Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinal softball team was victorious in both games of a doubleheader against Mount Union on Saturday in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opener at Rike Field.

Otterbein (12-4, 2-0 OAC) will take its 10-game winning streak on the road next week for a pair of doubleheaders, beginning with a non-conference tilt at Denison on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch of game one is slated for 3:30 p.m. in Granville, Ohio.

Game One – Won 14-6 (5inn.)

In what proved to be a run-rule victory, the Cardinals fell behind 2-0 in the early going as the Purple Raiders connected on a two-run home run over the center field fence.

Otterbein responded in its half of the initial frame as junior Alyson Shaw and senior Maddie Flasco posted back-to-back singles to ignite the offense, as Shaw came around to score on Flasco's hit.

Senior Bailey McElwain walked the next at-bat before touching home plate to tie the game at 2-2 on classmate Megan Garner's run-scoring double to right center field.

The Cards added 12 runs over the next three innings, four in the second and eight in the fourth combining for 11 hits over that span. McElwain homered in each of those innings, her first coming on a three-run shot before blasting a solo home run in the fourth.

Freshman Katrina Wierzbicki and senior Savannah Sarkine made it a trio of homers for the Cards in the fourth frame, as the two combined for five runs batted-in.

Mount Union added two runs the following inning and another pair in the top half of the fifth, but Otterbein held on for its ninth-straight win.

Junior Gabby Johnson, who struck out seven batters in the game, made history for the program by becoming it's all-time leader in strikeouts in a career with 291, surpassing Angie Lowe (2000-03) who previously held the record at 284. Johnson also improved to 6-0 in the circle with the victory.

Game Two – Won 10-2 (6inn.)

Following a scoreless first inning, the Raiders took a 1-0 advantage on a solo home run off the bat of catcher Cheyenne Miller before a double steal with runners on the corners in the third inning led to a 2-0 lead.

Otterbein responded with its first run of the contest in the bottom of the third after tallying three hits with Garner driving in Shaw from second base.

The Cards then gained their first lead of the game in the fourth frame as five players reached base on four hits and an error by the Raider defense, which led to a three-run inning. Sarkine and Flasco delivered the run-scoring hits for the team, both coming with one out.

The offense played pile on the remainder of the game with three runs in the fourth and another six in the bottom half of the sixth inning to complete Otterbein's sixth run-rule win of the season and third in the last six outings.

Otterbein's scoring plays came on a pair of RBI-singles from Sarkine and Flasco in the fourth, Flasco's a two-run play, followed by a pair of home runs from Shaw and Hackney and three more runs batted-in between Garner and senior Maria Reed on hits to the outfield.

Owens was credited with the win in the circle for the Cards, her third of the season, allowing just the two runs on five hits with three strikeouts in a complete-game performance.