Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein baseball team split a home doubleheader with John Carroll University Saturday afternoon to finish out a jam-packed week, overcoming an 11-4 loss in game one to post a 14-10 triumph in game two.

The Cardinals, playing their third Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) doubleheader in a four-day span as a result of previous weather cancellations, move to 20-7 overall and 6-4 in league play with the results. Otterbein is now in a three-way tie with the John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace amongst the OAC standings, two games back of Marietta.

The Blue Streaks (13-14, 6-4 OAC) seized an early lead over the Cardinals to begin the first contest Saturday, scoring once in their first at-bat, four times in the second inning and then adding one more in the third.

Otterbein got on the board courtesy of a solo homer from second baseman Taylor Hutchison in the fourth, but missed opportunities to plate more runs in that frame, and the next, by leaving runners in scoring position. The Cards only trailed 6-2 entering the eighth, but JCU tacked on four more runs to create enough separation.

Both sides ripped 13 hits in the opener, with Otterbein getting 3 for 5 efforts from Hutchison and centerfielder Tyler Kent, along with a 2 for 4 performance from catcher Stephan Hernon. Cardinal starter Nick Muse absorbed the loss on the mound.

Otterbein appeared ready for redemption as the second game got underway, getting an RBI-double from first baseman Jake Simmerman in the first inning and then scoring on a stolen-base sequence in the second, when Peyton Ross managed to  keep himself in a pickle long enough for Hernon to hustle home from third.

The Cards widened the gap to 6-0 in the third frame, getting another solo shot to left field from Hutchison and then RBI from Mark Walton and Christian Chiero. Otterbein remained ahead, 8-4, entering the bottom of the eighth inning before tacking on six more runs to open a double-digit advantage.

John Carroll did not go away quietly, keeping everyone alert by scoring six runs in the ninth inning before running out of steam.

Hutchison enjoyed a 3 for 5 offensive effort in game two while Kent and Simmerman both went 3 for 4 with three RBI. Kent launched a solo shot down the left-field line in the fifth inning for his OAC-leading sixth round-tripper of the season.

Kent also made a piece of school history in the third inning of game two, crossing the plate on a sacrifice fly to become Otterbein's all-time leader in runs scored. He breaks the previous mark of 147 held by former All-American Wes Meadows.

The top-three hitters in John Carroll's lineup went a combined 7 for 15 in the second matchup, but it wouldn't be enough as senior Ben Hamilton earned his second win of the year on the bump. He went five innings in his first start since suffering an injury back on March 5 during the team's spring-break trip.

Otterbein will be back in action Tuesday afternoon on the road, traveling to play Wilmington College (4-27, 1-9 OAC) for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.