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PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Otterbein baseball team snapped a somewhat rare and unusual three-game skid Sunday afternoon in solid fashion, ending the weekend with a 7-5 victory over nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College at the IMG Academy in Bradenton.

The Cardinals, now 3-3 this year, began the spring trip with a memorable no-hitter on Thursday before dropping a pair of low-scoring, tightly-contested games come Friday afternoon at the same North Charlotte Regional Park complex.

Otterbein began with a 4-0 loss to Babson College, a reputable squad that fell just one win shy of the World Series last year and is the 2018 preseason favorite in the NEWMAC.

Babson posted solo runs in the first, second, fourth and eighth innings, starting pitcher Connor Gill limited Otterbein to just two hits and the Beaver defense made some timely plays behind him, including a handful of notable catches deep in the outfield on hard-hit balls from the Cardinal offense.

Otterbein walked seven batters and hit another in the initial Babson game, and then gave Mitchell College ten free baserunners during the afternoon session by hitting six and walking another four. Mitchell took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a pair of two-out, two-strike hits before the Cards responded immediately via an RBI double from Pat Birrer and RBI-single from Luke Barber.

The Cards pitched out of multiple jams as the opposition ultimately left 14 runners on base, but the Mariners found a difference-making run in the fifth with a sac-fly to left field. Otterbein was right there every step of the way, advancing pinch runner Dmitri Collaros to second base with two outs in the ninth before a groundout finished the day. Otterbein out-hit Mitchell 9-5, getting two apiece from Birrer, Barber and Mitch Stotler.

Babson handed Otterbein a tough 13-3 setback in Saturday's outing, creating a similar theme with multiple two-strike and two-out hits that extended innings. The Beavers opened a 7-1 lead after three innings and, although starter John Kopicky found a groove afterwards, the Cardinals were dealt their first three-game losing stretch since 2015.

Otterbein bounced back in a strong way in Sunday's game against St. John Fisher, scoring twice in the opening frame on extra-base hits from Birrer and Bryan Stopar on balls that nearly left the park. Birrer's was a triple while Stopar scored all in one sequence by launching a double, advancing to third on a relay throw and then scoring on an ensuing SJF throwing error.

St. John Fisher tied the game midway through the third until Otterbein answered in the bottom of the inning, crossing four runs during a two-out rally from the bottom of the lineup. Tim Snyder and Dom Guzzi each drove in runs before a multi-RBI single up the middle from Tyler Thompson widened the gap to 6-2.

Fisher kept things interesting late, clawing to within 7-5 before Otterbein sophomore Collin Hoffmann notched his first save of the season across the final seven outs. He struck out four batters in relief of freshman Ethan Doty, who was very impressive in his first collegiate start by fanning seven over 6.2 innings and rarely missing the strike zone.

Otterbein will take on Moravian College early Monday evening before enjoying Tuesday off.