Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The No. 23-ranked Otterbein baseball team was forced to take another doubleheader split Friday afternoon on the road, winning the opener but then falling in the second affair at host John Carroll University.

The Cardinals, now standing at 20-8 overall and 6-4 against the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), claimed the first outing by a score of 9-3 and then unfortunately absorbed an 8-5 defeat in the rematch.


Game 1 (Win 9-3)

Otterbein fell behind 2-0 in the first inning as John Carroll struck twice off starting pitcher Craig Prince, but the Cards settled in with a big second inning that eventually plated five runs in all. The spurt featured RBI hits from sophomores Connor Brett and Tim Snyder before a 2-RBI single from Tyler Thompson put the team in front. The last run came on a timely double from leadoff man Ben Beachy.

The Cardinals pushed the lead to 6-2 in the next inning and then maintained the multi-run lead throughout, ultimately adding a pair of insurance runs in the eighth thanks to Snyder and Beachy.

Prince improved to 5-2 on the season with the win, allowing just three runs and striking out seven Blue Streaks over an eight-inning performance. Snyder continued his strong hitting display as of late with a 3 for 4 day while five others had multi-hit games.

 
Game 2 (8-5 Loss)

Otterbein opened with a pair of runs in the second game courtesy of a sac-fly from Stephan Hernon and then an RBI-single up the middle from classmate Christian Chiero.

The Blue Streaks (11-16, 4-6 OAC) quickly countered, scoring once in its first at-bat and then crossing four runs in the bottom of the second off Cardinal lefty Stevie Yuran. Three of those five runs were unearned as a result of two fielding errors by Otterbein.

JCU ran that lead all the way to 8-2 before Otterbein found a bit of a groove in the seventh, scoring three times in the frame which included RBI from Hernon and Bryan Stopar. Unfortunately, the Cards managed just one baserunner over the eighth and ninth innings as the hosts prevailed.

Hernon had two RBI in the game while Beachy, Snyder, Chiero and right fielder Pat Birrer all had two hits apiece.

Otterbein will be back in action this coming Wednesday, hosting Wilmington College in another OAC doubleheader at Fishbaugh Field. Start time is set for 1 p.m.