Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

DELAWARE, Ohio – The Otterbein softball team claimed victory in both games at Ohio Wesleyan on Thursday, winning by scores of 6-3 and 7-1 at Sagan Field.

With the wins the Cardinals improve to 14-3 overall with wins in six of their last seven games. Otterbein now turns its attention to Ohio Athletic Conference play with a pair of games against Muskingum tomorrow starting at 3 p.m., a series that was moved up from Saturday due to inclement weather in the weekend forecast.

Game One

Junior starting pitcher Rachael Owens picked up her team-leading sixth win of the season after tossing four and a third innings with three strikeouts, allowing just one unearned run in the process.

The Cardinal offense aided Owens' victory in the circle as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the top half of the first inning, sparked by senior Molly Riggs who led off the game with a single fueling five-straight base runners.

Juniors Bailey McElwain and Megan Garner drove in the first two runs of the game on a double and a single, respectively, before freshman Alyson Shaw, who continues her stellar start to the season, drove in Garner on a sacrifice fly.

Ohio Wesleyan got one run back in the bottom half of the frame after planting a pair of base runners before Otterbein added two runs on five hits to begin the fourth, ignited by a single and stolen base from junior Savannah Sarkine.

Freshman pitcher Kasey Morris entered the game in relief of Owens to begin the fifth inning, going two innings and allowing one earned run on three hits.

The Bishops threatened the Cardinal lead by scoring two runs over the final two innings, leading to Owens returning from the outfield to the pitcher's spot to record the final out in place of sophomore Anna Edwards, who struck out two OWU batters for the initial two outs.

Otterbein concluded the game tying a season-high 18 hits, as Riggs led the way with a game-high four hits. Garner followed with a game-best three runs on a perfect 3-of-3 mark at the plate, working a walk in the process.

Game Two

Pitching dominated the headlines for the fourth-straight game as sophomore starting pitcher Gabby Johnson went the distance for her third complete game and struck out six OWU batters en route to her fifth win of the season, keeping her undefeated record in tact. 

Otterbein pushed across a trio of runs in both the first and third innings behind five hits and seven base runners combined. The Cardinals posted run-scoring hits on their first three of the game, led by Flasco who drove the initial run of the game in after Riggs led off the game by reaching on an error.

Riggs moved up one spot in the program record books during Flasco's at-bat, swiping second base to tie for second all-time with Casey Clarridge (2009-12) for stolen bases in a career (63).

McElwain, who went 3-for-3 in the game, then hit a double to score Flasco to pair with Owens' single which helped give Otterbein an early 3-0 advantage. McElwain continued her success at the plate into the third inning when she led off with a walk before crossing home plate once again on an Owens base hit.

The Cardinals tallied just three base runners in the third inning but made the most of their contact at the dish before adding an insurance run in the fourth.

Ohio Wesleyan's lone run of the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning when it stringed together three hits, two of which came with two outs.

Both McElwain and Owens ended the game with a pair of runs batted in, while Flasco also posted a multi-hit performance. Johnson finished the game holding the Bishops hitless in four innings.