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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinal baseball team won its home opener for a third-straight season Thursday afternoon, jumping on Ohio Wesleyan University early en route to a 9-4 triumph at Fishbaugh Field.

Otterbein, improving to 8-3 on the season, took an initial 2-0 lead after designated hitter Bryan Stopar launched his third home run of the season over the left-field fence in the team's first at-bat.

That margin stayed the same until the bottom of the fourth, when first baseman Christian Chiero led off the inning by belting a towering 405-foot home run to straightaway center. Otterbein then put the game out of reach in the fifth inning, plating five runs and forcing three OWU pitching changes to seize an 8-0 advantage.

The lead would be more than enough for left-hander Stevie Yuran on the bump, who retired 10 batters in a row at one point and ultimately surrendered just one unearned run, and four hits, over seven strong innings. He had six strikeouts and now sits 2-1 on the young season.

The Battling Bishops (0-4) added a few late runs to shrink the final margin, scoring on an extended wild-pitch sequence in the eighth and then posting two unearned runs in the ninth after a Cardinal fielding error.

Stopar, Chiero and shortstop Ben Beachy all had two hits on the afternoon as both teams eventually tallied nine apiece. The game featured seven errors.

Michael Blatchford, Aaron Strausbaugh and Colin Stolly, the first-three hitters in the Ohio Wesleyan lineup, all delivered two-hit days for their club.

Otterbein is scheduled to host Trine University in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon, although the event is more than likely to be cancelled as a result of cold temperatures coming in.