Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Otterbein baseball team finished its annual spring outing in promising fashion over the weekend, running the winning streak to five games and departing Florida holding a 9-4 overall record.

The Cardinals, winning a quick game before the lengthy trip, went 8-4 against stiff competition throughout games played in Port Charlotte, Fort Myers and Bradenton.

Otterbein cruised past 2016 national runner-up Keystone on Friday morning behind a dominating pitching effort from lefty Stevie Yuran, who set a new career-high with 11 strikeouts in tossing a four-hit, complete-game shutout. He walked just one batter.

The Cardinals busted things open by scoring six runs in the second inning, sending 10 hitters to the plate and, at one point, rattling off five-straight singles from the bottom of the lineup around to leadoff man Ben Beachy. Otterbein ended the day with 14 hits and third baseman Connor Brett posted five RBI.

The Cards overcame an early deficit Saturday against Thiel, falling behind 3-0 after the opening frame but then chipping away with runs in the second and third.  Otterbein eventually tied the contest, at 4-4, in the fourth inning on a sequence that started with an RBI-single from Beachy, who then got himself caught in a rundown that allowed Dmitri Collaros to fly all the way around from first base and score.

Otterbein held a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning until the Tomcats drew even, and then appeared ready to jump in front with the bases loaded and two outs. A hard-hit ball from No. 3-hole hitter Nick Grice was rocketed towards the center-field fence, but junior Tim Snyder tracked it down and finished with a game-saving, highlight-reel, full-extension diving grab.

That momentum carried into the top-half of the ninth when Brett launched a towering two-run homer, Otterbein's first round-tripper of spring break, that ultimately proved to be the difference. Thiel made it interesting in its final plate appearance, getting the tying run to second base before Collin Hoffmann came up with a strikeout and groundout to preserve the narrow triumph.

The Cards jumped all over Amherst College early in Sunday's finale, scoring another six runs in the second frame after sending 12 runners to the plate. The Mammoths, who have made NCAA appearances in three of the last five years, made a quick pitching change to try and stay close in what was their season debut.

It would be all Otterbein as the innings progressed, opening a 9-2 lead by the fourth and then blowing the margin open with a pair of three-run frames later on. Five Cardinals had multi-hit days, led by junior Tyler Thompson reaching all five times on a pair of singles and three walks.

Snyder went 3 for 5 with two doubles as the Cardinal offense drew 13 walks and collected another 14 hits. The run support would be more than enough for talented freshman Ethan Doty, improving to 2-0 on the mound after striking out seven batters over six innings. He surrendered just two runs, both unearned, before giving way to the bullpen.

Otterbein is scheduled to play a pair of road games against NCAC schools next week, heading to Denison on Wednesday and Wittenberg come Sunday. Stayed tuned to otterbeincardinals.com and our social media outlets for updates regarding potential weather.