Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Otterbein baseball team walked away with another Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader split Saturday afternoon, overcoming a tough game-one loss to claim victory in game two at No. 23-ranked and league-leading Mount Union.

The Cardinals, now 23-9 overall and 9-5 in the OAC, will be back in action next week with a pair of non-conference outings against Denison and Ohio Wesleyan. The latter contest, against OWU, will take place on Thursday as the teams will conclude a recent halted game that was suspended with Otterbein leading 3-2 in the sixth inning.


Game 1 (5-4 Loss)

The Cardinals struck early at Mount Union thanks to third baseman Connor Brett, who delivered a timely two-out single in the third inning that scored Ben Beachy and Stephan Hernon for a 2-0 lead.

Mount Union jumped ahead in the bottom of the fifth, hitting the scoreboard on an RBI-single and then taking the lead after a Cardinal throwing error sequence and then a sacrifice fly.

That Purple Raider lead didn't last long, as Otterbein quickly regained control in its following at-bat after Brett led off the sixth with a double and then Brock Frentzel traded places with him moments later. Outfielder Tim Snyder put the team up 4-3 two batters later with a sac-fly of his own.

Otterbein maintained the advantage behind the strong right arm of starter Craig Prince through seven innings, but Mount Union persevered and strung together a difference-making sequence in the eighth.

The first batter reached on an infield single, and Mount later had that runner on second base after Prince tallied a pair of strikeouts. Unfortunately, the Raiders came up with consecutive two-out hits that resulted in a 5-4 lead.

Otterbein went down in order in the ninth against Mount Union's Phil Mary, a usual starter who picked up his first save of the season. Mary is 8-0 this spring with a 0.83 E.R.A.

Prince (5-3) was forced to take the loss despite a rather solid outing in which he fanned eight batters, and walked just two, over 7.2 innings on the hill. The Cardinals now have four one-run losses in conference play.

 
Game 2 (6-2 Win)

Neither team could score its first time through the lineup in the rematch, with the showdown heading to the fourth inning locked in a scoreless tie. Otterbein finally hit the scoreboard with a three-run frame, which included RBI singles from Snyder and Tyler Thompson.

Brett added to the lead with a solo homer in the fifth inning, and the Cards capped their scoring spurt with two more in the sixth following a 2-RBI single up the middle from Bryan Stopar.

The lead would be more than enough for Cardinal left-hander Stevie Yuran, who carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and ultimately grabbed his sixth win of the season after striking out nine batters, and walking two, over 7.2 innings.

Otterbein ripped off 13 hits in the contest, led by multi-hit performances from Thompson, Stopar, Snyder, Christian Chiero and Dom Guzzi, who earned the start in right field.

The Cardinals will return to OAC play next weekend, hosting Heidelberg University as part of Senior Day at Fishbaugh Field.