton hustled home and score on a wild pitch, sliding in head first to erupt the Cardinal dugout and crowd. Senior J.C. Gibson later scored on another wild pitch to provide the team an insurance run.

The cushion would be more than enough for junior closer Caleb Norton, who earned the win this time around by holding the Panthers scoreless over the eighth and ninth frames. He fanned four of the seven batters he faced.

Prince gave a strong performance in his season debut for the Cards, striking out eight Panthers and allowing just one run over six innings. He threw 87 pitches and struck out his final batter of the day to leave runners stranded on the corners in the sixth. Westbury left 10 on base in all.

Caputo was just as efficient for the Panthers, allowing only four hits and walking two over his six innings of work. Kevin Lao hit 2 for 4 to lead the opposition and, perhaps more impressively, made a handful of athletic plays in centerfield to limit the Otterbein offense throughout.

Walton finished 2 for 3 in the five-hole for Otterbein and played just as well behind the plate, including throwing out a runner in the first inning after Westbury opened with a base hit. The Cards stole four bases on the day compared to just one for the opponent.

Otterbein and Old Westbury will square off in a rematch come Saturday at 9 a.m.